Displaying items by tag: hiroshi sugimoto

Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist As Collector, which opened at the Barbican Art Gallery in London earlier this month, is the first exhibition in the UK to present the personal collections of post-war and contemporary artists. Ranging from mass-produced memorabilia and popular collectibles to unique curiosities, rare artifacts, and natural history objects, each collection allows an unprecedented glimpse into the oftentimes eccentric predilections of some of today’s most collected artists.

Organized by Barbican curator Lydia Yee, Magnificent Obsessions features the personal collections of well-known artists such as Sol Lewitt, Damien Hirst, Peter Blake, Martin Parr, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Andy Warhol, and Martin Wong/Danh Vo, alongside at least one example of their work. The exhibition aims to use these collections as a means to provide insight into these artists’ inspirations, influences, motives, and fascinations. According to a press release from the Barbican, Jane Alison, Head of Visual Arts at the gallery, said, “What a joy to have brought together the treasured private collections of the fourteen artists in Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector. The thrill of collecting is something we can all relate to, and I am sure visitors will enjoy this deeply personal and endlessly fascinating show.”

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. will receive 30 photographs from Robert E. Meyerhoff, a longtime supporter of the museum, and his partner, Rheda Becker. The gift includes photographs by a number of German artists including Andreas Gursky and Bernd and Hilla Becker as well as works by Jeff Wall, Cindy Sherman, and Hiroshi Sugimoto.

The gift will substantially improve the National Gallery of Art’s photography collection, which contains few works by prominent living artists. The museum began assembling its photography collection in 1949 when Georgia O’Keeffe donated 1,720 photographs made by her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, to the institution. The National Gallery of Art did not establish a separate photography department until 1990.

In 1987, Meyerhoff and his late wife, Jane, agreed to donate their entire art collection to the National Gallery of Art. The gift included works by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, and Brice Marden and was displayed at the museum in 1996 and again in 2010. This recent gift will go on view when the museum’s East Building reopens in the fall of 2016 after a renovation and expansion.