Return to Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Lee Ortega, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: 305.673.7530 ext. 9-2001
E-mail: lortega@bassmuseum.org

MIAMI BEACH, FL - (March 15, 2009) – This exhibition brings historical works from the Bass Museum of Art together with contemporary works borrowed from renowned local and national collections to create a dialogue between the past and present. Included in the exhibition are works by 17th, 18th, and 19th century masters such as Delacroix, Rubens, Goya, Rigaud and Hoppner, engaged with contemporary artists that include, among others, Pieter Hugo, Joseph Beuys, Martin Puryear, Wim Delvoye, Charles Ledray, Byron Kim, Jonathan Monk and Eve Sussman.

As an example, the expression of power in the historical portrait continues in the contemporary work of Pieter Hugo whose images echo the composition of earlier masters Hyacinthe Rigaud and John Hoppner. Rigaud’s fabulous portrait of the Earl of Portland and Hoppner’s portrayal of the lithe Concannon are highly formulaic, but so is Hugo’s portrait of Abdullahi Mohammed, posing with his hyena. All three are men of power, depicted fearless, confident, baroque in their swagger. Hugo’s other portraits nuance this understanding of the portrait, where uniform (justice, scout) indicates status and identity in no less potent a way than the powerful men of state and church in the High Renaissance and Baroque.

The Endless Renaissance is an exhibition that, on one hand, looks at how contemporary artists continue to quote and invoke the work of earlier artwork, and on the other hand, shows how the way that we experience the art of the past is anything but stable or predictable. Every time we look at a work of art, it becomes contemporary.

Artists:

Joseph Beuys, Joe Coleman, Gregory Crewdson, Eugène Delacroix, Thierry Delva, Wim Delvoye, Nicole Eisenman, Peter Friedl, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, John Hoppner, Pieter Hugo, Byron Kim. Charles LeDray, Sol LeWitt, Kelly Mark, Jonathan Monk, Martin Puryear, Sharron Quasius, Hyacinthe Rigaud, Bert Rodriguez, Peter Paul Reubens, Chemi Rosado Seijo ,Thomas Struth, Eve Sussman, Huang Yongping

Guest curator Steven Holmes has curated exhibitions for The Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Kunste-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, as well as exhibitions throughout the United States and the Caribbean. His projects have been reviewed in The New York Times, The New Yorker Magazine, Art in America, Art Forum, Art News, Tema Celeste, Flash Art International and Art New England. His most recent book, Festschrift, was published by Leo Press in 2008. Mr. Holmes holds a MFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and a MTS from Harvard.

The Endless Renaissance is on view to the public in the Gertrude Silverstone Muss Gallery from April 17 through October 4, 2009. The opening reception is Thursday, April 16, 2009.

Bass Museum of Art
2121 Park Avenue (in Collins Park), Miami Beach, Florida 33139 T: 305.673.7530
www.bassmuseum.org

Admission
$8 general admission/ $6 seniors students. Free for members and children under 6. Group discounts available.

Museum Hours and Docent Tours
Wednesday-Sunday 12-5pm. Docent tours by appointment. Free with museum admission. To schedule a group tour call 305.673.7530 x 9-1006.

Bass Museum Shop
An eclectic selection of art, architecture and photography books; folk art from around the world; one-of-a-kind decorative and gift items; jewelry by local and international artisans; postcards; and educational toys. Open during museum hours and selected special events.

WiFi Snack Bar@the Bass Museum Shop
A cheerful, cool relaxing spot in the Bass Museum Shop offering fresh coffee, tea and sweet treats during museum hours. Free WiFi.

Parking
Metered parking lot on site. Additional metered parking is available on perimeter streets.

The Bass Museum of Art is generously funded by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; with additional support provided by Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners; State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; and Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc.