Miami, FL - The salon-style wall of photographs from the holdings of Miami-raised collector, curator and art dealer Charles Cowles that has wowed visitors to Modern Photographs since the exhibition opened in November has a whole new look.  The photographs on view in this wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling installation have mostly been replaced under Cowles guidance, offering a new context for the entire exhibition.  Among the new photographs on view are works by such noted artists as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Marsha Burns, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Dennis Hopper, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Robert Rauschenberg, Steve Shore, James Van Der Zee and Wegee.

The works on the salon-style wall are not among the 101 photographs that Cowles is donating to Miami Art Museum in honor of its 10^th anniversary.  On exhibition until 15 April. 2007.

“This cheek-by-jowl installation is atypical of most museum practices, but shows the collector’s delight in the serendipitous relationships – some planned, others not – that can be seen by viewing disparate images in close proximity in the museum’s galleries,” MAM Director Terence Riley explains.

Modern Photographs: The Machine, the Body and the City -- Gifts from the Charles Cowles Collection, traces the evolution of photography in the 20th and 21st centuries, from early Pictorialist works that mimic the moodiness of late 19th-century painting, through the Modern formal experimentations of the Constructivist and Bauhaus schools, to the documentary ethos of mid-century America and the large-scale, staged tableaux of our own time.  As indicated by its title, the exhibition also examines three prominent themes highlighted by the selection: depictions of the metropolis, modern machinery, and the human figure.  A number of works highlight the relationship between photography and other art forms, including portraits of such prominent artists as Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Cindy Sherman.

Among the photographers represented in the exhibition are Berenice Abbott, Diane Arbus, Eugène Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander, Bill Jacobson, André Kertesz, William Klein, Helen Levitt, Robert Mapplethorpe, Duane Michals, Irving Penn, Man Ray, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sam Taylor-Wood, Andy Warhol, and Gary Winogrand.

Modern Photographs: The Machine, the Body and the City is organized by Miami Art Museum and guest curated by Andy Grundberg, the Administrative Chair of Photography at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C.  The exhibition is supported by MAM’s Annual Exhibition Fund.  This exhibition was planned during the tenure of MAM Founding Director Suzanne Delehanty

ABOUT THE COLLECTOR
“I believe the strength of a collection lies in the diversity of interesting images and not necessarily in the fame of the artist.” Charles Cowles.

As a teenager, one of Charles Cowles first jobs required him to research and identify the subjects of photographs that Look magazine planned to publish, which spurred his interest in the topic.  Cowles completed his studies in Journalism and Communications at Stanford University in 1963.  He subsequently served as Associate Publisher, Publisher, President and Chairman of ARTFORUM magazine.  In 1980, Cowles opened the Charles Cowles Gallery in New York City, which he continues to direct. In addition to his work as a gallerist and publisher, Cowles has served as a trustee of the American Federation of the Arts; Alliance for the Arts; Cowles Charitable Trust; Laumeier Sculpture Park; LongHouse Reserve; Miami Art Center; Museum of Modern Art; New York Studio School, where he was Chairman of the Board from 1988-95; San Francisco Art Institute; Studio Museum in Harlem; and the Wolfsonian, where he was a member of the Executive Committee from 1995-1998. He also has played active roles in The Museum of Modern Art’s International Council; Dade County Art Advisory Council; Fine Arts Council of Florida; Seattle Arts Commission and the Art Dealers Association of America.

Catalog
In conjunction with Modern Photographs: The Machine, the Body and the City MAM is producing a 132 page, full color catalog which illustrates each of the 101 photographs Charles Cowles is presenting to Miami Art Museum as part of its tenth anniversary celebration.  The catalog, which also includes an introduction by MAM director Terence Riley and an essay by guest curator Andy Grundberg, will be available at the MAM Store and will be distributed by DAP/Distributed Art Publishers.

Miami Art Museum - 101 West Flagler St.-Miami, FL 33130 - is accredited by the American Association of Museums, Miami Art Museum is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners.  The Miami Art Museum is an accessible facility.  Visit : www.miamiartmuseum.org