Miami Art Museum Presents Recent Acquisitions

Catherine Sullivan. Still from Triangle of Need, 2007. Multi-channel video installation. Collection of Miami Art Museum, gift of Ella Fontanals-Cisneros

March 13 - October 11, 2009

As it prepares to begin construction of its new headquarters on Biscayne Bay, Miami Art Museum highlights its growing collection of international contemporary art with “Recent Acquisitions,” a new exhibition on view from March 13 to October 11 of this year. These new additions, many of which are on view in Miami for the first time, bring an infusion of excitement and innovation to MAM’s collection.

Among the participating artists represented in “Recent Acquisitions” we can mention: Gene Davis, María Martínez Cañas, Susan Rothenberg, Catherine Sullivan, Richard Tuttle, Rachel Whiteread, Alexandre Arrechea, Will Barnet, Anna Maria Maiolino, Marc Swanson and Krzysztof Wodiczko, as well as Miami-based artists Michael Loveland and Cristina Lei Rodríguez, etc.

Of note among the exhibited artworks is Loose-Leaf Notebook Drawings (1980-82) by Richard Tuttle. This piece was donated to the MAM by Herbert and Dorothy Vogel. The artwork is composed of eight portfolios of the artist’s loose-leaf notebook drawings. These ethereal and poetic watercolors on lined notebook paper embody the experimental lyricism that characterizes the work of an artist whose significant influence has been felt from the 1960s to the present day. In 2008, Herbert and Dorothy Vogel collaborated with the National Gallery of Art to designate one museum in each of the 50 states to receive 50 works from their celebrated personal collection; Miami Art Museum was their choice for Florida. Additional selections from the Vogel gift will also be on view in “Recent Acquisitions,” and a future exhibition of the entire Vogel gift is planned.

Another piece which outstands among the curatorial proposal is Triangle of Need (2007) by Catherine Sullivan. It provides a completely immersive visual experience. Triangle of Need, Sullivan’s most ambitious work to date, revolves around disparities of wealth and poverty. The surreal narrative unfolds in two main locations: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami and an ordinary apartment in a generic American city.  An abridged version of Triangle of Need opened at Vizcaya during Art Basel Miami Beach 2007; MAM will present the work in its entirety — four video projections, three channels on monitors and a 16mm film. A gift to the museum from Ella Fontanals-Cisneros (who supported the commissioning of the work along with Vizcaya, Walker Art Center and the A Foundation), Triangle of Need joins another epic video work based partially in Miami, Doug Aitken’s sleepwalkers (Miami), in the Museum’s collection - along with videos by such artists as Cory Arcangel, Wangechi Mutu, Raymond Pettibon and Miguel Angel Rios.

MAM’s new home, with 200,000 square feet of programmable space, will be located in downtown Miami’s Museum Park and will include 32,000 square feet of galleries, allowing MAM to better serve its diverse audience with larger and more varied exhibitions. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron as an organic response to the site and the specific needs of the emerging Museum, the new building will also enable MAM to continue building its collection, which comprises an expanding selection of the most important and exciting contemporary art from around the world. The new Miami Art Museum is projected to open to the public in 2012.

www.miamiartmuseum.org