Mark Bradford, a star in the contemporary art world, is known for making large-scale collages and installations from signage and salvaged materials, often taken from the streets of South Central Los Angeles where he lives. This installation featured four of his monumental works. Image: Visitors tour an installation of Mark Bradford’s work, including his mixed media work Red Painting, Soccer Ball Bag 4 and Potable Water with Trevor Schoonmaker, Chief Curator and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art.
Jason Rubell, one of today’s most important collectors, reconstructed his 1991 exhibition of his own collection that constituted his senior thesis project at Duke, at the former Duke University museum of Art. Images: Rubell gestures toward photographs by Thomas Ruff, including a portrait of Rubell as a student. A young visitor takes in Keith Haring’s works on paper.
Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters told the story of two Victorian-era sisters whose remarkable collection was financed by their brothers’ textile empire in North Carolina in the first half of the 20th century. The exhibition featured more than 50 masterpieces by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Pierre- Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Camille Pissarro and others.
Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters was organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, New York, and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
In Durham, the exhibition was presented in collaboration with the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. At the Nasher Museum of Art, lead foundation support was provided by the Crow Creek Foundation. Lead corporate support was provided by Wells Fargo. The media sponsor was NBC-17. Major support was provided by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, Marilyn Arthur, Trent Carmichael, Carol O’Brien Associates, Inc., Katherine Thorpe, Office of the President at Duke University, Office of the Provost at Duke University, Frances Rollins, Drs. Victor and Lenore Behar, Christie’s, and Thomas S. Kenan,
III. Additional generous support was provided by the Cemala Foundation, Stefanie and Douglas Kahn, Kelly Braddy Van Winkle and Lance Van Winkle, Graduate Liberal Studies at Duke University, Parker and Otis, Jo and Peter Baer, Pepper and Don Fluke, Mindy and Guy Solie, Carolyn Aaronson, Marcia Angle and Mark Trustin, Clinical Ambassador, Diane Evia-Lanevi and Ingemar Lanevi, Janet Holderness and William Transou, Caroline and Arthur Rogers, Angela O. Terry, Ruth Glesby Wagner, and Jewish Life at Duke. This exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Light Sensitive featured more than 100 photographs, from tiny daguerreotypes to large-scale contemporary color prints. The exhibition challenged the widespread notion of the photographic medium as a form of mere realism. The exhibition investigated the history of photography through the ways that artists can alter the medium with a wide variety of tools and techniques, such as manipulating light to magical effect; constructing images that seem to be, but are not, recordings of the real world; and pointedly emulating other media. The works came from leading public and private North Carolina collections. Gallery installation photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey was organized by Trevor Schoonmaker, chief curator and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher curator of contemporary Art.
Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey was made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Major support is provided by Marilyn M. Arthur, the Ford Foundation, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Katherine Thorpe, and Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. Additional generous support is provided by Duke University’s council for the Arts; gladstone gallery, New York; Victoria Miro gallery, London; the North carolina Arts council, a division of the Department of cultural Resources; Deborah DeMott; Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger; Kelly Braddy Van Winkle and Lance Van Winkle; graduate Liberal Studies at Duke University; Mindy and guy Solie; Richard Tigner; gail Belvett; Ann chanler and Andrew Schneman; Diane Evia-Lanevi and Ingemar Lanevi; and Angela O. Terry.
Images: Anchoring the entrance wall with tree roots made of packing blankets, the finished drawing is entitled Once upon a time she said, I’m not afraid and her enemies became afraid of her The End. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion. Visitors take in Wangechi Mutu’s first animated video, The End of eating Everything, which was commissioned by the Nasher Museum.