Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

09/12/2024

Just a few weeks left to see "Jenny Holzer: Light Line"! Plan your visit: https://gu.gg/47PQKFz

09/11/2024

On the anniversary of September 11, we reflect on composer Arvo Pärt and architectural firm Snøhetta's tribute, "To a Great City," presented at 7 World Trade Center as part of our 2011 "stillspotting nyc" project. This initiative allowed visitors to experience the confluence of music and architecture across five locations in Lower Manhattan, creating a quiet celebration of the city's spirit.

Moving through “stillspots” around the periphery of Ground Zero, participants encountered a green labyrinth designed by the Battery Conservancy, a mirrored underground chamber at Governors Island National Monument, and entered otherwise inaccessible spaces in iconic skyscrapers.

The stillness and seclusion of these spaces heightened awareness, recalibrating the senses. As listeners were drawn into the experience, they became increasingly attuned, moving toward a state of focus and tranquility.
___
Photo: Kristopher McKay

09/10/2024

The term "Arte Povera" was first used by Italian art critic Germano Celant in the late 1960s to describe a broad range of art by international artists. Today, it mainly refers to Italian art from that period.

Celant connected this style to “poor” forms of expression, like street theater, which challenged the art world’s elitism. "Poor" also refers to the simple, often temporary materials used and the anti-institutional spirit of the movement. Arte Povera blends organic and industrial materials to explore the tension between the natural and the man-made.

Artists in the movement focused on the connections between life and art, and between seeing and thinking.

See the art that came out of the Arte Povera movement on view in"By Way Of: Material and Motion in the Guggenheim Collection."
___
[1] Mario Merz, "ACCELERATION = DREAM, FIBONACCI NUMBERS IN NEON AND MOTORCYCLE PHANTOM," 1972 (1989 refabrication).

[2] Jannis Kounellis, "Untitled," 1993.

09/09/2024

In the series "Unbranded: Reflections in Black by Corporate America" (2005–08), Hank Willis Thomas took 82 commercial advertisements and removed the logos and text to "unbrand" them, exposing the powerful imagery underneath.

These ads, originally created to appeal to a growing African American middle class, span from 1968 to 2008 and reveal changing corporate strategies and stereotypes about Black culture.

Thomas's edits highlight how Black culture has often been simplified and distorted in corporate advertising.
___
📷: Hank Willis Thomas, "Farewell Uncle Tom," 1971/2007; "Bleach and Glow," 1975/2008; "Something to Believe In," 1984/2007. © Hank Willis Thomas.

09/06/2024

Joseph Cornell was captivated by Victorian-era ballerinas, actresses, and opera divas, collecting photographs, newspaper clippings, and mementos. These treasures became source material for his iconic three-dimensional box constructions and collages.

In “La Duse,” Cornell features Italian stage actress Eleonora Duse, using 19th-century photography that he mounted and manipulated to enhance its aged appearance.

Pictured: Joseph Cornell, "La Duse," ca. 1967. © The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

09/05/2024

Kevin Beasley's "Strange Fruit (Pair 1)" (2015) blends sculpture and sound to explore cultural connotations and historical memory.

Using objects like Nike Air Jordans paired with microphones, the work absorbs and amplifies ambient noise, creating an intimate sonic dialogue within the museum.

The title recalls the history of lynching in the American South, evoking a layered reflection on race, class, and communication in the U.S.

This work is on view in "By Way Of: Material and Motion in the Guggenheim Collection".

09/04/2024

Georges Braque's "Landscape near Antwerp" (1906) captures the energy of the bustling port city with vibrant colors and dynamic brushwork. Painted on the dunes of Antwerp’s left bank, the canvas showcases vibrant hues and bold patterns inspired by his encounters with Henri Matisse and André Derain at the 1906 Salon des Indépendants in Paris.

Braque's experimentation with color and form in this piece reflects the influence of the Fauvism movement and his interest in Paul Cézanne’s technique of painting and drawing simultaneously.

This painting is now on view in our Thannhauser gallery.

Learn more: https://gu.gg/47fEAGq

08/30/2024

"I find the entire building fascinating; the curvature and light change on the façade from the outside, and as you ascend to the different floors, they form circles on the inside.

It is a masterpiece that changes every minute, every season, and brightens the vision. One of my favorite buildings in the world, it is a piece of art itself." —Illustrator Catalina Rodríguez Villazón

08/29/2024

Jim Dine emerged in the early 1960s as part of a group of artists who pushed the limits of art by using everyday objects in new ways. One of the recurring images in his work is a headless Venus de Milo, which he first explored in 1982 by altering a small plaster replica of the statue. He enlarged it, cast it in bronze, and created "Venus in Black and Gray" (1983), beginning a series of sculptures focused on this theme.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's "Three Red Spanish Venuses" (1997) is the largest and most ambitious work in this series.

08/27/2024

"I dedicated myself to my collection. I made it my life's work. I am not an art collector. I am a museum." —Peggy Guggenheim

Happy birthday to the fabulous, brilliant, iconic Peggy Guggenheim! ✨🎂

Learn more about the visionary patron who played a crucial role in shaping the modern art world: https://gu.gg/4cFVcZ5

Pictured: Peggy Guggenheim in a dress by Paul Poiret, 1924. Photo by Man Ray © 2024 Man Ray, by SIAE.

08/26/2024

📌 NEW EXHIBITION

"Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers" opens April 18, 2025!

A major exhibition by the acclaimed artist will fill Frank Lloyd Wright’s rotunda with plants and artwork. Johnson stepped down from the Guggenheim’s board last year.

08/23/2024

"The architectural lines of the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, captivate and mesmerize me, guiding me sinuously in photographic composition. Each time, they surprise me with their elegant, sinuous, eternally innovative, and timeless rigor." —Photographer Fabio Furlotti.

08/21/2024

Jean Paul Riopelle was a Canadian painter known for his textured abstract works, characterized by thick, layered applications of paint.

A prominent figure in the post-World War II abstract art movement, Riopelle was associated with the Automatistes, a group of Quebec artists influenced by Surrealism. He later became connected with the Abstract Expressionists.

🎨: Jean Paul Riopelle, "The Hour of Sulfur," 1953. © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SODRAC, Montreal.

08/20/2024

Josef Albers's "Variant/Adobe" series (1947-58), though not as widely recognized as his "Homage to the Square", explores the relationship between color and form, laying the groundwork for his later studies in color theory.

Inspired by the architecture of Mexican adobe houses, Albers captures the vibrant energy of orange within a minimalist, grid-based composition.

Learn more:

Hear about Josef Albers's Variant, or Adobe series, began on his sixth journey to Mexico, in 1947, during a teaching sabbatical.

08/19/2024

How do museums acquire art for their collections? This World Photography Day, learn how the Guggenheim approaches photography and incorporates it into our collection. Read on:

Curators share insights on recent acquisitions, and on the process that brings new works into the Guggenheim's collection.

08/17/2024

For more than a decade after graduating from art school in 1897, Piet Mondrian created naturalistic drawings and paintings. During this period, and intermittently until the mid-1920s Mondrian created more than a hundred pictures of flowers.

Pictured: Piet Mondrian, "Chrysanthemum," ca. 1908–09. © Mondrian/Holtzman Trust.

08/16/2024

For "Jenny Holzer: Light Line", Lee Quiñones, a pioneering street artist and longtime collaborator of Jenny Holzer, has graffitied the walls of the Guggenheim’s High Gallery over the artist’s colorful "Inflammatory Essays" posters.

08/14/2024

"The deeper the blue becomes, the more strongly it calls man towards the infinite." —Vasily Kandinsky

🎨: Vasily Kandinsky, "Blue Painting," 1924. © 2024. © 2024. Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.

08/13/2024

Senga Nengudi's "Water Composition" series, created in the early 1970s, explores the intersection of sculpture and performance.

These works consist of delicate, transparent vinyl tubes filled with colored water, which Nengudi manipulated to create organic, fluid forms evoking the vulnerabilities of the human body.

In 2021, we acquired "Water Composition I", now on view in "By Way Of: Material and Motion in the Guggenheim Collection": https://gu.gg/3PzKIAI
___
Pictured: Senga Nengudi, "Water Composition I," 1970/2019.

08/12/2024

Don't want the Paris Olympics to end? Well, we can't bring the athletes, but we can bring you a slice of Paris this fall! 🥐✨ Plan your visit: https://gu.gg/3yrljVq
___
🎨: Robert Delaunay, "Red Eiffel Tower," 1911-12.

08/09/2024

"As an artist, I am drawn to visual and narrative contrast— opposite energies meeting to find resolution on the surface of the canvas. Wright's iconic Guggenheim, with its organic, curvilinear forms, is in stark contrast to the angular rationality of the New York City grid.” —Thomas Wells Schaller, Today's Frank Lloyd Wright Fridays Artist

08/08/2024

Which artist created this woodcut? Hint: This artist had synesthesia, a condition famously known for causing them to "hear" colors.

Answer: https://gu.gg/3SDueKf

08/07/2024

“Kite City,” a Fall ‘23 course led by artist Marisa Morán Jahn, had Jahn and her Parsons students design kites and structures capturing the sensation of flight. “Float,” a Guggenheim Late Shift event on March 21, 2024, showcased this work, highlighting the cultural, spiritual, and architectural aspects of kites and flight.
___
Academic Engagement programs at the Guggenheim are made possible by CONVERSE.

“Kite City,” a Fall ‘23 course led by artist Marisa Morán Jahn in partnership with Academic Engagement allowed Jahn and her students from Parsons...

08/06/2024

“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.” —Andy Warhol

🎂 Andy Warhol, a leading figure in the Pop Art movement, was born on this day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Warhol revolutionized the art world by transforming mundane objects and celebrity images into iconic pieces. Known for his bold use of color and innovative techniques, Warhol's work challenged traditional notions of art and consumer culture.

"Self-Portrait" is one of the last self-portraits Warhol painted before his death. The monumental scale (nearly 9 x 9 feet) suggests that Warhol’s obsession with celebrity encompassed himself.

Pictured: Andy Warhol, "Self-Portrait," 1986. © 2024 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

08/05/2024

Through his paintings, watercolors, and woodcuts, Vasily Kandinsky mined the expressive and spiritual possibilities of color, line, and form.

🎨: Vasily Kandinsky, "Landscape with Rolling Hills," 1910. © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.

08/04/2024

Discover what we're reading on the Guggenheim website. Dive into our latest article.

Van Gogh’s mental state has long been the source of speculation, leading many to credit his artistry to his illness. But his legacy is more than his demons.

08/02/2024

"By Way Of" tackling questions on waste, borders and identity. Via HYPEBEAST.

Tackling questions on waste, borders and identity.

08/02/2024

"In the Guggenheim’s flowing curves, I captured a moment where architecture and visitors create a harmonious scene. The gentle spirals frame the viewers, blending light and space, turning the building into a serene canvas that enhances the art and the experience." —Jie Roe

08/01/2024

Gallery Guide, Warren Edwards examines Mario Merz's "Acceleration=Dream, Fibonacci Numbers in Neon and Motorcycle Phantom," 1972 (refabricated 1989).

On view in "By Way Of: Material and Motion in the Guggenheim Collection". Plan your visit: https://gu.gg/3PzKIAI

07/30/2024

Jim Dine first came to prominence in the early 1960s, as part of a loosely affiliated group of artists who radically expanded the boundaries of art by extending the terms of Action painting into real space and time using everyday objects.

A headless Venus de Milo has become one of Dine's signature motifs. This motif first appeared in 1982 when Dine transformed a small, store-bought plaster replica of the famous Hellenistic sculpture. After removing the figurine's head and reworking its surface by scratching and scraping, he ordered an enlargement in clay. He further manipulated this resized copy casting it in bronze to produce "Venus in Black and Gray" (1983)—the first in a long series of sculptures in various materials, sizes, and groupings dedicated to this theme.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's "Three Red Spanish Venuses" (1997) is the largest and perhaps most ambitious work in this series.

Pictured: Jim Dine, "Three Red Spanish Venuses," 1997. © 2024 Jim Dine / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.