Exhibition Features Contemporary Artworks Gifted to the Jewish Museum from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation

Judy Pfaff, "Quartet 5," 2018.

Credit: Photo by Will Raggozino / scottruddevents.com

Release Date: March 21, 2023

Exhibition Features Contemporary Artworks Gifted to the Jewish Museum from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation

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After “The Wild”: Contemporary Art from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Collection
March 24 – October 1, 2023

New York, NY, March 21, 2023--The Jewish Museum presents After “The Wild”: Contemporary Art from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Collection, an exhibition highlighting contemporary artworks by 47 intergenerational and internationally based artists made between 1963 and 2023. These works are part of a larger gift to the Museum in 2018 comprising artworks made by the recipients of The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Award (see below for the full list of artists). After "The Wild": Contemporary Art from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Collectionis on view at the Jewish Museum from March 24 through October 1, 2023.

Barnett Newman (1905-1970) is among the most influential artists associated with Abstract Expressionism. Largely overlooked by critics, curators, and collectors until his later years, he was nonetheless a stalwart and generous supporter of his colleagues, befriending and mentoring countless younger artists. To them, Newman appeared not as an old master but as a true peer—curious, engaged, and as eager to delve into the nuances of technique as to art’s philosophical underpinnings. After his death, Annalee Newman, his widow, created The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation to help further the spirit of great art that Barnett Newman so clearly exhibited, by giving grants to artists from 2004 to 2020. Diverse in style, training, background, and age, the Foundation’s grantees—whose works comprise this exhibition—share Newman’s seriousness of purpose, as well as his unflagging drive to explore the outer limits of his own ideas.

The exhibition begins in the First Floor Galleries with works by Amon Ben-Ami, Lynda Benglis, Natvar Bhavsar, Mark Bradford, Ronald Davis, Richard Deacon, Melvin Edwards, Rafael Ferrer, Mark Gibian, Sam Gilliam, Cai Guo-Qiang, Peter Halley, Tim Hawkinson, Michael Heizer, Rebecca Horn, Bryan Hunt, Richard Howard Hunt, Joan Jonas, Andrew Lyght, Kerry James, Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Robert Murray, Serge Alain Nitegeka, David Novros, Frank Owen, Gary Petersen, Judy Pfaff, Larry Poons, Nuno Ramos, Nancy Rubins, Richard Serra, Richard Smith, Keith Sonnier, Sarah Sze, Fred Tomaselli, Elizabeth Turk, Richard Van Buren, Terry Winters, and Jack Youngerman. The exhibition continues on the Third Floor with works by Luca Buvoli, Tony Cragg, Eva Hild, Theo Jansen, Mel Kendrick, Anne Lilly, and Philip Taaffe.

The exhibition title is inspired by Barnett Newman’s 1950 painting The Wild. Standing at 8 feet tall and a mere 1 ½ inches wide, the work consists of a dark orange “Zip” set against razor thin bands of black. It contrasts sharply with the heroically scaled paintings for which Newman is well known. In Newman’s own account, The Wild was meant to test whether something modest could hold its own against something grand: in its first presentation, it was shown opposite the painting Vir Heroicus Sublimis (1950-51), a room-filling magnum opus. 

After “The Wild”: Contemporary Art from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Collection is organized by guest curator Kelly Taxter, with Shira Backer, Leon Levy Associate Curator, The Jewish Museum. Exhibition design is by Ivi Diamantopoulou and Jaffer Kolb, with Nashwah Ahmed, New Affiliates. 

 

The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Grantees

Larry Bell, American, b. 1939

Amnon Ben-Ami, Israeli, b. 1955

Lynda Benglis, American, b. 1941

Natvar Prahladji Bhavsar, American, b. India 1934

Mark Bradford, American, b. 1961

Richard Van Buren, American, b. 1937

Luca Buvoli, Italian, b. 1963

Tony Cragg, British, b. 1949

Ronald Wendel Davis, American, b. 1937

Richard Deacon, British, b. Wales, 1949

Melvin Edwards, American, b. 1937

Rafael Ferrer, Puerto Rican, b. 1933

Mark Gibian, American, b. 1954

Sam Gilliam, American, 1933-2022

Cai Guo-Qiang, Chinese, b. 1957

Peter Halley, American, b. 1953

Tim Hawkinson, American, b. 1960

Michael Heizer, American, b. 1944

Eva Hild, Swedish, b. 1966

Rebecca Horn, German, b. 1944

Bryan Hunt, American, b. 1947

Richard Howard Hunt, American, b. 1935

Theo Jansen, Dutch, b. 1948

Joan Jonas, American, b. 1936

Mel Kendrick, American, b. 1949

Anne Lilly, American, b. 1966

Andrew Lyght, American, b. Guyana, 1949

Kerry James Marshall, American, b. 1955

Julie Mehretu, American, b. Ethiopia, 1970

Robert Murray, Canadian and American, b. 1936

Serge Alain Nitegeka, South African, b. Burundi, 1983

David Novros, American, b. 1941

Frank Owen, American, b. 1939

Gary Petersen, American, b. 1956

Judy Pfaff, American, b. England, 1946

Larry Poons, American, b. Japan, 1937

Nuno Ramos, Brazilian, b. 1960

Nancy Rubins, American, b. 1952

Richard Serra, American, b. 1938

Richard Smith, British, 1931-2016

Keith Sonnier, American, 1941-2020

Sarah Sze, American, b. 1969

Philip Taaffe, American, b. 1955

Fred Tomaselli, American, b. 1956

Elizabeth Turk, American, b. 1961

Terry Winters, American, b. 1949

Jack Youngerman, American, 1926-2020

Alexander Yulikov, Russian, b. 1943 (Yulikov's work is not available for this exhibition)

 

Programs

Programs include a series of artist interviews, conversations, and art-making workshops inspired by the exhibition.

 

Audio Tour

The exhibition is accompanied by an audio tour available within the Jewish Museum’s digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Hear interviews with 11 artists including Lynda Benglis, Peter Halley, Judy Pfaff, Serge Alain Nitegeka, Sarah Sze, and Fred Tomaselli, as well as Verbal Description audio tours, designed for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Bloomberg Connects is accessible for either onsite or offsite visits and can be downloaded to any mobile device. Download the free app.

 

Catalogue

The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation collection will be the subject of a forthcoming catalogue.

 

Support

This exhibition is made possible by The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation. 

Digital guide supported by Bloomberg Connects.

About the Jewish Museum

The Jewish Museum is an art museum committed to illuminating the complexity and vibrancy of Jewish culture for a global audience.  Located on New York City's Museum Mile, in the landmarked Warburg mansion, the Jewish Museum was the first institution of its kind in the United States and is one of the oldest Jewish museums in the world. The Museum offers diverse exhibitions and programs and maintains a unique collection of nearly 30,000 works of art, ceremonial objects, and media reflecting the global Jewish experience over more than 4,000 years. The public may call 212.423.3200 or visit TheJewishMuseum.org for more information.

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