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When he was young, Mark Bradford worked in his mother's salon, referring to himself as a beauty operator. His early work often incorporated the tools of his trade, including singed permanent-wave endpapers, cellophane hair color, and human hair.
In this collage painting, Bradford overlaid translucent endpapers parallel to one another, their burned edges forming an imperfect, all-over grid. The tangible mediums and delicate colors create a sense of intimacy and even nostalgia. However, its burnt materials and the compulsive, labor-intensive process can also appear threatening; reminders of a culturally mandated beauty regime.
Even though the composition is abstract, the materials evoke the social and political significance of hair styling—especially hair straightening—in the Black community.
Learn more about the artist: gu.gg/3lheG1x
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Pictured: Mark Bradford, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," 2001. © Mark Bradford.
Disillusioned with Parisian artists' café society and the oppressive gloom of the urban winter, Vincent van Gogh left Paris in mid-February 1888 to find rejuvenation in the healthy atmosphere of sun-drenched Arles.
However, when he stepped off the train in the southern city, he was confronted with a snowy landscape from a record cold spell. ❄️
Undaunted, Van Gogh painted this work around February 24 when the snow had mostly melted.
Learn more about "Landscape with Snow": gu.gg/3JHsVpG
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Pictured: Vincent van Gogh, "Landscape with Snow," 1888.
Since 1969, Barbara Kruger has used mass media with pithy slogans in a subversive attack on the ways in which self-identity, desire, and public opinion are manipulated and perpetuated. Her presentations play on clichés and cultural stereotypes to underscore and undermine the persuasive power of representation.
"Untitled (Money money money)" is one all-encompassing reminder of a dominant source of power in 2011 amid a climate of economic recession yet record corporate (and art-market) profits.
Kruger's "Untitled (Money money money) was on view in our exhibition "Now's the Time: Recent Acquisitions" in 2012. Learn more about Barbara Kruger: gu.gg/41JLGzT
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Pictured: Barbara Kruger, "Untitled (Money money money)," 2011. © Barbara Kruger
Don't miss "Nick Cave: Forothermore" on view through April 10.
Plan your visit: gu.gg/3wHO5wX
Lynda Benglis was first recognized in the late sixties with her poured latex and foam works. Her work created a perfectly timed counter to the male-dominated fusion of painting and sculpture with the advent of Process Art and Minimalism.
Benglis focused on the physicality of form and how it affects the viewer, using a wide range of materials to render impressions of mass and surface: soft becomes hard, hard becomes soft.
Her work was on view in our "Knotted, Torn, Scattered: Sculpture after Abstract Expressionism" exhibition in 2020.
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Pictured: Lynda Benglis, "Juliet," 1974. Photo: David Heald
TGIF! We are loving this beautiful sketch by architect Joseph Piscitelli.
"I am a Registered Landscape Architect and run the NY Landscape Architecture Studio for Harrison Design. Every month the firm hosts a 15-minute sketchbook challenge where the entire firm has the opportunity to practice and showcase the art of sketching."
Have you visited our "Nick Cave: Forothermore" exhibition yet?
Check out the show while our ramps are closed, with tickets discounted to $16 ($12 for students)—and receive a discount when you come back starting March 31!
Plan your visit: gu.gg/2IAc2za
📷: Carla Shen
In 2022 the Guggenheim acquired over 60 works by more than 40 artists and we're excited to have them as part of the collection!
"These acquisitions reflect our dedication and responsibility to represent transnational narratives and celebrate the diverse breadth of historic and contemporary art practices. Our goal is to continue the transformative work which shapes the future of the Guggenheim’s collection, exhibitions, and programming." —Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator
The museum was largely supported by several collecting councils, including the Asian Art Circle, International Director’s Council, Latin American Circle, Middle Eastern Circle, Photography Council, and Young Collectors Council Acquisitions Committee, to ensure selections embraced a range of geographies, disciplines, timelines, and cultural backgrounds.
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Pictured: Cecilia Vicuña, "Quipu del Exterminio / Extermination Quipu," 2022
The Guggenheim's first director was the artist Baroness Hilla Rebay von Ehrenwiesen, also known as Hilla Rebay.
For Rebay, art, spirituality, and public art education were instrumental to the creation of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum.
First named The Museum of Non-Objective Painting, she envisioned a "museum-temple" where viewers could commune with abstract art.
The museum opened in 1939 in temporary quarters on East 54th Street. Incense filled the air in the new gallery, as did music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig von Beethoven.
On International Women's Day, learn more about the museum's first director, Hilla Rebay: gu.gg/2FPLW5O
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Pictured: Hilla Rebay with one of her collages, ca. 1928. Hilla von Rebay Foundation Archive
“Every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture.” —Piet Mondrian
Happy birthday to Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan, Jr., also known as Piet Mondrian, born on this day in Amersfoort, Netherlands.
Learn more about the artist: gu.gg/3Zimxe0
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Pictured: Piet Mondrian, "Composition," 1929. © 2023 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust.
Saturday, March 11, 7:30 pm ET
Works & Process at the Guggenheim: ARRAY’s LEAP: The Reckoning by Francesca Harper
Both a film and a live performance, don't miss "The Reckoning," choreographer and director Francesca Harper’s response to the 2010 killing of seven-year-old Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones at the hands of Detroit law enforcement.
Presented in conjunction with our exhibition "Nick Cave: Forothermore."
Learn more and get tickets: gu.gg/3mjGC4V
Sunday Reading—The New Yorker's spring art preview, including our upcoming "Sarah Sze: Timelapse" (opening March 31).
"The special design of the Guggenheim makes it possible for it stand out or blend in with its environment. It radiates dynamism while at the same time it emanates tremendous peace. It’s a masterpiece!" —Meral Aran
We're proud to announce that "Mind’s Eye: A Sensory Guide to the Guggenheim New York" has been recognized in the 2nd Annual The Anthem Awards as a Bronze Winner in the Education, Art & Culture - Podcast or Audio category!
The guide consists of ten audio tracks, each of which describes one sensory aspect of the space—such as sound, touch, and light—creating a rich aural and physical experience: a new and quietly revolutionary way to explore the Guggenheim.
Designed for our blind and low-vision communities, listen to Mind's Eye on the Guggenheim Digital Guide, available for free on the Bloomberg Connects app. Mind’s Eye is made possible by Ornellaia.
Listen online: gu.gg/3kiQ4zN
Two trailblazing female artists are coming to the Guggenheim March 31!
Sarah Sze: Timelapse
Featuring a series of site-specific installations from the acclaimed New York-based artist, this exhibition unravels a trail of discovery through multiple spaces of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Building.
Gego: Measuring Infinity
A major retrospective devoted to the work of this German-Venezuelan artist will be presented across five ramps of the museum's rotunda featuring approximately 200 artworks.
Plan your visit: gu.gg/2IAc2za
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Pictured: Gego installing Reticulárea, Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas, 1969. Photo: Juan Santana © Fundación Gego; Work in progress by Sarah Sze, 2022. © Sarah Sze. Photo: Courtesy Sarah Sze Studio.
Happy birthday to Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry!
The buildings of the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi represent magnificent examples of the most groundbreaking 20th-century architecture.
Have you visited any Frank Gehry-designed buildings?
Pictured (top to bottom): Guggenheim Bilbao; Rendering of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP
