Chrysler Museum Shakes Up Contemporary Collection

NORFOLK, Va. (August 2012) – The Chrysler Museum of Art opens a reinstallation of its modern and contemporary art collection with Remix Redux on August 15.  The exhibition will remain on view until December 30, and admission is free.  

The Chrysler continues to shake up the –isms of art history with this new exhibition of contemporary art. The threads between society, culture, and the visual arts are presented through a selection of works from the Chrysler vaults. This exhibition mixes contemporary classics with new acquisitions, and is grouped thematically. Visitors can follow the common chords of materials, portraits and figures—even the spaces found in nature—as they travel through a diverse range of artists and artworks. The exhibition is organized by Amy Brandt, Amy Brandt, Ph.D., the Chrysler’s McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

The Space of Nature
Works in this gallery evoke the sense of being enveloped within nature. Using a wide range of mediums, the artists represented here realistically or symbolically convey the dynamic transformation and evolution of the natural world. This gallery includes works by Jennifer Steinkamp, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Lee Krasner, Milton Avery, Lester Johnson, Anne Savedge, and George Morrison. A uniting theme is movement, as seen in Milton Resnick’s 1959 oil-on-canvas painting The Hunter. Once described as “Monet for the nuclear age,” Resnick’s work relays at once the quick rush of a hunter through a forest and the pounding heartbeat of the hunted.
 
Materiality
This grouping of works draws attention to the physical properties of the artist’s chosen materials, whether they are soaked, stained and paint-dripped canvases or menacing shards of glass. Works such as Larry Poons’ monumental twenty-one foot painting, Needles, 1972, literally and metaphorically asks you to think about the process of creation. In Gamma Lambda, 1960, Morris Louis created a lyrical, powerful composition not by moving a brush, but by tilting, pleating and moving the canvas.
 
New Acquisitions
A selection of recent gifts from Renee and Paul Mansheim, longtime Norfolk residents and friends of the Museum, offer compelling reflections of contemporary society. Two works by the collaborative team, Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry, reflect on moments in African-American history. Also included are a playful video by Liliana Porter and important works by Andy Goldsworthy and William Kentridge.

See Me
These selections explore the ways in which artists depict themselves and others. Alex Katz and Barkley Hendricks pushed artistic boundaries with their cool and straightforward style of portraiture. In their powerful and haunting paintings, Bob Thompson and A. B. Jackson ruminate on the estrangement and daily struggles of African-Americans in our society. Elizabeth Catlett’s sculpture, Ife, testifies to her skill and reputation as one of the greatest figurative sculptors of the 20th century.

The Museum is located at 245 West Olney Road in Norfolk, and the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio is located across the street. Both are open Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays, noon-5 p.m. The Chrysler and the Glass Studio are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, as well as major holidays. Admission to the Museum’s collection and Studio’s glassblowing demonstrations are free. For exhibitions, programming and special events, visit chrysler.org or call 757-664-6200.

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