The Cummer Museum of Art Presents “Rather Strange Developments?

Saturday, 05 May 2007 18:06

Jacksonville, FL - The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens presents “Rather Strange Developments:” Picasso, Kandinsky, and Mondrian from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute on May 17.  The exhibition, on view through August 12, 2007, features an extraordinary display of world-class paintings and sculptures by the great modern artists, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and many others.  The exhibition of 24 quality works includes some of the best-known artists for their individual interpretations of abstraction.  Works range from one of Dali’s strange and perplexing images to intricate visual puzzles by Juan Gris and encompass both classic and rare examples of pioneering modernist artists.

“This outstanding exhibition of European modernist and abstract painting and sculpture represents an unprecedented opportunity for our visitors to engage with revolutionary works by pioneering artists,” said Museum Director Maarten van de Guchte.  “Individual works in the exhibition demonstrate the innovative concepts, processes and styles of art that defined modernism.  You will find classic pieces by Picasso, Paul Klee, Kurt Schwitters and Henry Moore, artists whose names are synonymous with cultural and artistic change of the twentieth century.”

Next to the paintings the sculptures form a vital component of this show. Two works in particular are important to mention: Raymond Duchcamp-Villon’s The Great Horse (1914) and Henry Moore’s Locking Piece from 1962.  In The Great Horse the novel idea is shown of merging animal and machine, while Moore’s Locking Piece is a “fitting together,” piece, a sleight of hands, indicative of the sculptor’s interest in nature and anatomy.

The exhibition is characterized as rather strange developments due to the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute’s pattern of acquisitions.  The institute began with a collection of modernist European art, beginning in 1952 following contemporary American art as the focus for new acquisitions.  The administration recognized that their acclaimed collection of American art would benefit aesthetically and educationally from the broader art historical context afforded by the European works.  These exceptional works by pioneering figures in European modernist art can now be viewed by thousands of people.

The exhibition is sponsored by Fidelity National Financial, Wachovia, Regions and AmSouth Banks and Shands Jacksonville Medical Center.  This traveling exhibition was organized by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York.  Funding was provided, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council for the Arts, a state agency.

Visit The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens at : www.cummer.org