New Works for the Collection
Sunday, May 23, 2010 - Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Blanton is pleased to present New Works for the Collection, a summer exhibition highlighting more than sixty new acquisitions from among the hundreds of works recently acquired through gift and purchase. Strengthening key areas in The Blanton’s collection and offering fresh opportunities for learning, this selection includes a number of landmarks in the history of printmaking, European drawings that deepen the rich holdings of the Suida-Manning Collection, paintings by a master of modern Latin American art, and an exciting range of contemporary painting, sculpture, video and new media from artists based in Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, England, Canada and the United States, including Austin.
An engraving after Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment by Giorgio Ghisi is among several prints in the exhibition that reproduce works by Michelangelo. The composition is on such a large scale––printed from ten separate copper plates––that, in the 16th century, the work became a monument in its own right. This complete and uniform impression of Ghisi’s masterpiece is the only example recorded in an American public collection.
The Blanton’s noted collection of Latin American art has gained several historically important new works, including two intimate and rare tempera paintings by Juan Batlle Planas and an innovative articulated bronze sculpture by Gyula Kosice, both Argentinean modernists working in the mid-20th century.
International contemporary works across many mediums address a variety of current art topics including political critique, dystopian narratives, and the construction of identity. Addressing the latter issue, an impressive self-portrait by artist Mequitta Ahuja and esteemed artist and educator Charles Gaines’ thought-provoking video collaboration with Hoyun Son each offer poignant interpretations of contemporary life in the United States.
An engraving after Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment by Giorgio Ghisi is among several prints in the exhibition that reproduce works by Michelangelo. The composition is on such a large scale––printed from ten separate copper plates––that, in the 16th century, the work became a monument in its own right. This complete and uniform impression of Ghisi’s masterpiece is the only example recorded in an American public collection.
The Blanton’s noted collection of Latin American art has gained several historically important new works, including two intimate and rare tempera paintings by Juan Batlle Planas and an innovative articulated bronze sculpture by Gyula Kosice, both Argentinean modernists working in the mid-20th century.
International contemporary works across many mediums address a variety of current art topics including political critique, dystopian narratives, and the construction of identity. Addressing the latter issue, an impressive self-portrait by artist Mequitta Ahuja and esteemed artist and educator Charles Gaines’ thought-provoking video collaboration with Hoyun Son each offer poignant interpretations of contemporary life in the United States.