On View October 30, 2015 – February 28, 2016

Enchanting Display of 300 Toys and Related Programming Will Enthrall Visitors of All Ages This Holiday Season

The New-York Historical Society will again be transformed this holiday season with a vibrant and sweeping display of spectacular antique toy trains, toys, and scenic elements. On view October 30, 2015 through February 28, 2016, Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection celebrates the beauty and allure of toys from a bygone era. Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Lutz Toy Company  Floor toy train set, 1884. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Märklin 5-gauge locomotive, 1905. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Since its acquisition by New-York Historical Society last year, the Jerni Collection has become a highlight of the Museum’s holdings. Assembled over the course of five decades by U.S. collectors Jerry and Nina Greene, the Jerni Collection is considered one of the world’s leading collections of antique trains and toys and includes unique, hand-crafted and hand-painted pieces dating from approximately 1850 to 1940, featuring prime examples by the leading manufacturers that set the standard for the Golden Age of Toy Trains, including the German firms of Märklin and Bing, as well as the American firms Lionel and Ives.

Gebruder Bing Leviathan ocean liner, 1920. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Toy Airship, 1920-1930. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

“This exhibition will engage visitors in the thrill and joy of trains while conveying the important history of American industry—for example, how train tracks replaced waterways as the most popular mode of transport for people and goods,” stated Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “With the pounding of the golden spike in 1869, the First Transcontinental Railroad was complete, spurring migration across the continent and forever transforming the American landscape. Locomotives rapidly traversed the terrain, connecting the U.S. heartland to East Coast factories, shipyards, and piers. In urban centers such as New York, local railways, both elevated and underground, allowed for the first rapid, public intercity transport. ”

Märklin 5-gauge locomotive, 1905. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Gebrüder Bing Carousel, 1880-1890. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

The Holiday Express exhibition will unfold over a broad swath of New-York Historical’s first floor, featuring pieces from the Jerni Collection that will transform the space into a magical wonderland. With the aid of theatrical lighting, an ambient audio “soundscape,” and other visual effects, visitors will be engaged in an immersive experience. The exhibition begins at the West 77th Street entrance, where movement and sound from four large-scale multimedia screens will make it seem as though trains are roaring through the space. A 360-degree mountainous landscape will be on view in the Judith and Howard Berkowitz Sculpture Court, featuring artifacts grouped into ten scenes.

Detail of Lutz Toy Company Floor toy train set, 1884. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Ferris Wheels. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Märklin Post Office, 1895. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Holiday Express begins at New-York Historical’s West 77th Street entrance, where movement and sound from four large-scale multimedia screens will create the illusion of locomotives roaring through the rotunda. The exhibition winds throughout the first floor Berkowitz Sculpture Court and Smith Gallery and down to the DiMenna Children’s History Museum on the lower level, including creative exhibition displays of more than 300 pieces. Among them are eight overhead trains with an additional three locomotives operating in a display showcasing classic American trains and toys. Interactive elements, including a crawl-through space leading to a pop-up semi-sphere, allow children to get an up-close-and personal view of the displays.

Brianne Train Station, ca. 1900. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Kinder & Briel Café kiosk, 1905-1910. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Theatrical lighting, a steam engine locomotive “soundscape,” and picturesque backdrops—including mountain tunnels, stately stations, and other imaginative scenery— will envelope the visitor in the whimsical history of children’s toys. Among the artifacts on view are 11 classic Lionel trains that will chug along more than 400 linear feet of tracks twisting and turning overhead.

Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection was curated by Mike Thornton, Assistant Curator for Material Culture at the New-York Historical Society. The display was designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (LHSA+DP), an integrated architecture and exhibit design firm that also designed New-York Historical’s DiMenna Children’s History Museum. Other consultants for Holiday Express include T W TrainWorx, a nationally recognized model train specialist and designer of custom toy train layouts; and exhibition media producers Batwin + Robin, renowned “media storytellers” with more than twenty years of experience in the theater, museums, and other venues.

detail of Ferris Wheel. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection

Related Programming
An array of family programs, including story times, dining car-inspired brunches, and hands-on activities for winter break, will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition

Story Time with Samantha R. Vamos, Author of Alphabet Trains!
Saturday, November 21 at 11:30 am

Register for a very special Macy’s Sunday Story Time and meet children’s author Samantha R. Vamos. She will be reading her latest book Alphabet Trains, along with a few others, and holding a book signing in honor of the exhibition Holiday Express.

Detail of Gebrüder Bing Carousel, 1880-1890. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

All Aboard: Historical Train Weekend
Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13 from 12 – 3 pm

Trains, rails, conductors, and maps! Families will hear tales of the rails, help build a Transcontinental Railroad, and explore the incredible toy trains from the New-York Historical Society’s magnificent Jerni Collection. Ages 3 -6. Free with museum admission.

Lionel, Blue Comet, 1932. New-York Historical Society.

Holiday Express Family Brunch
Sundays, December 20, January 10, and February 7, 2016 from 9:30 – 11 am

To celebrate our annual Holiday Express exhibition, families are invited to a special morning brunch. Kids and their parents can enjoy a special buffet, create wooden trains, get engineer caps and temporary tattoos, go on a train scavenger hunt and meet Conductor Abe, who will entertain all with stories and songs from the railroad. All ages. $35 ($30 member); $120 for a family of four.

School Vacation Week: Ride the Rails!
December 26 – January 3

Celebrate the special winter exhibition Holiday Express with daily classic train storybooks and hands-on craft activities! Families will travel through America’s past with vacation-week programming that keeps everyone engaged. Scavenger hunts in the galleries for long-ago objects and hands-on activities to create and bring home reminders of a great day together. All ages. Free with Museum admission.

Train Tales and Crafts
Daily, 2 pm
Come hear a classic train storybook being read aloud and stay for a related craft activity! Books include The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet, How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton, Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton, and many more.

The New-York Historical Society, one of America’s pre-eminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research, presenting history and art exhibitions, and public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, New-York Historical is the oldest museum in New York City and has a mission to explore the richly layered political, cultural and social history of New York City and State and the nation, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history.

Visitor Information
The New-York Historical Society
1170 Central Park West (between 76th and 77th Streets), New York, NY 10024
(212) 873-3400, www.nyhistory.org

Now Accepting 2016–17 Applicants at this link

The New-York Historical Society is pleased to announce ten fellows who will be in residence during the 2015–16 academic year. Leveraging its incomparable collections of documents, artifacts, and works of art detailing American history from the perspective of New York City, New-York Historical’s fellowships—open to scholars at various times during their academic careers—provide scholars with material resources and an intellectual community to develop new research and publications that illuminate complex issues of the past.

“The ambitious and diverse range of research topics that our incoming fellows will tackle—from the role European and African women in expanding slavery, to how turn of the 20th-century New York elite clubs redefined the city’s architectural and social history—are a testament to the reach and importance of  New-York Historical’s  collections and their relevance to  today’s world,” said Valerie Paley, Vice President, Chief Historian, and Dean of Scholarly Programs at New-York Historical.

New-York Historical offers fellowships to scholars dedicated to understanding and promoting American history. Fellowship positions are made possible by the generous support of Bernard and Irene Schwartz, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Sid Lapidus, The Lehrman Institute, and Patricia and John Klingenstein. All fellows receive research stipends while in residency, and Bernard & Irene Schwartz Fellows each teach two courses at Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts during their year as resident scholars. This year’s fellows are:

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES FELLOW 
T. Cole Jones is currently Assistant Professor of History at Purdue University. He received a BA in History from Duke University in 2006, an MA in History from Johns Hopkins University in 2009, and completed his PhD from that same institution in 2014. Jones’s proposed research project, “Captives of Liberty: Prisoners of War and the Radicalization of the American Revolution” is a comprehensive analysis of revolutionary American treatment of enemy prisoners and will illuminate the role of wartime violence in the social and political transformations of the era. With the support of the N-YHS, Jones will spend the 2015–2016 academic year mining the Library’s vast assemblage of regimental orderly books, as well as the papers of several Continental Army figures. Jones will also consult the diary of Thomas Gilpin to contextualize the plight of Philadelphia’s Quaker exiles within the larger history of American prisoner-of-war treatment during the revolution. Jones’s work will challenge common understandings of violence during the revolution. He will uncover the central role brutality played in the war.  Initially the revolutionary leadership  adhered to European rules of war, but their vision of restraint did not endure. Jones will examine how American military practices evolved during the war, analyzing the factors that precipitated the escalation of violence and redefined treatment the revolution’s prisoners of war.

ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION FELLOWS
Matthew Karp is currently Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University. He received a BA in History from Amherst College in 2003 and a PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011. During his residency at N-YHS, Karp will undertake a full revision of his book manuscript The Foreign Policy of Slavery. This work will consider pro-slavery internationalism and revise the way we see southern slaveholders in the broader context of modern world history. As presidents, cabinet officers, diplomats, and military leaders, southern elites controlled international policy within the powerful American federal governments. Karp will examine how their unwavering dedication  to slavery shaped the course and destiny of U.S. foreign relations.

Stephen Petrus received a BA in History and Philosophy from Gettysburg College in 1995, an MA in History from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa in 1997, and a PhD in History from the City University of New York in 2010. While at N-YHS, Dr. Petrus will conduct archival research within the Library’s collections, including the Shirley Hayes Papers, the Margot Gayle Papers, and the N-YHS Washington Square Park Redevelopment Collection, to complete a project entitled “The Politics and Culture of Greenwich Village and the Rise of the Tumultuous Sixties.” What made the Village a distinct political and cultural entity in the 1950s and 1960s, and why did many political and artistic movements emerge and flourish there? Petrus’ narrative attributes the political and artistic ferment to community organizations; they were engines of political and cultural change. The concentration of its neighborhood institutions attracted an influx of talent from all over the nation. More than simply a bohemian sanctuary during an age of conformity, Greenwich Village was a hub of resistance to the dominant political and cultural order of the mid-century United States.

BERNARD AND IRENE SCHWARTZ FELLOWS 
Christine Walker is currently Assistant Professor of History at Texas Tech University. She received a BA in American Studies from Yale University in 2000, an MA in History from the University of Connecticut in 2007, and completed her PhD at the University of Michigan in 2014. Walker’s project at N-YHS, entitled “The Jamaica Ladies: Gender, Authority, and Atlantic Slavery,” will adapt her PhD dissertation into a manuscript for publication. Her scholarship argues that free women of European and African descent were crucial investors in the expansion of slavery, and situates the lives of free and enslaved people in a broader colonial context. To complete her research, Dr. Walker will review the John Brown Papers, focusing on the letters of Brown family women, and will mine New-York Historical’s extensive print collection to support research on how local and imperial events influenced women’s lives.

Brendan P. O’Malley he earned a BA in History at Vassar College in 1992 and a PhD in History from the City University of New York in 2015. Dr. O’Malley’s project, “Protecting the Stranger: The Origins of U.S. Immigration Regulation in Nineteenth-Century New York,” will be the first book-length examination of the New York State Board of the Commissioners of Emigration— the first government agency in the United States devoted entirely to immigration. The creation of the Emigration Board in 1847 marked a watershed moment in the relationship between government and immigration, expanding it from a local to a statewide and national concern. The commissioners protected vulnerable immigrants from those who sought to defraud them, facilitated their migration Westand gave immigrants access to numerous amenities to ease their transition into a new life in the United States. The N-YHS’s papers of Gulian C. Verplank, the president of the Emigration Board from 1848 until his death in 1870, are critical to this study.

PATRICIA AND JOHN KLINGENSTEIN SHORT-TERM FELLOWS
H. Horatio Joyce is currently a doctoral candidate in History at Oxford University. He received a BA in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Chicago in 2010 and an MA in the same subject from Boston University in May 2012. Joyce’s project, “Building and Belonging: McKim, Mead & White and the Making of New York City’s Clubland,” is a social and architectural study of private clubs in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His focus on both elite identity and urban transformation connects the threads of social and architectural history. The project is organized around the architects and clubmen McKim, Mead, and White, and will utilize the records of the Harmonie Club and the Seventh Regiment.

Brian Broadrose is currently Assistant Professor in Sociology/Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He received degrees in Anthropology (Archaeology) from the Metropolitan State College of Denver (BA) in 2002, the University of Colorado (MA) in 2008, and from Binghamton University (PhD) in 2015. Broadrose will expand upon the research for his dissertation, “The Haudenosaunee and the Trolls under the Bridge: Digging into the culture of Iroquoianist Studies.” This project examines the disparity between Native American accounts of their past and the opposing interpretations of professional historians and archaeologists. Broadrose will consult the Cadwallader Colden Papers, as well as the Lewis Henry Morgan Letters.

Paul Polgar is currently an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Mississippi and is one of three Klingenstein fellows for 2015– 2016. He graduated with a BS in journalism from Boston University in 2004, an MA in History from George Mason University in 2007, and a PhD in History from the City University of New York in 2013. Polgar will work on his project, “A Well Grounded Hope: Abolishing Slavery and the Racial Inequality in Early America and Enacting Freedom.” Scholarship on the first emancipation has demonstrated the gradual and incomplete nature of African American liberation in the late 18th and 19th centuries, leading many historians to characterize period activists as inherently conservative. Polgar argues against these prevailing views by considering the first abolitionists who posed a sweeping challenge to slavery and black inequality in a story that largely remains untold. Polgar will be consulting a wide range of sources in N-YHS’ collections, including pamphlets and records relating to the New York City, the State Colonization Society, and the New Jersey Colonization Society.

LAPIDUS FELLOW
Hendrik Hartog is currently the Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor in the History of American Law and Liberty at Princeton University. Until July 2015, he was the director of Princeton University’s Program in American Studies. He holds a PhD in the History of American Civilization from Brandeis University (1982), a JD from the New York University School of Law (1973), and an AB from Carleton College (1970). He is the author of Public Property and Private Power: the Corporation of the City of New York in American Law, 1730-1870 (1983), Man and Wife in America: a History (2000), and Someday All This Will Be Yours: A History of Inheritance and Old Age (2012). As a Lapidus Fellow, Hartog will be working on two book projects that take place in northern New Jersey and New York City during the first 40 years of the 19th century. Both are shaped by the sense that 19th-century American Federalism was not just a formal constitutional structure, but became the field upon which the legal culture emerged and developed. Also, both projects are based on the significance of New York (particularly, New York City) as a dominant presence in the law and in the economy of the young country. The first one is a history of Gibbons v. Ogden, the famous steamboat case in which John Marshall first articulated and applied the Commerce Clause as a constraint on state economic regulations. The second one is focused on another case study, Force v. Haines(1840), regarding compensation for the care of an “unproductive” slave.

LEHRMAN INSTITUTE DISTINGUISHED FELLOW
Andrew Roberts is the Merrill Family Visiting Professor at Cornell University. A prominent scholar of modern European history, he has written or edited twelve books and appears regularly on international radio and television. Currently he is writing a biography of Napoleon, which will be accompanied by a three-part television series on the BBC.

2016–17 FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS
The New-York Historical Society will also offer eight fellowships during the 2016–2017 academic year. Details about applications, residency, stipends, and past fellows are available by visiting this webpage: http://www.nyhistory.org/library/fellowships.

This Will Be The First Presentation Of The Biennial In The Whitney’s New Downtown Building.

With a history of exhibiting the most promising and influential artists and provoking debate, the Whitney Biennial—the Museum’s signature exhibition—is the most important survey of the state of contemporary art in the United States. The Biennial, an invitational show of work produced in the preceding two years, was introduced by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1932, and it is the longest continuous series of exhibitions in the country to survey recent developments in American art.

The Whitney Museum of American Art announced today that the 2017 Whitney Biennial will be co-curated by Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks. This will be the seventy-eighth in the Museum’s series of Annual and Biennial exhibitions inaugurated in 1932 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. The Museum’s signature survey of contemporary art in the United States, the Biennial goes on view in spring 2017. It will be the first Biennial presented in the Whitney’s new building in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The 2017 Whitney Biennial is presented by Tiffany & Co, lead sponsor of the Biennial through 2021.

The Whitney Museum of American Art announced today that the 2017 Whitney Biennial will be co-curated by Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks.

Christopher Y. Lew is Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he has organized the first US solo exhibitions for Rachel Rose and Jared Madere. He has also organized, with Curator and Curator of Performance Jay Sanders, the first US theatrical presentation by New Theater.

His upcoming exhibitions at the Whitney include a solo show by Sophia Al-Maria (summer 2016). Prior to joining the Whitney in 2014, he held positions at MoMA PS1 since 2006 and organized numerous exhibitions including the group shows New Pictures of Common Objects (2012) and Taster’s Choice (2014). His notable solo shows include Clifford Owens: Anthology (2011), GCC: Achievements in Retrospective (2014), James Ferraro: 100% (2014), and Jack Smith: Normal Love (2013), which received an award from the International Association of Art Critics. Lew has contributed to several publications including Art AsiaPacific, Art Journal, Bomb, Huffington Post, and Mousse.

From 2013 until recently, Mia Locks was Assistant Curator at MoMA PS1, where she organized exhibitions including Math Bass: Off the Clock (2015); IM Heung-soon: Reincarnation (2015); Samara Golden: The Flat Side of the Knife (2014); and The Little Things Could Be Dearer (2014). Prior to MoMA PS1, Locks organized Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945–1980 (2012), with David Frantz, at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives as part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time initiative. From 2010 to 2013, she worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), where she helped to organize Blues for Smoke (2012), which traveled to the Whitney, and Bob Mizer and Tom of Finland (2013), both with Bennett Simpson. Locks was part of the curatorial team for the Greater New York exhibition now on view at MoMA PS1. She is currently publishing a book on the work of Samara Golden, forthcoming in December 2015.

Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s Deputy Director for Programs and Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator, said, “With the opening of the new building, we’re rededicating ourselves to the Whitney’s longstanding commitment to emerging artists. Chris’s keen eye has been critical to this renewed focus in our program, which just launched with his presentations of Jared Madere, Rachel Rose, and New Theater. Mia’s interest in both historical figures and new tendencies, as well her years on the West Coast will add important perspective to the Biennial. The two of them have great intellectual chemistry, and it’s exciting to see the first Biennial in our new home in the hands of such talented young curators.”

Whitney Museum of American Art, May 2015. Photograph by Timothy Schenck

The Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director Adam D. Weinberg noted: “Every Whitney Biennial is a galvanizing process for the Museum, a tradition that goes back to the institution’s roots while retaining its freshness and immediacy. Endeavoring to gauge the state of art in America today, the Biennial demands curators who are attuned to the art of the current moment and there is no question that Chris Lew and Mia Locks have their fingers on the pulse. The expanded spaces and possibilities offered by our new downtown building will make this Biennial particularly lively and groundbreaking.”

Scott Rothkopf will lead a team of advisors who will work closely with the curators to help shape the exhibition. They include: Negar Azimi, writer and senior editor at Bidoun, an award-winning publishing, curatorial, and educational initiative with a focus on the Middle East and its diasporas; Gean Moreno, artistic director of Cannonball, a Miami–based nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of critical discourse and contemporary art through residencies, grants, commissions, and public programs; Aily Nash, co-curator of Projections, the New York Film Festival’s artists’ film and video section, and Film and Media Curator at Basilica Hudson; and Wendy Yao, a publisher and founder of both the exhibition space 356 South Mission Road and Ooga Booga, a shop with two Los Angeles locations that specializes in independent books, music, art, and clothing.

Finalists for Milestone Twentieth Anniversary Are Tania Bruguera, Mark Leckey, Ralph Lemon, Laura Owens, Wael Shawky, and Anicka Yi

Six finalists have been selected for the Hugo Boss Prize 2016, the biennial award established in 1996 to recognize artists whose work is among the most innovative and influential of our time. Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and chair of the jury, announced the finalists chosen by a panel of international critics and curators. Over the past two decades juries have identified and selected as finalists paradigm-shifting artists from around the world, recognizing the achievements of both emerging and established figures, and setting no parameters in terms of age, gender, or medium.

Since its inception in 1996, the Hugo Boss Prize has been awarded to ten innovative and influential contemporary artists: American artist Matthew Barney (1996); Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (1998); Slovenian artist Marjetica Potrč (2000); French artist Pierre Huyghe (2002); Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (2004); British artist Tacita Dean (2006); Palestinian artist Emily Jacir (2008); German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann (2010); Danish artist Danh Vo (2012); and American artist Paul Chan (2014). The related exhibitions have constituted some of the most compelling presentations in the museum’s history.

The following artists are finalists for the Hugo Boss Prize 2016:

• Tania Bruguera (b. 1968, Havana)
• Mark Leckey (b. 1964, Birkenhead, UK)
• Ralph Lemon (b. 1952, Cincinnati)
• Laura Owens (b. 1970, Euclid, Ohio)
• Wael Shawky (b. 1971, Alexandria, Egypt)
• Anicka Yi (b. 1971, Seoul)

“Promoting the most innovative cultural production continues to be at the core of the Guggenheim’s institutional mission, and for the past twenty years, the Hugo Boss Prize has given us the opportunity to identify and honor artists who make a lasting impact on the landscape of contemporary art,” said Spector. “We are grateful for the sustained enthusiasm of Hugo Boss for a project that acknowledges today’s most prescient creative voices.”

The prize, administered by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, has become an integral part of the Guggenheim’s contemporary art programming. The winner is awarded a $100,000 cash prize and featured in a solo exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. The Hugo Boss Prize catalogues, which have evolved over the years into ambitious collaborations between curators, artists, and designers, form a key component of the program’s legacy. The Hugo Boss Prize 2016 winner will be announced in the fall of 2016, and the exhibition will be held in 2017.

“The Hugo Boss Prize has developed into a renowned accolade over the past two decades, and we are proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. Together with the Guggenheim Foundation, we have since honored many excellent and successful artists,” said Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, Chairman and CEO, HUGO BOSS AG. “Our sincerest congratulations go out to our nominees for 2016.”

The Hugo Boss Prize 2016 Short List

Tania Bruguera, Tatlin’s Whisper #5, 2008
Mounted police, crowd control techniques, audience, overall dimensions variable
Installation view: UBS Openings: Live the Living Currency, Tate Modern, London, 2008
Photo: Sheila Burnet. Courtesy the artist

Tania Bruguera (b. 1968, Havana) lives and works in various cities depending on the location of her long-term projects. In her politically driven, performance-based social practice, Bruguera activates communities through participatory projects that she categorizes as arte útil (useful art). Bruguera’s activism calls attention to injustice and advocates social change, as in Immigrant Movement International, which operates as a community center representing the interests of immigrant populations in Queens, New York.

Solo exhibitions of Bruguera’s work have been presented at the Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (2015); Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands (2013); Queens Museum of Art, New York (2013); Tate Modern, London (2012); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2010); Beirut Art Center (2007); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2006); Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana (2004); San Francisco Art Institute (2002); and Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana (1996), among other venues.

Bruguera’s art has been included in group exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale (2015); Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2014); Revolution Not Televised, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York (2012); Riwaq Biennial, Ramallah, Palestine (2009); Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2008); Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art (2007); Istanbul Biennial (2003); Documenta, Kassel, Germany (2002); SITE Santa Fe Biennial (1999); Johannesburg Biennial (1997); São Paulo Biennial (1996); New Art from Cuba, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (1995); and Havana Biennial (1994).

Mark Leckey, GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction, 2010. Installation view: Gavin Brown’s enterprise, 2010
Samsung refrigerator, rear screen projection rig, digital video, green screen set, PA, can of coolant. Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown’s enterprise

Mark Leckey (b. 1964, Birkenhead, UK) lives and works in London. Leckey’s fluid practice ranges across video, sculpture, music, performance, installations, and the exhibition format. His work unravels the entwined forces of desire, imagination, and cultural allegiance that shape our everyday experience, absorbing both rarified and lowbrow references into a unique artistic vocabulary.

Leckey’s work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Secession, Vienna (2015); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2015); Kunsthalle Basel (2015); WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2014); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2013); Serpentine Gallery, London (2011); Institute of Contemporary Art, London (2009); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2008); Tate Britain, London (2003); and Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2003).

Leckey’s work has also been included in group exhibitions such as Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2013); Venice Biennale (2013); Ghosts in the Machine, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2012); Push and Pull, Tate Modern, London (2011); Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2010); Pictures in Motion: Artists & Video/Film, Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2010); Turner Prize, Tate Britain, London (2008); Yokohama Triennial (2008); Tate Triennial, Tate Britain, London (2006); Istanbul Biennial (2005); Manifesta, San Sebastián, Spain (2004); and Protest & Survive, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2000).

Ralph Lemon, Untitled, 2010. Archival pigment print, 40 x 40 inches. Courtesy the artist

Ralph Lemon (b. 1952, Cincinnati) lives and works in New York. Lemon is a choreographer, writer, director, and visual artist whose interdisciplinary performance projects draw on political histories and personal relationships to illuminate the complexity and raw beauty of the human experience. Lemon combines dance, film, text, music, and sculptural installation in evocative programs that explore themes of identity, loss, and the body.

Lemon is Artistic Director of Cross Performance. His most recent projects include Scaffold Room (2015); Four Walls (2012); and How Can You Stay in The House All Day and Not Go Anywhere? (2008–10), a work that features live performance, film, and visual art and toured the United States. Lemon has curated the performance series Some sweet day at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2012) and I Get Lost at Danspace Project, New York (2010).

His solo visual art exhibitions include 1856 Cessna Road, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2012); How Can You Stay in the House All Day and Not Go Anywhere?, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2010); (the efflorescence of) Walter, Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans (2008), The Kitchen, New York (2007), and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2006); and The Geography Trilogy, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut (2001). Group exhibitions featuring Lemon’s work include Move: Choreographing You, Hayward Gallery, London (2010) and The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (2010).

Laura Owens, Untitled, 2014. Oil, Flashe, and silkscreen ink on linen, 137.5 x 120 inches. Courtesy the artist / Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York / Sadie Coles HQ, London / Capitain Petzel, Berlin / Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne

Laura Owens (b. 1970, Euclid, Ohio) lives and works in Los Angeles. For the past two decades, Owens’s influential work has questioned the parameters and possibilities for making and viewing a painting today. She has continually shifted the terms of her practice, incorporating figuration, abstraction, digital techniques, and gestural mark making into multivalent compositions that confound expectations of pictorial space.

Owens’s work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Secession, Vienna (2015); Kunstmuseum Bonn (2011); Kunsthalle Zürich (2006); Camden Arts Centre, London (2006); Milwaukee Art Museum (2003); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2003); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2003); and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2001), among other venues.

Owens’s art has also been featured in group exhibitions such as The Forever Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2014); Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2014); The Spectacular of Vernacular, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2011); Undiscovered Country, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2004); Whitney Biennial (2004); Public Offerings, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2001); Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh (1999); and Vertical Painting Show, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (1997). She is the founder of 356 S. Mission Rd., a contemporary art exhibition space in downtown Los Angeles.

Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo, 2012, HD video, Color, Sound, 58min. Courtesy Sfeir-Semler Gallery

Wael Shawky (b. 1971, Alexandria, Egypt) lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt. Shawky works in multiple mediums—notably film, performance, sculpture, and drawing—to locate the roots of current geopolitical realities in the distant and heavily mediated past. Describing himself as a translator of cultural narratives and assumptions, he draws on mythical and historical sources to create indelible visual experiences that oscillate between pathos, humor, beauty, and horror.

Shawky has had solo exhibitions at MATHAF: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar (2015); MoMA PS1, New York (2015); Serpentine Gallery, London (2013); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2013); Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2012); Townhouse Gallery for Contemporary Art, Cairo (2009 and 2008); and Kunsthalle Winterthur, Switzerland (2007).

Shawky’s work has been featured in major group exhibitions such as the Istanbul Biennial (2015); Manifesta, Saint Petersburg, Russia (2014); Sydney Biennial (2014); Sharjah Biennial, United Arab Emirates (2013); Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2012); Documenta, Kassel, Germany (2012); Marrakech Biennial, Morocco (2012); Egyptian Pavilion, Alexandria Biennial (2009); Riwaq Biennial, Ramallah, Palestine (2009); Tarjama/Translation, Queens Museum of Art, New York (2009); Riwaq Biennial (2007); Istanbul Biennial (2005); Venice Biennale (2003); and International Cairo Biennial (1996). In 2010 Shawky established MASS Alexandria, a studio and study program for artists in Egypt.

Anicka Yi, Installation view: 7,070,430K of Digital Spit, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, 2015. Courtesy 47 Canal, New York, and Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Photo: Philipp Hänger

Anicka Yi (b. 1971, Seoul) lives and works in New York. Yi combines and contrasts organic and synthetic materials in distinctive, immersive installations that explore hybridity and entropy as their perishable elements rot, decay, and ferment. Yi’s visceral, alchemical concoctions arrest the senses; some of her projects incorporate food items and cooking processes, while others are designed to emanate carefully calibrated scents.

Yi has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Basel (2015); MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2015); The Kitchen, New York (2015); and Cleveland Museum of Art (2014).

The artist’s work has been included in group exhibitions such as Under the Clouds, Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2015); THEM, Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin (2015); Taipei Biennial (2014); Lyon Biennial (2014); Love of Technology, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (2013); das Ding!, Swiss Institute, New York (2013); Looking Back, the 6th White Columns Annual, White Columns, New York (2011); SKIN SO SOFT, Gresham’s Ghost, New York (2011); 179 Canal / Anyways, White Columns, New York (2010); and Today and Everyday, X Initiative, New York (2009).

The 2016 jury is chaired by Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The jurors are Katherine Brinson, Curator, Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Dan Byers, Mannion Family Senior Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; Elena Filipovic, Director / Chief Curator, Kunsthalle Basel; Michelle Kuo, Editor in Chief, Artforum International; Pablo León de la Barra, Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, Latin America, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Previous finalists include Laurie Anderson, Janine Antoni, Cai Guo-Qiang, Stan Douglas, and Yasumasa Morimura in 1996; Huang Yong Ping, William Kentridge, Lee Bul, Pipilotti Rist, and Lorna Simpson in 1998; Vito Acconci, Maurizio Cattelan, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Tom Friedman, Barry Le Va, and Tunga in 2000; Francis Alÿs, Olafur Eliasson, Hachiya Kazuhiko, Koo Jeong-a, and Anri Sala in 2002; Franz Ackermann, Rivane Neuenschwander, Jeroen de Rijke and Willem de Rooij, Simon Starling, and Yang Fudong in 2004; Allora & Calzadilla, John Bock, Damián Ortega, Aïda Ruilova, and Tino Sehgal in 2006; Christoph Büchel, Patty Chang, Sam Durant, Joachim Koester, and Roman Signer in 2008; Cao Fei, Roman Ondák, Walid Raad, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul in 2010; and Trisha Donnelly, Rashid Johnson, Qiu Zhijie, Monika Sosnowska, and Tris Vonna-Michell in 2012; and Sheela Gowda, Camille Henrot, Hassan Khan, and Charline von Heyl in 2014.

To see a time line and a video on the history the Hugo Boss Prize, as well as an overview of past prize catalogues, visit guggenheim.org/hugobossprize.

Since 1995, HUGO BOSS has provided critical support to many Guggenheim programs. In addition to the Hugo Boss Prize, the company has helped make possible retrospectives of the work of Matthew Barney (2003), Georg Baselitz (1995), Ross Bleckner (1995), Francesco Clemente (1999–2000), Ellsworth Kelly (1996–97), Robert Rauschenberg (1997–98), and James Rosenquist (2003–04); the presentation Art in America: Now (2007) in Shanghai; the Felix Gonzalez-Torres (2007) and Ed Ruscha (2005) exhibitions in the U.S. Pavilion of the Venice Biennale; and the exhibition theanyspacewhatever (2008–09) at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. At the 54th Biennale di Venezia in 2011, the fashion and lifestyle group HUGO BOSS was the lead sponsor of the Allora & Calzadilla exhibition in the U.S. Pavilion. For more information, visit group.hugoboss.com/en/group/sponsoring/art-sponsoring or hugoboss.com/us/magazine/arts.

Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The Guggenheim network that began in the 1970s when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, was joined by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, has since expanded to include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (opened 1997), and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (currently in development). The Guggenheim Foundation continues to forge international collaborations that celebrate contemporary art, architecture, and design within and beyond the walls of the museum, including the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. More information about the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation can be found at guggenheim.org.

Admission: Adults $25, students/seniors (65+) $18, members and children under 12 free. The Guggenheim’s free app, available with admission or by download to personal devices, offers an enhanced visitor experience. The app features content on special exhibitions as well as access to more than 1,500 works in the Guggenheim’s permanent collection and information about the museum’s landmark building in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Verbal Description guides for select exhibitions are also included for visitors who are blind or have low vision. The Guggenheim app is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Museum Hours: Sun–Wed, 10 am–5:45 pm; Fri, 10 am–5:45 pm; Sat, 10 am–7:45 pm; closed Thurs. On Saturdays, beginning at 5:45 pm, the museum hosts Pay What You Wish. For general information, call 212 423 3500 or visit the museum online at: guggenheim.org

A Riveting New Exhibition Presented by Food Bank For New York City & Brooklyn Historical Society by Photojournalist Joey O’Loughlin

“As you look at the pictures, please consider: What would you do if you couldn’t feed your family?” – Joey O’Loughlin

Jewish families in Brooklyn lines up each Friday for bread for Sabbath dinner. Keeping kosher is hard for families who live in poverty. The food tends to be expensive and the number of kosher pantries is limited. The majority of poor Jewish families who live in NYC lives in Brooklyn. Photo Credit: Joey O’Loughlin

Food Bank For New York City and the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) is co-presenting a joint exhibition Hidden In Plain Sight: Portraits of Hunger in NYC. The exhibition, which open to the public on November 6, 2015 and be presented at the Brooklyn Historical Society‘s 1881 landmark building, will feature the photographs of Brooklyn-based photojournalist Joey O’Loughlin. The exhibit reflects the extraordinary diversity of location, population, and experience in food pantries throughout New York City, where hundreds line up to receive free groceries and is designed to raise awareness of the causes and impact of food poverty as a devastating reality of contemporary urban life.

Food Bank For New York City Logo (PRNewsFoto/Food Bank For New York City)

Food Bank For New York City has been the city’s major hunger-relief organization working to end hunger throughout the five boroughs for more than 30 years. Nearly one in five New Yorkers relies on Food Bank for food and other resources. It takes a strategic, multifaceted approach that provides meals and builds capacity in the neediest communities, while raising awareness and engagement among all New Yorkers. Through its network of more than 1,000 charities and schools citywide, Food Bank provides food for more than 64 million free meals for New Yorkers in need. Food Bank For New York City‘s income support services, including SNAP (food stamp) screening and free tax assistance for the working poor, put more than $150 million each year into the pockets of New Yorkers, helping them to afford food and live with greater dignity and independence. In addition, Food Bank’s nutrition education programs and services empower more than 275,000 children, teens and adults to sustain healthy diets on very limited budgets. Working toward long-term solutions to food poverty, Food Bank develops policy and conducts research to inform community and government efforts. (Learn how you can help at www.foodbanknyc.org.)

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: Portraits of Hunger in NYC. Photo Credit: Joey O’Loughlin

Nearly one in five New Yorkers relies on Food Bank For New York City‘s programs and services. During the past year, the organization has seen the need for emergency food in New York City increase while the resources required to combat hunger and poverty have decreased. The number of meals that vulnerable New Yorkers are missing due to lack of sufficient resources tops a staggering 241 million, representing an enormous Meal Gap. The Meal Gap, adapted as the City’s official measure of food insecurity, has now been geographically mapped to reveal where hunger lives – enabling Food Bank to allocate resources to areas with the highest need across New York City.

“What would you be willing to do if you couldn’t afford to feed your children?“
Image from the exhibit, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: Portraits of Hunger in NYC by Photojournalist Joey O’Loughlin

For nearly three years, Ms. O’Loughlin documented the people behind the statistics by photographing and interviewing clients at Food Bank For New York City‘s citywide network of food pantries– the last line of defense against hunger for New Yorkers in need — to reveal the people who run them, and the people who wait on their lines. Through these images, Ms. O’Loughlin asks the question, “What would you be willing to do if you couldn’t afford to feed your children?“

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: Portraits of Hunger in NYC. Photo by Joey O’Loughlin

“People are always shocked to learn that one in five people on our pantry lines has a job,” said Margarette Purvis, President and CEO of Food Bank For New York City. “No one wants to believe that you can work your entire life and still not be able to afford food. The myth is, they did something wrong. The fact is, they didn’t. Children, the working poor and the elderly on fixed income are the most severely affected by hunger. These are the faces highlighted in this exhibit in order to combat the myths about hunger. We hope that this exhibit and related programming will foster empathy and awareness among New Yorkers, and inspire them to advocate for hunger-relief resources and opportunities that so many of us now need to survive in this challenging economy.“

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: Portraits of Hunger in NYC. Photo by Joey O’Loughlin

The exhibit takes viewers from food pantry line to the home pantry. While most food pantries work hard to ease the experience, lining up for food can be dehumanizing. On the line, you’re both on display and socially invisible, but at home, you’re like everyone else. By juxtaposing images of food lines with those taken inside people’s homes, this exhibit puts a face on the everyday New Yorkers–often strong mothers and grandmothers–who must participate in the complicated economic balancing act that allows them to stay in their homes, and retain their family dignity. As family dinner is a universal point of connection, the exhibit will also feature images of home-cooked meals made from pantry groceries. Family history and personality are revealed in images of meals and around the table.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: Portraits of Hunger in NYC. Patrick is 46 and disabled by AIDS. He was outed in the military, less than honorably discharged and never completely regained his footing. He worked for Housing Works for years and lives in subsidized housing on Staten Island. Patrick depends on food pantries to get by, and can offer a remarkable accounting of his living expenses, balanced down to the penny.  Photo by Joey O’Loughlin

Through interpretive materials in the exhibition, and a focus on people and places throughout New York City, it is hoped that the exhibit will provoke thoughtful discussion on both cross-cultural and cross-generational experiences. Public programming around the exhibition will include panel discussions featuring historians and food justice advocates, among others. Programs will engage visitors in questions about hunger and poverty, raising awareness about this increasingly pervasive issue. The exhibition will be on view at BHS from November 6, 2015 – November 13, 2016.

“We are proud to exhibit the thought-provoking images in “Hidden in Plain Sight,“‘ said Deborah Schwartz, President of Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS). “O’Loughlin’s photo essay continues the mission of BHS to tell stories which have been overlooked, yet are part of our collective experience and living history. Our hope is that this exhibition sparks a conversation about the inequalities in food access that affect us all, and the solutions we can work on together to overcome them.”

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: Portraits of Hunger in NYC. Emily Diac, aged five years old, waited while her mother shopped at a food pantry. One in four New York City children doesn’t have enough to eat. Times are especially hard for poor families in NYC and the family has since left NYC for Marietta, Georgia, where her mother works at a Sam’s Club and her father is a maintenance man. Photographed by Photojournalist Joey O’Loughlin

Joey O’Loughlin is a photojournalist, producer and writer with more than two decades of experience in news, informational and cultural programming. Her photographic work supports humanitarian efforts in the United States and around the world. In 2012, O’Loughlin worked with the Brooklyn Public Library to show how library experiences are woven into the fabric of people’s daily lives, and why libraries are valuable in challenging economic times. The resulting photographic multimedia project “Where Do the Books Go?” was installed at the Brooklyn Public Library, and was featured in the New York Daily News, as well as other publications

Her work for Family Care International, a global advocates for women’s sexual and reproductive rights, explored issues surrounding teen pregnancy in Latin America. The resulting photographs can be found in print and online publications for the World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA,) and the MacArthur Foundation, among others. It was featured as a stand-alone exhibit at the Women Deliver International Conference in Washington DC in 2011, and at local ministries of health throughout the Andean Region.

“It’s not easy to stand in a food line; it’s a very public display of personal challenges, but it keeps families nourished, and together. The growing food lines in every borough of our city are something we cannot deny – millions of New Yorkers are falling down in this uneven economy,” states O’Loughlin on her website. “I wasn’t aware that there were food lines around the city, and assumed they were a thing of the past until I started this project three years ago. I see the lines now, and the people who stand in them; they are fellow citizens with fully realized lives. They stand in line because things haven’t turned out as they planned, and a bag of food from a pantry is a soft spot in a hard time.”

“The photos in this exhibit are meant to foster connections between the people standing on the lines and the people who walk by them, unaware,” said O’Loughlin. “The intimate details of family life that were shared with me by generous pantry users, are an invitation to consider what we all have in common, and what as a society, we should be invested in preserving. Our hope is that this exhibit, and the powerful public programing that will be offered over the next year, will encourage conversation and civil action that will move us towards a brighter future for those in need.”

Food Bank for New York City feeds all of the people represented in this exhibit, and does much more to address the challenges that keep people in poverty. In my experience, Food Bank and their partners operate with high standards and with no judgement of individuals in need. I’m so fortunate that they allowed me to collaborate with them and to tell the stories of the people they work so hard to nourish. I’m proud to support this remarkable organization and invite you to volunteer, donate, advocate with us. And don’t forget to vote!”

The mission of Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) is to connect the past to the present and make the vibrant history of Brooklyn tangible, relevant, and meaningful for today’s diverse communities and for generations to come.

BHS was founded as the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) in 1863. In 1985, LIHS was renamed the Brooklyn Historical Society. Embracing modern social history methods and concerns, BHS undertook the exploration, study, and documentation of the diversity of Brooklyn’s history and its people. Building on that foundation, today’s BHS is a nationally-recognized urban history center dedicated to preserving and encouraging the study of Brooklyn’s extraordinary and complex 400-year history; and is a vibrant museum, a world-renowned research library, a cutting-edge education center, and a hub for community dialogue.

In a final statement, O’Loughlin said, “It’s a privilege to exhibit this work at the Brooklyn Historical Society. It’s institutional commitment to creative expression of social justice issues and it’s unique ability to present them in context is extraordinary. This is the perfect venue to consider and discuss what it means to be hungry in New York City, and how we might imagine a better future for those in need.”

Exhibition Extends with Physical Installation Åzone Terminal at Seaport Cultural District in Collaboration with Center for Architecture, Now Through December 31, 2015

Online Exhibition: azone.guggenheim.org

Installation: Åzone Terminal

Venue: 181 Front Street, between Fulton and John Streets

Dates: October 23-December 31, 2015

Hours: 11 am-8 pm, Tuesday-Sunday; 12-4 pm, Monday

Admission: Free

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has launched its first online exhibition, Åzone Futures Market, a web-based simulated stock market that explores the potential effects of a world increasingly shaped by emerging technologies. Audiences can access Åzone Futures Market online and can visit and engage with Åzone Terminal, a physical installation featuring interactive visualizations of the marketplace in the Seaport Culture District, a vibrant new cultural hub in Lower Manhattan.

Åzone Futures Market. Screenshot of Basic Index
Design: Studio Folder, © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

Åzone Terminal opened to the public at 6 pm on Friday, October 23, at 181 Front Street in the Seaport Culture District and is presented in collaboration with the Center for Architecture.

The exhibition concept grew out of a retreat on the Åland Islands off the coast of Finland organized as part of the Guggenheim Helsinki Now: Six Finalist Designs Unveiled exhibition last spring. It is the first program in what will be a sustained investigation by the museum into the intersection of architecture and new technologies.

Experimental in spirit and design, Åzone Futures Market invites audiences to learn about and take a position on technology-enabled futures that until recently were confined to prototypes or science fiction. Market participants receive 10,000 cåin (Å), the Åzone currency, to invest in futures on the simulated market conditioned by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, commercialized space travel, and genetic manipulation. Dynamic pricing based on supply and demand, crowd-sourced news feeds, and visual trend analyses provides users with the real-time information needed to make investment decisions.

Åzone Terminal
Installation View: Åzone Terminal, October 23-December 31, 2015
Mechanical Terminal: Pietro Leoni
Photo: Kris McKay © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

“We need new cultural forms to make sense of the radical effects of technological change on our lives today. Åzone Futures Market experiments with the architecture of exhibitions, replacing a physical building with a digital platform, allowing visitors to become users, and enabling contributors to respond to an environment that will emerge over time,” said Troy Conrad Therrien, Curator, Architecture and Digital Initiatives.

Guggenheim curatorial staff are analyzing and interpreting market activity and will profile investors who make the greatest impact on the market in posts on the Åzone Futures Market blog. Artists, architects, and theorists will intervene in the market periodically after it has stabilized.

Åzone Futures Market is designed by Studio Folder (Marco Ferrari and Elisa Pasqual; Aaron Gillett; and Alice Longo); developed by Charles Broskoski, Hugo Liu, Dan Brewster, and Damon Zucconi; and built with Are.na. Sound design is by Daniel Perlin, and Åzone Terminal’s mechanical terminal is by Pietro Leoni. Additional contributors are listed on the website.

Åzone Futures Market and Åzone Terminal are organized by Troy Conrad Therrien, Curator, Architecture and Digital Initiatives, with Ashley Mendelsohn, Curatorial Assistant, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and is supported by the Howard Hughes Corporation and the Center of Architecture.

November 20, 2015–March 23, 2016

This group exhibition, “Photo-Poetics: An Anthology,” features more than 70 works by ten artists: Claudia Angelmaier, Erica Baum, Anne Collier, Moyra Davey, Leslie Hewitt, Elad Lassry, Lisa Oppenheim, Erin Shirreff, Kathrin Sonntag, and Sara VanDerBeek.

Lisa Oppenheim, The Sun is Always Setting Somewhere Else, 2006.  Slide projection of 15 35 mm slides, continuous loop, dimensions variable. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the Photography Committee, 2009. 2009.60

Drawing on the legacies of Conceptualism, these artists pursue a largely studio-based approach to still-life photography that centers on the representation of objects, often printed matter such as books, magazines, and record covers. The result is an image imbued with poetic and evocative personal significance—a sort of displaced self-portraiture—that resonates with larger cultural and historical meanings. Driven by a profound engagement with the medium of photography, these artists investigate the nature, traditions, and magic of photography at a moment characterized by rapid digital transformation. They attempt to rematerialize the photograph through meticulous printing, using film and other disappearing photo technologies, and creating artist’s books, installations, and photo-sculptures.

Leslie Hewitt, Riffs on Real Time (3 of 10), 2006–09. Chromogenic print, 76.2 x 61 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the Photography Committee, 2010. 2010.55

While they are invested in exploring the processes, supports, and techniques of photography, they are also deeply interested in how photographic images circulate. Theirs is a sort of “photo poetics,” an art that self-consciously investigates the laws of photography and the nature of photographic representation, reproduction, and the photographic object.

Sara VanDerBeek, From the Means of Reproduction, 2007. Chromogenic print, 101.6 x 76.2 cm
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the Photography Committee 2007.138 © Sara VanDerBeek

Elad Lassry, Untitled (Woman, Blond), 2013. Chromogenic print in walnut frame with four-ply silk, 36.8 x 29.2 x 3.8 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the Photography Committee, 2013.72. © Elad Lassry

The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue will examine an important new development in contemporary photography, offering an opportunity to define the concerns of a younger generation of artists and contextualize their work within the history of art and visual culture.

This exhibition is organized by Jennifer Blessing, Senior Curator, Photography, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum with Susan Thompson, Assistant Curator. This exhibition is supported in part by Affirmation Arts Fund and The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Photography Committee.

Claudia Angelmaier, Betty, 2008. Chromogenic print, face-mounted to acrylic, 130 x 100 cm
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the Photography Committee with additional funds contributed by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron M. Tighe, and Rona and Jeffrey Citrin, 2014.122. © Claudia Angelmaier

The Leadership Committee for Photo-Poetics: An Anthology, chaired by Rona Citrin, is gratefully acknowledged for its support, with special thanks to Erica Gervais and Ted Pappendick as well as to Lisa and Richard Baker, Angelo K H Chan and Frederick Wertheim, Jeffrey Citrin, Manuel de Santaren, Ellen and Richard Kelson, Jill and Peter Kraus, Toby Devan Lewis, Ann and Mel Schaffer, Patty and Howard Silverstein, Cristina von Bargen, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Ann Cook and Charley Moss, Susan and Arthur Fleischer, Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins, Lauren and Scott Pinkus, Melissa Schiff Soros, and Barbara Toll.

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong has announced that for the fourth year it will be the Official Hotel for Art Basel Hong Kong, which takes place in March 2016. To celebrate this partnership with Art Basel, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong will be offering guests a series of bespoke services ranging from an exclusive stay, an art-inspired menu in the Michelin-starred Mandarin Grill + Bar as well as in Pierre, art-inspired chocolates at The Mandarin Cake Shop and cocktails at M bar, a relaxing treatment at The Mandarin Spa to revive the feet after the bustle of the show, and art exhibitions and shows throughout the hotel.

Night exterior view of the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

Following a breakthrough 2015 edition – which placed the Hong Kong show squarely in the center of Asia’s international art scene – the upcoming show offers a premier platform for showing works from across the globe, more than half from Asia and Asia Pacific, while providing an in-depth overview of the region’s diversity through both historical material and cutting-edge works by leading and emerging artists.

Art Basel Hong Kong will be held from 24 to 26 March 2016 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, just a short taxi or Mass Transit Railway ride away from the hotel. Located in the heart of the city, the iconic Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong has become the hotel of choice for many leading artists and gallery directors when visiting the city for either business or pleasure.

Mandarin Suite Living Room at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

The iconic Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is the epitome of contemporary luxury combined with Oriental heritage. Having delighted guests with award-winning service and impressive facilities for nearly 50 years, it is the much-loved address for those seeking an exclusive sanctuary in the heart of this exciting city. The spacious rooms and suites offer magnificent views of the famous Victoria Harbour and the city skyline. A collection of ten outstanding restaurants and bars, including two with Michelin stars, and a Shanghainese-inspired holistic spa, indoor pool and 24-hour fitness centre, make Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong the recognized home away from home for discerning leisure and business travelers alike.

Captain Bar at Mandarin Oriental, hong Kong

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong Harbor Room

Pierre Restaurant

Art Stay – 19 to 29 March 2016

As the Official Hotel for the Art Basel show in Hong Kong, guests can enjoy an exclusive Art Stay package that includes:

• Overnight accommodation in a luxurious room
• Access for two to Art Basel, including unlimited entrance to the fair, an invitation to the Vernissage, access to the Collectors Lounge and invitations to a series of events
• Breakfast in-room or in the Clipper Lounge or Café Causette
• A welcome bottle of ‘R’ de Ruinart Champagne
• Art-inspired welcome tasty treat on arrival

Room rates start at HKD4,799, subject to 10% service charge per night and subject to availability. Room reservations can be made by contacting the hotel directly on + 852 2820 4202 or by visiting the tempting offers page on our website at www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong.

Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, (Switzerland) Miami Beach (USA) and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. In addition to ambitious stands featuring leading galleries from around the world, each show’s exhibition sectors spotlight the latest developments in the visual arts, offering visitors new ideas, new inspiration and new contacts in the art world. For further information please visit www.artbasel.com.

Exhibition Will Add A New Chapter To Her Collective Works On The Post–9/11 World

This winter, The Whitney Museum of American Art will debut Laura Poitras: Astro Noise, the first solo museum exhibition by artist, filmmaker, and journalist Laura Poitras. On view from February 5 through May 1, 2016, this immersive installation of new work builds on topics important to Poitras, including mass surveillance, the war on terror, the U.S. drone program, Guantánamo Bay Prison, occupation, and torture. Some of these issues have been investigated in her films, including CITIZENFOUR, which won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Documentary, and in her reporting, which was awarded a 2014 Pulitzer Prize. The exhibition is organized by Whitney curator and curator of performance Jay Sanders. Major support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation. Significant support is provided by the Teiger Foundation and the Keith Haring Foundation Exhibition Fund.

“Over the course of her career, Laura Poitras has fearlessly created work of national and global importance, and uncompromising integrity. With Astro Noise, she tackles some of the most pressing issues of our time in profound and innovative ways, and the Whitney is proud to provide her a space in which she can continue to explore her ideas in new mediums,” said Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown director.

The title, Astro Noise, refers to the faint background disturbance of thermal radiation left over from the Big Bang and is the name Edward Snowden gave to an encrypted file containing evidence of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency that he shared with Poitras in 2013. The Snowden archive partially inspired Poitras’s presentation at the Whitney.

Laura Poitras (b. 1964), Laura Poitras filming the NSA Utah Data Repository construction in 2011. Photograph by Conor Provenzano

For the exhibition, Poitras is creating an interrelated series of installations in the Whitney’s eighth-floor Hurst Family Galleries. The exhibition expands on her project to document post–9/11 America, engaging visitors in formats outside her non-fiction filmmaking. Instead she will create environments that incorporate documentary footage, architectural interventions, primary documents, and narrative structures to invite visitors to interact with the material in strikingly intimate and direct ways.

“I very much like the idea of creating a space that challenges the viewer and asks them to make decisions. My films are about these questions—what do people do when confronted with choices and risks,” Poitras explains. “By asking people to lie down and gaze upward in Bed Down Location, for example, I want them to enter an empathetic space to imagine drone warfare. In another piece, there is both the seduction of shafts of light to look into, but also the choreography of bodies in the space, bodies facing walls and the things you associate with that, like firing squads. I’m interested in making things hard to see, just like the deep state is hard to see.”’

This exhibition continues the Whitney Museum’s involvement with Poitras, whose work was included in the 2012 Whitney Biennial. Sanders, who co-organized the 2012 Biennial, said, “Laura Poitras compels us to rethink the potential for an artist to explore and convey the nature of power and to affect understanding and responsibility in the larger world. Astro Noise sees her reconsidering the moving image toward other ways of addressing and engaging an audience, presenting the culture and mechanisms of surveillance and the war on terror in a very different way, through structured visual experiences that provide much more than information and compel an audience to enter into a visceral experience.”

In addition to the 2015 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Poitras’ CITIZENFOUR, the third installment of her post–9/11 Trilogy, also won awards from the British Film Academy, Independent Spirit Awards, Director’s Guild of America, Cinema Eye Honors, and many others. Part one of the trilogy, MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY, about the U.S. occupation of Iraq, was nominated for an Academy Award. Part two, THE OATH, focused on Guantanamo and the war on terror, and was nominated for two Emmy Awards. She has received many honors for her work, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Peabody Award. She has attended the Sundance Institute Documentary Labs as both a Fellow and Creative Advisor.

Her reporting on NSA mass surveillance based on Edward Snowden’s disclosures won the George Polk Award for national security journalism, and shared in the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She has taught filmmaking at Yale and Duke Universities, and is on the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Along with AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook, she is co-creator of Field of Vision, a visual journalism film unit.

Eschewing a traditional exhibition catalogue, Poitras and Sanders are editing a collection of original work that will be published in conjunction with the exhibition, Astro Noise: A Survival Guide for Living Under Total Surveillance. This series of contributions extends discourse surrounding the exhibition beyond both journalism and art writing. The aim of the book is to create an imaginative yet useful field guide of critical perspectives and responses to contemporary political reality. Contributors include Ai Weiwei, Jacob Appelbaum, Lakhdar Boumediene, Kate Crawford, Alex Danchev, Cory Doctorow, Dave Eggers, Jill Magid, Trevor Paglen, Edward Snowden, and Hito Steyerl. Along with a retail version of the book, a free publication will be printed and distributed at events around the world.

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING

A dynamic schedule of public programs will offer opportunities for audiences to explore the exhibition’s themes through hands-on workshops in subjects such as encryption; and public conversations with notable voices in the fields of media, law, technology, film, and art. These events are being produced collaboratively with the artist’s studio Praxis Films, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and others. A screening series devoted to experimental documentary and political filmmaking will examine Poitras’s historical precursors and influences and will feature films by Emile de Antonio, Frederick Wiseman, Alexander Kluge, and Andy Warhol, among others.

June 10–Sept 25, 2016

Stuart Davis (1892–1964) ranks as a preeminent figure in American modernism. With a long career that stretched from the early twentieth century well into the postwar era, he brought a distinctively American accent to international modernism. 

Davis was well known for his jazz-influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful, as well as his ashcan pictures in the early years of the 20th century. Davis begun his formal art training under Robert Henri, the leader of the Ashcan School, at the Robert Henri School of Art in New York. During this time, Davis befriended painters John Sloan, Glenn Coleman and Henry Glintenkamp.

Stuart Davis, Owh! in San Paõ, 1951. Oil on canvas, 52 1/4 × 41 3/4 in. (132.7 × 106 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 52.2. Art © Estate of Stuart Davis / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

In 1913, Davis was one of the youngest painters to exhibit in the Armory Show, where he displayed five watercolor paintings in the Ashcan school style. In the show, Davis was exposed to the works of a number of artists including Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. As a result, he became a committed “modern” artist and a major exponent of cubism and modernism in America. He spent summers painting in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and made painting trips to Havana in 1918 and New Mexico in 1923.

In the 1920s he began his development into his mature style; painting abstract still lifes and landscapes. His use of contemporary subject matter such as cigarette packages and spark plug advertisements suggests a proto-Pop art element to his work.

In 1928, he visited Paris, where he painted street scenes. In the 1930s, he became increasingly politically engaged; according to Cécile Whiting, Davis’ goal was to “reconcile abstract art with Marxism and modern industrial society“. In 1934 he joined the Artists’ Union and was later elected its President. In 1936 the American Artists’ Congress elected him its National Secretary. He painted murals for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration which are influenced by his love of jazz. Davis married Roselle Springer in 1938 and spent his late life teaching at the New York School for Social Research and at Yale University.

He was represented by Edith Gregor Halpert at the Downtown Gallery in New York City. Davis died of a stroke in New York on June 24, 1964, aged 71.

Davis’s work feels especially vital today in its blurring of distinctions between text and image, high and low culture, and abstraction and figuration. This exhibition departs from previous efforts in its organization. From 1940 on, Davis rarely painted a work that did not make careful reference, however hidden, to one or more of his earlier compositions. Such appropriation is a distinctive aspect of Davis’s method. Staged in the Whitney’s fifth-floor Neil Bluhm Family Galleries, this will be the first major Davis exhibition to consistently hang later works side by side with the earlier ones that inspired them. With approximately 100 works, from the paintings of tobacco packages and household objects of the early 1920s to the work left on his easel at his death in 1964, In Full Swing will highlight Davis’s unique ability to assimilate the imagery of popular culture, the aesthetics of advertising, the lessons of Cubism, and the sounds and rhythms of jazz into works that hum with intelligence and energy.

Stuart Davis: In Full Swing is co-organized by Barbara Haskell, Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and Harry Cooper, Curator and Head of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Works by Nine Major Contemporary Artists Transform Nation’s First Art Museum in Celebration of Reopening

“WONDER,” the debut exhibition at the newly renovated Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, celebrates the opening of the historic building with immersive installations by nine leading contemporary artists—Jennifer Angus, Chakaia Booker, Gabriel Dawe, Tara Donovan, Patrick Dougherty, Janet Echelman, John Grade, Maya Lin and Leo Villareal. “WONDER” opened this past Friday (November 13^th) and will be on view for six months.

John Grade, Middle Fork, 2015, reclaimed old-growth western red cedar, 26 x 18 x 26 ft. Courtesy of John Grade. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

The Renwick Gallery is the branch museum of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, featuring a wide range of contemporary craft and decorative art. The exhibition is organized by Nicholas R. Bell, The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge of the Renwick Gallery.

The artists featured in “WONDER” were selected for their ability to transform spaces through installation and for their focus on process and materials. Each was invited to select a gallery in the Renwick while the building was closed for a major two-year renovation and then create an installation inspired by that space.

Maya Lin, Folding the Chesapeake, 2015. marbles and adhesive, 26 ft. 6 in. x 32 ft. 7 in. x 22 ft. 9 in. Courtesy of Maya Lin Studio. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

“The Renwick was the first purpose-built art museum in the United States, intended to exhibit American art and to celebrate American genius,” said Betsy Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “For the next chapter in its 156-year history, we will showcase exemplary artists like these nine who are dissolving the boundaries that once existed between craft, art and design. ‘WONDER’ rededicates this landmark museum to the future of art.”

Janet Echelman, 1.8, 2015, knotted and braided fiber with programmable lighting
and wind movement above printed textile flooring, 96 x 45 x 40 ft. Courtesy of Janet Echelman, Inc. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

While the nine artists work in strikingly different media, they are connected by a shared interest in materiality and the labor-intensive creation of objects by hand in a digital age. Their works are created by exploring the potential of unlikely materials and utilizing both traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology. The resulting installations are expressions of process, labor and materials that are grounded in our everyday world, but which combine to produce awe-inspiring results.

Jennifer Angus, In the Midnight Garden, 2015. cochineal, various insects, and mixed media, 26 ft. 11 in. x 18 ft. 6 in. x 24 ft. 7 in., Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

“The concept of ‘wonder’—that moment of astonishment in the face of something new and unknown that transports us out of the everyday—is deeply intertwined with how we experience art,” said Bell. “These nine artists are masters of constructing works that startle us, overwhelm us and invite us to marvel—to wonder—at their creation. These elements matter in the context of this museum, devoted for more than four decades to the skilled working of materials in extraordinary ways.”

Chakaia Booker, ANONYMOUS DONOR, 2015. rubber tires and stainless steel, 10 ft. x 25 ft. 1 in. x 16 ft. 2 in. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

(The exhibition will close in two phases to allow for the reinstallation of the museum’s permanent collection. The second-floor galleries will close May 8, 2016, and the first-floor galleries will close July 10, 2016.)

Gabriel Dawe, Plexus A1, 2015. thread, wood, hooks and steel, 19 x 48 x 12 ft., Courtesy of the artist and Conduit Gallery. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

On the first floor, visitors will encounter works by Dawe, Donovan and Dougherty. Dawe’s textile-based installation is made from thousands of strands of embroidery thread, all hung by hand, which appear as waves of color and light sweeping from floor to ceiling. Donovan’s towers are constructed from hundreds of thousands of index cards that have been individually glued together to form irregular, looming spires. Dougherty’s enormous pods of woven willow osiers seem to dance and sway through the rear gallery.

Patrick Dougherty, Shindig, 2015, willow saplings
16 x 90 x 12 ft.
Courtesy of Patrick Dougherty. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Photos by Ron Blunt

Works by Angus, Booker, Echelman, Grade, Lin and Villareal will be installed on the second floor. Angus covers gallery walls in spiraling, geometric designs reminiscent of wallpaper or textiles but made using specimens of brightly colored insects. Booker works with discarded rubber tires, splicing and weaving them into an enormous labyrinth. Echelman explores volumetric form without solid mass, overtaking the museum’s famed Grand Salon with a suspended, handwoven net surging across its 100-foot length. Grade uses 500,000 pieces of reclaimed cedar to reconstruct a hemlock tree approximately the same age as the Renwick’s building, based on a complete plaster cast he made of the tree in situ in the Cascade Mountains. Lin’s deluge of green marbles flows across the floor and up walls, recalling the flow of the Chesapeake Bay as part of her investigation into the fluidity of natural forms in her artworks. Villareal’s installation—320 steel rods embedded with 23,000 LEDs programmed to display a code written and manipulated by the artist into endless variations—will be mounted above the Renwick’s Grand Staircase.

Tara Donovan, Untitled, 2014. styrene index cards, metal, wood, paint and glue. 12 ft. 5 1/2 in. x 22 ft. 4 in. x 22 ft. 11 1/2 in. © Tara Donovan, courtesy of Pace Gallery. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

The Renwick Gallery is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. Metrorail station: Farragut North (Red line) and Farragut West (Blue and orange lines). Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Website: www.renwick.americanart.si.edu.

WONDER is organized by the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from Mr. and Mrs. J. Kevin Buchi, Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, Suzi and David Cordish, Barney A. Ebsworth, Shelby and Frederick Gans, Deborah and Larry Gaslow, Nancy and Carl Gewirz, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Susan and Ken Hahn, Bannus and Cecily Hudson, Ann Kaplan and Robert Fippinger, Thomas S. Kenan III, Mirella and Dani Levinas, Jacqueline B. Mars, Robin and Jocelyn Martin, Marcia Mayo, Caroline Niemczyk, Debbie Frank Petersen in memory of James F. Petersen, The James Renwick Alliance, Dorothy Saxe, Lloyd and Betty Schermer, the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation and Mary Ann Tighe.

Leo Villareal, Volume (Renwick), 2015, white LEDs, mirror-finished stainless steel, custom software, and electrical hardware, 9 ft. 6 in. x 20 ft. 9 1/2 in. x 6 ft. 1/2 in., © Leo Villareal, courtesy CONNERSMITH. Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photos by Ron Blunt

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog written by Bell, titled “WONDER” and published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in association with D Giles, Ltd; 221 pages ($39.95/$59.95).

Celebration Will Engage Top Chicago Cultural Institutions in Yearlong International Festival

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was joined by Chicago Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Barbara Gaines, Executive Director Criss Henderson, and leaders of the City’s cultural institutions today to announce Shakespeare 400 Chicago, a yearlong international arts festival in 2016 celebrating the vibrancy, relevance and reach of Shakespeare. As the world commemorates the four hundred years since Shakespeare’s death in 1616, Shakespeare 400 Chicago brings together the city’s resident world-class institutions across disciplines, and welcomes leading artists from around the globe to make Chicago their stage. Anticipated to be the world’s largest and most comprehensive celebration of Shakespeare’s enduring legacy, Shakespeare 400 Chicago is making “no small plans.”

“Chicago will take center stage in 2016, as more than 1,000 local and international artists will create a global celebration of Shakespeare like no other in the world,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “During this landmark year, Shakespeare will be alive on our stages, in our schools and across our neighborhoods. The power of our world-class cultural institutions uniting behind one theme serves to amplify Chicago’s role as a global destination for cultural tourism.”

Spearheaded by the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, this yearlong Quadricentennial festival will engage more than 500,000 Chicagoans and visitors to the City through 850 events exploring how Shakespeare’s words continue to live in Chicago and throughout the world’s great theater, dance, literature, music, cuisine and spectacle.

Shanghai Peking Opera’s The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan based on Hamlet, featured at the Harris Theater of Music and Dance as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago in 2016. Photo by EFE/Leopoldo Smith Murillo.

With leading support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a diverse array of work across artistic disciplines will highlight Shakespeare’s timeless inspiration of playwrights, painters and poets, composers and choreographers. Among the more than 60 Chicago institutions joining Chicago Shakespeare in offering performances, events and exhibitions are: the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago Mariachi Project, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Libraries, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Illinois Humanities, Joffrey Ballet, Logan Center for the Arts, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Negaunee Music Institute, Newberry Library and WTTW.

Jonathan Pryce as Shylock in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s production of The Merchant of Venice, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago in 2016. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Highlights from Chicago partners include: Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Charles Gounod‘s soaring Romeo and Juliet; Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Maestro Riccardo Muti culminates his cycle of Verdi‘s Shakespeare operas with Falstaff; Art Institute of Chicago highlights Shakespeare-inspired visual art in a special exhibition; Chicago chefs and restaurateurs, including Rick Bayless, Alpana Singh and Ryan McCaskey, will create a culinary “Complete Works” in restaurants across the city; and Newberry Library’s “Creating Shakespeare” exhibition will bring together treasures from the British Library and the Folger Shakespeare Library alongside the Newberry’s own renowned Shakespeare collection.

Back from L to R: Jackson Doran (Cassio), GQ (Iago), JQ (Loco Vito) and Postell Pringle (Othello) in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Othello: The Remix, featured as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago in 2016. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Chicago Shakespeare‘s centerpiece of the celebration is Barbara Gaines’ electrifying six-play history cycle, Tug of War, including Edward III, Henry V, Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3, and Richard III. Two action-packed dramas in the spring and fall of 2016 trace the rise and fall of kings—and the uncommon courage of common men.

Belarus Free Theatre’s King Lear, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago. Photo by Nicolai Khalezin.

The company of the Company Theatre of Mumbai’s Piya Behrupiya, a Hindi version of Twelfth Night, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago. Photo courtesy of Company Theatre.

“Chicago Shakespeare has been honored to serve as a cultural ambassador for our city—importing astonishing work from around the world and exporting our work to leading international festivals,” reflected CST Executive Director Criss Henderson. “Shakespeare 400 Chicago deepens our role as a global theater reflective of our global city—and demonstrates how Shakespeare’s timeless words continue to inspire artists across disciplines and across cultures.”

Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Maestro Riccardo Muti culminates his cycle of Verdi’s Shakespeare operas with Falstaff. featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago.

International artists participating in Shakespeare 400 Chicago will hail from Australia, Belarus, Belgium, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and beyond. International highlights include: Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre‘s The Merchant of Venice, starring Jonathan Pryce at Chicago Shakespeare; Shanghai Peking Opera‘s The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan (based on Hamlet) and the Hamburg Ballet‘s Othello at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance; (In)Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare from Forced Entertainment at the Museum of Contemporary Art; Also, the Cheek by Jowl/Pushkin Theatre of Moscow production of Declan Donnellan‘s Measure for Measure; Belarus Free Theatre‘s King Lear; National Theatre Studio‘s Sancho: An Act of Remembrance, written by and starring Paterson Joseph; The Company Theatre of Mumbai‘s Hindi translation of Twelfth Night—Piya Behrupiya; Songs of Lear from Poland’s Song of the Goat; and Filter and the Royal Shakespeare Company‘s music-infused Twelfth Night—all at Chicago Shakespeare.

Pieÿni Leara, A.Salonen, K.Kuszewski, P.Garghentino, E.Downie, and R.Mole in Poland’s Song of the Goat Theatre’s Songs of Lear directed by Grzegorz Bral, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago. Photo by Anna Szczodrowska.

Alexander Matrosov, Peter Rykov and Alexander Arsentyev in the Cheek by Jowl/Puskin Theatre production of Measure for Measure directed by Declan Donnellan, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago. Photo by Johan Persson.

“The poetry of Shakespeare’s words and his brilliant characters from all walks of life weave universal stories, speaking to artists across continents, cultures and centuries,” remarked the Theater’s founder and Artistic Director Barbara Gaines. “We’re thrilled that our colleagues in Chicago and from across the world will join us in 2016 to bring his work to life in our global city. Shakespeare’s words move artists in every creative medium.“

Paterson Joseph (Sancho) in National Theatre Studio’s Sancho: An Act of Remembrance, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago. Photo by Robert Day.

Shakespeare will also be celebrated across communities and throughout the City’s classrooms. Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Public Libraries and the Chicago Park District will highlight Shakespeare’s work in free programming for students and families. CPS students and teachers citywide can participate in the “Battle of the Bard“—a slam-style showcase designed in partnership with Chicago Youth Shakespeare to build community across neighborhoods and celebrate Shakespeare’s language through performance. A.B.L.E., an ensemble of adolescents with Down’s syndrome, is developing their own production of Twelfth Night. Partners including the Newberry Library, Chicago Humanities Festival, Illinois Humanities and Chicago Shakespeare have slated thought-provoking lecture and discussion series, classes and educational initiatives to foster a citywide conversation about the playwright’s legacy. Chicagoans and the world can engage with Shakespeare 400 Chicago and access vast digital resources and archives released around the festival across platforms—including online at www.shakespeare400chicago.com, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/shakespeare400chicago), Twitter (@shakes400chi) and Instagram (@shakes400chi).

Helene Bouchet (Desdemona) and Amilcar Moret Gonzalez (Othello) in Hamburg Ballet’s Othello, featured at Harris Theater of Music and Dance as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago in 2016. Photo courtesy of Hamburg Ballet.

“We look forward to welcoming international artists from all corners of the world to use our city as their stage in 2016, and to work with a broad group of arts and humanities organizations to celebrate Shakespeare’s legacy and make this ambitious program a success,” said Julia Stasch, president of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, lead supporter of Shakespeare 400 Chicago.

The full line-up of Shakespeare 400 Chicago productions, events and programs will be announced in January 2016. More information can be found at www.shakespeare400chicago.com.

Barneys New York Launches Holiday 2015 Campaign: Chillin’ Out

Introducing Chillin’ Out, A Wondrously Wintry Take On Holiday 2015. Arctic Temperatures, High-Speed Chases, Live Ice Carving— Barneys New York’s Madison Avenue Windows Must Be Seen To Be Believed.

“Embracing the chill that typically accompanies this magical time of year, our New York flagship’s windows celebrate winter by bringing one crucial element of the outdoors inside: ICE. – The Window

Barneys New York announces the launch of its 2015 holiday campaign, Chillin’ Out. Using its famed sense of wit and surprise to play up traditional winter motifs, the Barneys New York team worked with various collaborators to transform the Madison Avenue Flagship windows into a Chillin’ Out visual narrative, complete with 35-foot fully functioning ice locker which serves as a live frozen workspace. The idea of winter is celebrated through unique and unprecedented displays, which are brought to life through partnerships with world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly, Utah-based Ice Castles, artist collective Okamoto Studio, and luxury automaker Lexus.

Through the Chillin’ Out holiday partnerships, Barneys New York has pushed the limits of traditional holiday windows. The one-of-a-kind ice locker used for the Ice Castles and Ice Carvers windows was custom designed and built by the Barneys New York team to maintain the optimal condition for the integral component of these installations: ice. Updating the classic ‘Penguin Chase‘ with accurately scaled Lexus model cars, as well as using 3D digital mapping to illuminate the “Winter Brilliance” sculpture adds another level of unprecedented technical feats to this season’s windows.

“The Chillin’ Out window installations have been amongst the most creatively ambitious that our team has designed,” says Barneys New York Creative Director Dennis Freedman. “We’ve challenged ourselves to reach new heights in terms of technical advancements, but ultimately it’s the beauty and visual impact that really counts. Continuing with the tradition of integrating a performance element into the windows adds a layer of excitement and spontaneity to the experience for audiences.”

Shintaro Okamoto, founder and namesake of Okamoto Studio, demonstrates his mastery of the art during a live performance in ‘The Ice Carvers.’ Performances continue through December 31. (PRNewsFoto/Barneys New York)

“The Ice Carvers”

A live ice carving performance in one of the Madison Avenue window displays integrates a surprising unique element to the Chillin’ Out theme. Partnering with the ice carving collective Okamoto Studio, the Barneys New York team created a stylized satellite studio for the carvers to create winter themed sculptures as a part of daily live performances. Starting on Wednesday, November 18, and running through Thursday, December 31, live carvers within the custom ice locker in the window will transform 20×30 inch blocks of ice into detailed holiday-themed sculptures. Barneys New York partnered with Moncler Gamme Bleu designed by Thom Browne to outfit the carvers in custom-designed metallic outerwear, which consist of a jumpsuit, vest, and blazer. Additional pieces from Moncler Gamme Bleu, including exclusive cashmere silver English rib gloves, beanies, neck warmers, and scarves, all of which will also be available at Barneys New York.

Live Performance Schedule for “The Ice Carvers”:

Monday – Wednesday: Noon – 7:30PM

Thursday – Saturday: Noon – 8:30PM

Sunday: Noon – 6:00PM

The gorgeous work of Ice Castles has been adapted from its usual home atop a frigid mountain and recreated in this stunning Madison Avenue window. (PRNewsFoto/Barneys New York)

“Ice Castles”

To play on the idea of Chillin’ Out and traditional winter themes, Barneys New York has partnered with Ice Castles, a company known for creating large-scale ice formations typically set upon mountaintops, to build an installation within the confines of its Madison Avenue window. In order to properly execute the Ice Castles collaboration, Barneys New York designed an unprecedented fully operational ice locker within its display. The custom ice locker consistently maintains a temperature of 3 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, and utilizes a custom misting system, which enables the creation and maintenance of the ice formations. Using a process known as “Icicle Farming,” Ice Castles makes its own icicles and fuses them together to create an ice scaffold that is sprayed with water to form uniquely intricate and organic ice formations. With an ongoing misting schedule, the ice becomes a naturally evolving glacial wonderland in constant evolution over the course of the window’s installation. The Ice Castle installation is further brought to life through the choreographed use of light, illuminating the ice in translucent shades of blue, green, red, and purple. Accompanied by a custom musical score by Hannis Brown evoking the icy sound and spirit of winter, the monochromatic structure transports the audience into the depths of a frozen empire.

An incredible partnership between the Barneys visual team, Lexus, Invisible Light Network, and Christie THREE SIXTY comes to life in ‘Arctic Chase.’ (PRNewsFoto/Barneys New York)

“Arctic Chase”

Meet Penny, the high-octane, thrill-loving, and very chill penguin who’s so cool, she inspired her own window, “Arctic Chase.” Beginning with the idea of the penguin, the Barneys New York team partnered with Lexus to reimagine a traditional and playful winter racetrack adventure with the iconic arctic animal. Referencing ZSL London Zoo‘s Lubetkin Penguin Pool and childhood games, the team commissioned renowned slot car designer Gary Gerding to build a racetrack – the first translucent slot car track Gerding has ever built out of polycarbonate. As three “Chilled-Out” crystal-covered penguins race around the track atop Lexus IS, GS F, and RC F model cars, which were 3D printed and also covered in crystals, an animated film narrative created by Invisible Light Network brings the full scene together. The action is accompanied by an animated short by Invisible Light Network entitled “Stay Cool,” which tells the story of Penny, our penguin heroine, racing her nefarious opponents, set to an imaginary world of ice formations, city structures, and ski lodges. Invisible Light Network uniquely mixed traditional animation, CG, pixel, and glitch into one coherent story, which will be displayed on theatrical screens provided by Christies Digital, and is set to a custom score by composer Amnon Freidlin.

‘Winter Brilliance,’ a site-specific installation piece by Dale Chihuly. (PRNewsFoto/Barneys New York)

“Winter Brilliance by Dale Chihuly”

Barneys New York has collaborated with renowned sculptor and artist Dale Chihuly to design a site-specific installation for another Chillin’ Out window. Entitled “Winter Brilliance,” the glass elements of the sculpture are representative of frigid winters, and appear as a grand crystalline explosion composed of individual hand-blown glass icicles. Several of the sculptural elements that comprise “Winter Brilliance” are suspended from the ceiling of the Madison Avenue window. The sculpture is set above a black pool of reflective water, giving the appearance it is frozen in midair. Barneys New York partnered with Christie THREE SIXTY to integrate the use of 3D digital mapping onto “Winter Brilliance.” One-of-a-kind choreographed lighting effects are projected onto the sculpture, creating the illusion of light on ice, snow, and moonlight, and adding a fluid and kinetic quality to it. The lighting cycle starts with pure white before moving into a sequence of snow flurries, ending in fiery display of red and yellow light projected onto the 700 hand-blown glass elements. The scene becomes an interpretation of fire and ice, accompanied by a modern adaptation of a score by Claude Debussy, one of Chihuly’s favorite composers.

In conjunction with the Chillin’ Out holiday campaign, Barneys New York will also launch a social media sweepstakes with a call to action for participants take a photo in front of any Barneys New York window display nationwide and post to Instagram tagging @BarneysNYOfficial with the hashtag #BNYCHILLINOUT. Winners will have their Instagram handle featured in an ice sculpture by OKAMOTO STUDIO in the Madison Avenue windows for 24 hours, and posted to the Barneys Instagram channel.

To further celebrate Chillin’ Out, Barneys New York will feature dedicated editorial content on its successful life and style editorial site, www.thewindow.barneys.com, including exclusive interviews and video content highlighting this holiday program. http://thewindow.barneys.com/barneys-holiday-windows-2015/

Dale Chihuly, an American sculptor, has mastered the alluring, translucent and transparent qualities of ice, water, glass and neon, to create works of art that transform the viewer experience. He is globally renowned for his ambitious site-specific architectural installations in public spaces, and in exhibitions presented in more than 250 museums and gardens worldwide. For more information, please visit www.Chihuly.com.

Lexus launched in 1989 with two luxury sedans and a commitment to pursue perfection. Since that time, Lexus has expanded its line-up to meet the needs of global luxury customers. Lexus is now going beyond its reputation for high quality vehicles with the integration of innovative technology, emotional exterior and interior designs, and engaging driving dynamics and performance. With six models incorporating Lexus Hybrid Drive, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader. Lexus also offers eight F SPORT models and one F performance model. In the United States, Lexus vehicles are sold through 236 dealers who are committed to exemplary customer service.

Okamoto Studio is a New York-based artist collective best known for their design, production, and consultation of everything made of crystal clear ice. From the most delicate ice wares to life-like sculptures to live performance carvings, Okamoto Studio delivers the perfect ice experience. Whether it’s a diamond-patterned ice bar for a wedding, a detailed replica for a film premiere, a massive monogram for a cool Bar Mitzvah, or an elegant installation for a charity gala, custom sculpted ice by Okamoto Studio is precise, well considered, effective, and mesmerizing.

Ice Castles is a Utah-based entertainment company, led by ice artist Brent Christensen and CEO Ryan Davis, which creates massive acre-sized, all-ice experiences at venues across the United States and Canada. This winter they are in Utah, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Alberta. For photos, videos and more information, visit www.icecastles.com or http://instagram.com/icecastles_

Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors, complete system displays, and cinema audio solutions; Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images, accompanied by awe-inspiring sound. The company’s comprehensive understanding of digital signage, experiential media and digital-out-of-home (DOOH) blends solid creative and technical skills, to help clients and industry partners create and deploy best-in-class digital experiences through its Christie THREE SIXTY team. Visit www.christiedigital.com.

Moncler was founded at Monestier-de-Clermont, Grenoble, France, in 1952 and is currently headquartered in Italy. Over the years the brand has combined style with constant technological research assisted by experts in activities linked to the world of the mountain. The Moncler outerwear collections marry the extreme demands of nature with those of city life. In 2003 Remo Ruffini took over the company, of which he is currently Chairman and CEO. Moncler manufactures and directly distributes the Moncler clothing and accessories collections Moncler Gamme Rouge, Moncler Gamme Bleu, Moncler Grenoble and Moncler Enfant through its boutiques and in exclusive international department stores and multi-brand outlets.

As featured in Communication Arts, The Creators Project, Motherboard and The Today Show among others, Elliot Kealoha Blanchard is an award-winning director, designer, and animator. His studio, ILN, focuses on unique motion design, interactive work and short films, working with clients like MTV, IBM, UNICEF, Vitamin Water, and GE.

“Style is what makes you different; it’s your own stamp, a message about yourself.” – Countess Jacqueline de Ribes.

The Costume Institute’s Fall 2015 exhibition, Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style, focuses on the internationally renowned style icon Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, whose originality and elegance established her as one of the most celebrated fashion personas of the 20th century.

Jacqueline de Ribes in Christian Dior, 1959. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Roloff Beny, Roloff Beny Estate

“A close study of de Ribes’s life of creative expression yields illuminating insights into her strategies of style,” said Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, who organized the exhibition. “Her approach to dress as a statement of individuality can be seen as a kind of performance art. When she established her own fashion house, her friend Yves Saint Laurent gave his blessing to the venture as a welcome projection of her elegance.”

The press preview for Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style, was a somber affair. The guest of honor and the exhibition’s subject, Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, was not in attendance for obvious reasons. The Costume Institute released the following statement:

“Following the tragic events in Paris, Jacqueline de Ribes has canceled her trip to New York for the opening of Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. She would like to express her gratitude to all her friends at the Met with whom she has collaborated for so many months, and hopes that they will understand her decision.

Comtesse de Ribes also knows how much Americans share the deep sadness felt in France, which confirms the enduring bond between the two countries. She hopes the exhibition will represent the joy associated with the freedom of creation.”

Jacqueline de Ribes in her own design, 1983
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Victor Skrebneski, Skrebneski
Photograph © 1983

As reported by Vanessa Friedman of The New York Times, the planned dinner on Wednesday, hosted by the House of Dior, in honor of the exhibition was downgraded to a cocktail reception in business dress.

While I was looking forward to seeing the Countess in person (having read so much about her in magazines and newspapers since the early 1980’s), I must also say that, even without her there, the exhibition fully represented her far-reaching talents, self-assuredness and strong belief in her own sense of what works for her and how her public life (and charitable works) changed the world around her. In a time when “style icons” are anointed based on the work of their Svengali-like stylists who tell them what to wear (usually obscenely expensive designer dresses borrowed for the night, including the jewelery AND the shoes), where to wear them (most often than not to red-carpet events) and how to wear them, the Countess is the REAL DEAL. Most everyone else is a pale imitation.

Jacqueline de Ribes, 1955, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Richard Avedon,
©The Richard Avedon Foundation

“Elegance. It’s an attitude. A frame of mind. An intuition, a refusal, a rigor, a research, a knowledge. The attitude of elegance is also a way of behaving.”

Countess Jacqueline de Ribes (born 1929 in Paris to aristocratic parents) is seen by many as the ultimate personification of Parisian elegance. She was, with the American and Italian beauties Gloria Vanderbilt and Marella Agnelli, among the small flock of “Swans” photographed by Richard Avedon and written about by Truman Capote in 1959.

Married at age 19 to the late Édouard, Vicomte de Ribes (he became the Count de Ribes upon the death of his father in 1981), the traditions of her in-laws precluded her from becoming a career woman. However, as an independent spirit, she channeled her creativity into a series of ventures linked by fashion, theater, and style. In 1956, de Ribes was nominated for Eleanor Lambert’s Best-Dressed List. At the time, she had only a handful of couture dresses, as most of her wardrobe was comprised of her own designs, which she made herself or with a dressmaker. Four more nominations followed, and resulted in her induction into the International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1962.

Jacqueline de Ribes in her own design, 1986
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Francesco
Scavullo, The Francesco Scavullo Foundation and The Estate of Francesco
Scavullo

“When I was a small child, there were two women I admired. One was a friend of my mother’s who was an ambassadress. The other was Coco Chanel. It seems I always wanted to be a designer.”

Photographed by the world’s leading talents including Slim Aarons, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Cecil Beaton, Robert Doisneau, Horst, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Irving Penn, Francesco Scavullo, Victor Skrebneski, and Juergen Teller, her image came to define an effortless elegance and a sophisticated glamour, something you cannot say about so many of the women today that defines the term, “modern style icons.” As Carolina Herrera recently remarked in a newspaper interview (and I am paraphrasing here), “How can someone be a style icon when they are not wearing any clothes?” in reference to the trio of music and Hollywood stars who attended the recent Met Ball in “dresses” that left almost nothing to the imagination. And Mrs. Herrera is right. If you want to see what a TRUE style icon is, run, don’t walk, to The Met to see Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style.”

“You must remember that you’re never going to be sexy for everyone. You are sexy for someone and for someone else you are not. Being totally nude is not sexy. The art of being sexy is to suggest. To let people have fantasy.”

Gallery View, Evening Wear
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The thematic exhibition features approximately 60 ensembles of haute couture and ready-to-wear primarily from de Ribes’s personal archive, dating from 1962 to the present. Also included are her creations for fancy dress balls, which she often made by cutting up and cannibalizing her haute couture gowns to create unexpected, thematic, and conceptually nuanced expressions of her aesthetic. These, along with photographs, video, and ephemera, tell the story of how her interest in fashion developed over decades, from childhood “dress-up” to the epitome of international style.

A muse to haute couture designers, they placed at her disposal their drapers, cutters, and fitters in acknowledgment of their esteem for her taste and originality. Ultimately, she used this talent and experience to create her own successful design business, which she directed from 1982 to 1995.

Gallery View, Evening Wear
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“My mirror, my only truthful advisor.”

While the exhibition explores her taste and style methodology, extensive documentation from her personal archives illustrates the range and depth of her professional life, including her roles as theatrical impresario, television producer, interior designer, and director and organizer of international charity events.

Designers in the exhibition include Giorgio Armani, Pierre Balmain, Bill Blass, Marc Bohan for House of Dior, Roberto Cavalli, Jacqueline de Ribes, John Galliano, Madame Grès (Alix Barton), Valentino Garavani, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Norma Kamali, Guy Laroche, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, Fernando Sanchez for Révillon Frères, and Emanuel Ungaro.

Gallery View, Black and White for Night
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gallery View, Black and White for Night
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1999, Jean Paul Gaultier dedicated his haute couture collection to her with the title “Divine Jacqueline,” and in 2010, she received the Légion d’Honneur from then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy for her philanthropic and cultural contributions to France.

Gallery View, Flights of Fantasy
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style : Ensemble, autumn/winter 1962–63 haute couture, Suit of beige wool herringbone tweed; cape of beige wool herringbone tweed trimmed with lynx fur. Roberto Cavalli (Italian, b. 1940) Turtleneck, 1995, Black, brown, and cream printed silk- cashmere knit. Photo Credit: PDJ/www.fashionpluslifestyle.wordpress.com

Because I am a true fan and very much appreciate “classic” clothing (My #1 favorite New York Fashion Week collection was, and remains to this day, Michael Kors’ “Palm Bitch” collection), this exhibition spoke to me. I enjoyed seeing how she—a woman well before her time—paired “high” with “low”, how she didn’t allow her clothes to “wear” her. An excellent example of this is the pairing of a Pierre Balmain autumn/winter 1962–63 haute couture ensemble (suit of beige wool herringbone tweed; cape of beige wool herringbone tweed trimmed with lynx fur) with a (ready-to-wear) Black, brown, and cream printed silk- cashmere knit turtleneck from Roberto Cavalli from 1995. She also paired Banana Republic with Yves Saint Laurent autumn/winter 1969–70 haute couture.

“The Pierre Balmain ensemble still reflects the postwar femininity of the elegant woman who likes fur even with the tweed. The outfit has nothing really sporty about it, but it has a kind of Hollywood glamour which had reached Paris by that time,” said Countess de Ribes

De Ribes is well known as an early advocate of mixing up her couture runway looks. For example, she was emphatic in rejecting the styling of a traditional loden cloth coat with another earlier garment, a culotte suit by Christian Dior. “Impossible!” she declared when she saw the conventional coordination done by her staff, later explaining that she ultimately “wore it [the culotte suit] with a Portuguese peasant’s cape.” This ensemble from the mid-1960s, however, is something of an exception to her approach to styling. Only the incorporation of her own sweater, stockings, and other accessories personalize the effect of an outfit essentially worn as the designer, Balmain, intended.

Gallery View, The Masked Ball
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Everywhere you looked, in every room, you saw the vision of a woman who really knew herself. You saw the marvelous end result, but not the effort that went into it. Everyone should take the time to visit The Met and see this exhibition. It’s an education.

“I totally disagree with Christian Dior, who once said that one could never look sexy and be elegant at the same time. It is just more difficult, that’s all.”

Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style is on view in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Anna Wintour Costume Center from November 19, 2015 through February 21, 2016. The exhibition’s catalog is available at The Met store. With text by Harold Koda; forward by Diane von Furstenberg; art direction by Jacqueline de Ribes; and photographs by Patricia Canino, this book catalogs the “eye” of one of the 20th century’s most photographed women of style through a selection of her couture collection, personal designs, fashion “collages,” and fancy dress costumes. Featuring striking photographs specially commissioned for this publication, it illustrates the tremendous sartorial creativity of a woman who has come to embody the notion of French elegance. The catalog is only found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Restored, Reinstalled, and Reimagined Museum Delivers a New Future for the Iconic Milwaukee Institution and a Visitor Experience to Match the New Space

The Milwaukee Art Museum, the largest visual art institution in Wisconsin and one of the oldest art museums in the nation, will reopen its Permanent Collection Galleries to the public on Tuesday, November 24. The reopening is the culmination of a 6-year, $34 million project to transform the visitor experience through dramatically enhanced exhibition and public spaces and bright, flowing galleries.

The renovated Milwaukee Art Museum on the shore of Lake Michigan is captured at sunrise. (PRNewsFoto/The Milwaukee Art Museum)

The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on the shore of Lake Michigan. Its campus includes the Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, annually showcasing three feature exhibitions, and the Eero Saarinen–designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center.

With a history dating back to 1888, The Museum’s Collection includes nearly 30,000 works from antiquity to the present, encompassing painting, drawing, sculpture, decorative arts, prints, video art and installations, and textiles. The Museum’s collections of American decorative arts, German Expressionist prints and paintings, 19th-century German painting and decorative arts, folk and Haitian art, and American art after 1960 are among the nation’s finest. It also holds one of the nation’s largest collections of paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe. Among its most famous works are Pablo Picasso’s The Cock of the Liberation and Gustave Caillebotte’s Boating on the Yerres.

“The new Milwaukee Art Museum is poised to set the standard for a twenty-first-century museum at the heart of a great city,” said Museum Director Daniel Keegan. “What began as a desire to preserve the space and Collection grew into a significant expansion that rejuvenates and sets the future course for the entire institution.”

The project is part of a historic public-private partnership with Milwaukee County, which owns the buildings and provided $10 million toward the renovation, with the remaining $24 million raised through the Museum’s Plan for the Future campaign. It’s the first major re-imagining of the Museum’s extensive Collection areas, including the Museum’s 1957 Eero Saarinen-designed War Memorial Center and 1975 David Kahler-designed addition.

While addressing critical infrastructure upgrades, the renovation creates an intuitive and welcoming visitor experience to showcase the Museum’s world-class Collection. The renovated Collection Galleries and new east entrance now span 150,000 square feet. Within this space, the Museum is installing 2,500 works of art—almost 1,000 more than have been on view at one time in the past—from its rich Collection of works.

“Pieces that haven’t been on view for decades are back again, alongside new acquisitions and old favorites,” said Keegan. “Add to that new public gathering spaces with breathtaking views. We simply can’t wait to share the new Museum with our community and visitors. This space is now worthy of the Collection their support has helped us build over our 125-year history.”

The expansion also allows for more comprehensive displays from the Museum collections—including the full story of American art from colonial times to the present day—and for experimental and rotating gallery spaces. The Museum will debut its first spaces devoted exclusively to 20th- and 21st-century design. In addition, the Bradley Family Gallery, a new changing exhibition space, doubles the Museum’s capacity for special exhibitions. The inaugural exhibition in this space is Sam Francis: Master Printmaker, opening November 24 and sponsored by Sendik’s Food Market.

As part of the opening the Museum will unveil the 10,000-square-foot Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts. Unparalleled in size and scope for a regional museum, this is the first time the Museum has dedicated significant permanent collection and gallery space to photography, video and light based media.

“The Milwaukee Art Museum was one of the first major museums to start collecting photography in the 1950s,” said Keegan. “The Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts continues the Museum’s tradition of leadership and establishes it as a national destination for this type of artwork.”

New spaces for families offer unique interactive experiences and hands-on activities. The Kohl’s Art Generation Gallery: Rubbish! allows kids to explore how artists have turned trash into treasure, and the Kohl’s Art Generation Lab is a space to learn about the art and culture of Haiti.

Other features and enhancements include: improved wayfinding, rewritten gallery labels and restrooms on every level; a new entrance along the Lake Michigan waterfront that connects the Museum to the popular pedestrian lakefront path; a coffee and wine bar with European style small plates; and glass walls offering panoramic views of both the lake and the Museum’s iconic Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion.

A series of special events leading up to and following the public opening on November 24 will commemorate the unveiling of the new Milwaukee Art Museum, including:

Tuesday, Nov. 24: Ribbon cutting and public grand opening (regular hours and admission apply; kids ages 12 and under are always free)

Thursday, Dec. 3: Visitors enjoy free admission on Meijer Free First Thursday (Museum open until 8 p.m.)

Sunday, Dec. 6: Kohl’s Community Free Day with interactive art activities, performances, music and more, including a community mural that will allow families to leave their mark on the renovated Museum (Join the Museum and get 50% off courtesy of Kohl’s)

Saturdays December through February: Sendik’s Shopper Saturday offering half off adult admission with a Sendik’s receipt

For more information, visit http://mam.org.

The Whitney Museum of American Art will like to give you a holiday gift. This holiday season, in addition to its regular Wednesday to Monday hours, the Whitney Museum of American Art will be open on Tuesday, December 29, from 10:30 am to 6 pm. The Museum will be closed on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, and open on New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1. Full schedule is as follows:

Thursday, December 24 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Friday, December 25 – Closed

Saturday, December 26 – 10:30 am–10 pm

Sunday, December 27 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Monday, December 28 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Tuesday, December 29 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Wednesday, December 30 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Thursday, December 31 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Friday, January 1, 2016 – 10:30 am–10 pm (pay-what-you-wish, 7–10 pm)

Saturday, January 2, 2016 – 10:30 am–10 pm

Sunday, January 3, 2016 – 10:30 am–6 pm

Monday, January 4, 2016 – 10:30 am–6 pm

CURRENT AND UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

The Whitney’s Collection – Ongoing****

Jared Madere – Through January 3, 2016

Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist – Through January 17, 2016*****

Frank Stella: A Retrospective – Through February 7, 2016*****

Rachel Rose: Everything and More – Through February 7, 2016****

Collected by Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner – Through March 6, 2016****

Laura Poitras: Astro Noise – February 5–May 1, 2016

Stuart Davis: In Full Swing – June 10–September 25, 2016

Sophia Al-Maria – Summer 2016

Carmen Herrera – Fall 2016

David Wojnarowicz – Fall 2016/Winter 2017

Whitney Biennial – Spring 2017

The Whitney Museum of American Art is located at 99 Gansevoort Street between Washington and West Streets, New York City. Museum hours are: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 10:30 am to 6 pm, Friday and Saturday from10:30 am to 10 pm, closed Tuesday. General admission: $22. Full-time students and visitors 65 & over: $18. Visitors under 18 and Whitney members: FREE. Admission is pay-what-you-wish on Fridays, 7–10 p.m. For general information, please call (212) 570-3600 or visit whitney.org.

**** – Very Much Worth Seeing

***** – HIGHLY Worth Seeing, A Don’t Miss

JAY ZUKERKORN, Contemplation, 2015, Archival pigment print, 20 x 20 in (Image courtesy of Waterhouse & Dodd.)

KIM KEEVER, Abstract 9848c, 2015C-print, 23 x 24 in (Image courtesy of Waterhouse & Dodd.)

Waterhouse & Dodd (960 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10021) will present an exhibition benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation, December 10, 2015 – January 9, 2016, which has supported the fight against Parkinson’s so dynamically since 2000 by raising over $450 million. A portion of all sales from the exhibition will contribute to the Foundation. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensure the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today. A portion of sales resulting from the exhibition will be donated to support research for the treatment and cure of Parkinson’s disease.

NICK VEASEY, Ferrari Daytona, 2014C- print, 23.5 x 65.5 in (Photo courtesy of Waterhouse& Dodd)

TOM SHANNON, Interview, 2009, Polymer paint on canvas, Each panel 48 x 48 in 48 x 100” (including 4” space) (Photo courtesy of Waterhouse& Dodd)

Paintings, drawings and photographs of 5 artists represented by Waterhouse & Dodd will be featured. Two of these artists – Tom Shannon and Jay Zukerkorn – have Parkinson’s.

Jay Zukerkorn was diagnosed in 2004. Born in Hawaii, Zukerkorn has been a successful commercial photographer for 25 years and Waterhouse & Dodd is the first gallery to showcase his fine art endeavors. Zukerkorn’s first series Movement Disorder began as a response to his initial diagnosis, as he accentuated his condition by deliberately blurring the images in bright, colorful beach scenes. In his new series, The Road I Am On, the photographs appear abstract, highlighting the contrast between dark pavements and bright, crackled paint. The series is another leg of his journey through artistic reinvention and rediscovery.

JAY ZUKERKORN, Path, 2015, Archival pigment print, 20 x 20 in (Photo courtesy of Waterhouse& Dodd)

JAY ZUKERKORN, Tide, 2015, Archival pigment print, 20 x 20 in (Photo courtesy of Waterhouse& Dodd)

KAREN GUNDERSON, On The Sea, 2015, Oil on linen, 24 x 24 in (Photo courtesy of Waterhouse& Dodd)

Tom Shannon is an internationally renowned artist, working in a variety of mediums since 1967. His work is in the collections of many museums including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris and The Tate Gallery, London. His famous ‘Ted Talk’ in 2009 was filmed in his New York studio when he created two of the works that will be exhibited in this show. Shannon’s art is inspired by science and is endlessly inventive. Shannon is an inventor, holding a number of patents, and his art is inspired by science and the forces of nature. The onset of Parkinson’s intersects in his life and craft. View his 2009 TED Talk, “The Painter and the Pendulum.”

Tom Shannon, Interview (2009), panel 1 of 2. Polymer paint on canvas. Each panel 48 x 48″ (48 x 100″ including 4″space). (PRNewsFoto/Waterhouse & Dodd)

Work by gallery artists Doug Argue, Karen Gunderson and Kim Keever will also be featured. Works in the exhibition are available for viewing online.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (107, Rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris) is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of its fashion collection with a fashion survey, Fashion Forward. Trois Siècles De Mode (1715-2015), April 7 to August 14, 2016. Not only is the museum responding to their public’s strongly expressed desire to at last be shown an all-embracing panorama of fashion history over several centuries; it will also be an opportunity to showcase the jewels and highlight the particularities of a national fashion and textiles collection curated in full dialogue with the other departments of a museum dedicated to all the decorative arts. The “Fashion Forward, Three Centuries of Fashion (1715-2015)” exhibition will bring together 300 items of men’s, women’s and children’s fashion from the 18th century to today, selected from the museum’s collections to provide a novel chronological overview.

The parent organization, Les Arts Décoratifs is a private organization governed by the law of 1901 on not-for-profit associations and recognized as being in the public interest. It originated in 1882, in the wake of the Universal Exhibitions, when a group of collectors banded together with the idea of promoting the applied arts and developing links between industry and culture, design and production. An original, multi-facetted institution, Les Arts Décoratifs pursues the objectives it was given at the outset: “to keep alive in France the culture of the arts which seek to make useful things beautiful” and to maintain close links with industry, forging numerous partnerships with firms operating in various fields.

1. Comme des Garçons, Dress, Ready-to-Wear Collection, Spring/Summer 2015. © Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris / photo : Jean Tholance

For many years it was known as the Union centrale des Arts décoratifs (UCAD), but in December 2004 it changed its name to Les Arts Decoratifs while staying true to its original aims of safeguarding the collections, promoting culture, providing art education and professional training, and supporting design.

The Arts Décoratifs are divided between three major sites in Paris:

• at 107 rue de Rivoli, the Rohan and Marsan wings of the Louvre house the Musée des Arts décoratifs and the Library des Arts Décoratifs

• at 63 rue de Monceau, the Musée Nissim de Camondo is installed in the Hôtel Camondo

• and 266 boulevard Raspail has been the home of the Ecole Camondo, a school of design and interior architecture, since 1988 (so-called because it was formerly in the outbuildings of the Hôtel Camondo).

The art and craft workshops known as the Ateliers du Carrousel operate on all three sites.

The Arts Décoratifs fashion collection now comprises more than 150,000 works, ranging from ancient textiles to haute couture creations and emblematic silhouettes of ready-to-wear fashion, but also including accessories, major collections of drawings and photographs, and the archives of iconic creators such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Madeleine Vionnet and Cristobal Balenciaga.

Elsa Schiaparelli, Mantle of the Evening, Haute Couture fall/winter 1938-1939 of woolen cloth, pocket velvet Embroidered silk. UFAC Collection. © Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris / photo : Jean Tholance

To mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Musée des Arts de la Mode, founded in 1986 on the initiative of Pierre Bergé and the French textile industry with the support of Jack Lang, then culture minister, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is paying tribute to this collective adventure and great ‟fashion moment”. The ‟Fashion Forward, Three Centuries of Fashion” exhibition, casts a new spotlight on one of the richest collections in the world, freed from its display cases in the Fashion galleries to be shown for the first time in the museum’s Nave.

The three hundred pieces, selected from a collection constantly enriched by donations and acquisitions, will take you on a journey through time, highlighting the key moments in fashion history from the very late 17th century to the most contemporary creation. Freeing itself from the dictates of the conservation of works and the stringent conditions of their display, the exhibition is conceived as an ideal museum of fashion, featuring the finest examples of three centuries of creation habitually illustrated in reference books. It also provides a fascinating new insight into fashion’s evolution via its designers, clients and periods, because now more than ever at Les Arts Décoratifs, fashion is treated as an artistic field that has wide-ranging echoes in the museum’s other collections. Fashion is not only a history of evolving techniques, materials and designs but also a history of changing times and attitudes, a reflection of the art of living. Fashion is even more fascinating when it is not self-generating but dialogues with the arts of its time, as did great figures of Couture such as Charles-Frederick Worth, Jacques Doucet, Paul Poiret, Jeanne Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet, Gabrielle Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.

Gabrielle Chanel, evening gown, 1925 Crepe and silk taffeta with embroidery. UFAC Collection © Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris / photo : Jean Tholance

In a completely novel manner, the exhibition recreates each of these ‟fashion moments” in its human, artistic and social context, via ellipses illustrating fashion’s constant elective affinities with the decorative arts. Eighteenth-century wood paneling, scenic wallpapers by Zuber, Paul Iribe’s drawings for the ‟Robes de Paul Poiret”, and the straw marquetry doors created by Jean-Michel Frank for the writer François Mauriac, provide perfect settings for fashion’s stylistic expressions and the metamorphoses of the body and style from the 18th century. The exhibition culminates in the effervescence and singular eclecticism of the global contemporary fashion scene, in which the names of the most original creators are now associated with the most ancient fashion houses.

Paul Poiret, dress ” Josephine “, 1907, Satin, tulle and silk. UFAC Collection © Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris / photo : Jean Tholance

Because the entire history of fashion is also a history of the body and style, the exhibition’s artistic direction was entrusted to the British dancer and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, formerly one of the stars of the New York City Ballet and winner of a Tony award for his stage adaptation of An American in Paris in 2014, based on the film by Vicente Minelli. In collaboration with the scenographer Jérôme Kaplan and assisted by Isabelle Vartan, Wheeldon has succeeded in giving the collection a sensual, poetic dimension, breathing new life into these illustrious creations by transforming every stage of the exhibition into a world in itself. Each of these moments is enhanced by a unique collaboration with the dancers of the Opéra de Paris, in which a choreography gracefully casts new light on a silhouette, posture or attitude characteristic of this social and artistic evolution of the body.

Visit, 1870-1890 Cashmere wool and silk, application of fringes of silk soutaches and tasselled. UFAC Collection © Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris / photo : Jean Tholance

“Fashion Forward, Three Centuries of Fashion (1715-2015)” is organized by Pamela Golbin, Chief Curator of Fashion and Textiles, 1940 to the Present, with assistance from Denis Bruna, Curator, previous to the 19th century Fashion and Textile collections; Marie-Sophie Carron de la Carrière, Curator in chief, Fashion and Textiles, 1800-1939 and with the cooperation of Curators from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Operating Hours:
Musée des Arts décoratifs:
• Tuesdays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• It is open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays.
• Closed on Mondays.

• In 2016, from January 4^th to February 17^th and from September 18^th to October 18^th, the Museum will close at 6 p.m. everyday. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

63, RUE DE MONCEAU – 75008 PARIS
Musée Nissim de Camondo:
• Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 am to 5:30 p.m.
• Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Following the terror attacks in Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015 and to ensure the safety of visitors, the museum is strictly applying the security measures decided by the french authorities. The museum is fully opened but luggages and big items are not allowed. Please accept their apologies for the inconvenience and delay which may be caused by the extra security checks at the entrance.

Adam D. Weinberg, the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, announced today that a generous gift has been made by The Donald and Barbara Zucker Family Foundation to sponsor the Museum’s weekly Pay-What-You-Wish admission hours on Friday evenings from 7 to 10 pm.

“This is an immensely significant gift to the Whitney and above all for the public good,” said Mr. Weinberg. “Pay-What-You-Wish admission on Friday evenings enables a wider range of audiences to visit the Museum and experience all that the Whitney offers, especially those who might not be able to afford to visit otherwise. These hours are also extremely popular with a younger segment of our audience, including artists and neighbors, and are an especially important aspect of our commitment to broaden accessibility. I so admire and am deeply touched by the Zuckers’ social conscience and great generosity. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our Pay-What-You-Wish Fridays, on behalf of the thousands upon thousands of people who will use this opportunity to visit the Whitney.”

Barbara Hrbek Zucker has been a long-time philanthropic champion in the areas of mental health, animal welfare, conservation, education, and the arts. Mrs. Zucker has served as a trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society, on the board of the Animal Rescue Fund in East Hampton, and as a trustee of the North Shore–LIJ Health System. She was honored as Woman of the Year for her support of the Angel Guardian Home in Brooklyn and received the Veritas Award from the Dominican Sisters of Amityville. Most recently, Mrs. Zucker has been named chair of the board of directors of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

Donald Zucker is chief executive of the Donald Zucker Company and Manhattan Skyline, a leading residential developer. He was born in New York City and raised in Brooklyn, where he attended public school. Mr. Zucker has been active in the New York City business community and governmental affairs throughout his working career. He is an active member of the executive committee of North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, has served as president of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, and is an avid collector of art.

“This gift ensures that the Whitney can continue to be an educational and cultural resource for all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay for an admission ticket,” said Kathryn Potts, Associate Director and Helena Rubinstein Chair of Education at the Whitney. “Our Pay-What-You-Wish hours open up the Museum to new visitors and over time will help the Whitney to build an audience that is as diverse as New York City itself. We are deeply grateful to The Donald and Barbara Zucker Family Foundation for its magnanimous and meaningful sponsorship of this essential program.”

Returning to the Whitney Museum of American Art on New Year’s Eve, Matana Roberts will present a one-time performance of red, white and blue(s), a sound quilt of sorts. Robert’s score, which was composed in response to the Whitney’s new building as well as works from its collection, will be performed by the New Year’s Eve Back Room 12tet, an ensemble created particularly for this one-evening-only event. The members of The New Year’s Eve Back Room 12tet are Matana Roberts, alto saxophone, composition, and electronics; Stuart Bogie, clarinet; Jeff Tobias, alto saxophone; Peter Evans, trumpet; Steve Swell, trombone; Mazz Swift, violin; Daniel Levin, cello; Jessica Pavone, viola; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Gabriel Guerrero, piano; Me’Shell NdegéOcello, bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums; and Helado Negro, wordspeak and electronics. Special guest DJ Rupture will also perform.

Matana Roberts Presents Red, White And Blue(S), A Sound Quilt Of Sorts, Featuring Her New Year’s Eve Back Room 12TET

Over the past decade, Roberts has emerged as one of the most innovative cross-disciplinary sound artists of her generation. A dynamic saxophonist, composer, improviser, and mixed media sound conceptualist, her acclaimed artistic practice aims to expose the mystical roots and the intuitive spirit-raising traditions of American creative expression in her music and art. Her innovative work has forged new conceptual approaches to considering narrativity, history, and political expression within improvisatory structures.

For the December 31 performance, Roberts will also draw inspiration from the life and work of Archibald Motley, whose work is currently on view in Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist through January 17, 2016.

Over the last year Roberts has performed throughout the Whitney’s new building in a series of site-specific engagements, including a roving hard-hat concert through the Museum while it was still under construction, an incantation to inaugurate the building’s opening, a live improvisation which engaged Eva Hesse‘s No Title (1969), a daylong improvisational happening, and a week-long open studio residency in the theater. red, white and blue(s) marks the culmination of this series of performances coalescing into a complex, thoughtful and celebratory consideration of contemporary American art and music.

The event runs from 9 pm to 1 am, doors close at 10:30 pm. Tickets, which are available on www.whitney.org, are $50 ($45 for members, students, and seniors). Festive attire is recommended.