MoMA
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At The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1, we celebrate creativity, openness, tolerance, and generosity. We aim to be inclusive places—both onsite and online—where diverse cultural, artistic, social, and political positions are welcome. We’re committed to sharing the most thought-provoking modern and contemporary art, and hope you will join us in exploring the art, ideas, and issues of our time.Auction Previews & News
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Auction IndustryImportant Prints by Rosângela Rennó Gomes Available at John Moran Auctioneers
Rosângela Rennó Gomes is a Brazilian artist who explores the stories and images that are cast aside by society. She uses photography as her subject, though not her medium. Rennó has been active since the 1980s and has since become an established figure in Brazil’s contemporary art scene. On February 28, 2023, John Moran Auctioneers of Monrovia, California will present a set of important prints by Rosângela Rennó Gomes from 2013. Live bidding will begin at 3:00 PM EST on Bidsquare. Detail from Rosângela Rennó Gomes’ Usar algumas palavras que ainda nao tenham idioma (Group R) da Serie Materia de Poesia (Para Manoel de Barros), 2013. Image courtesy of John Moran Auctioneers. Rosângela Rennó Gomes was born in 1962 and later studied both architecture and fine art. Her fascination with photographic images started early. In her art, Rennó considers “the humanities, in history and its erasures, and in the history of photography itself, its social uses and functions.” She asks questions about visibility and erasure, as well as the fate of vernacular images created and captured by non-artists. Rennó seeks out images that are destined for destruction. Instead of heading to the trash or a dusty archive, they instead enter her studio to be reimagined as textures, landscapes, and portraits. Rennó often obscures the subjects of her prints and installations. The artist describes this process to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as an attempt, in part, to expose historical amnesia and “structural ignorance” that arose due to the military dictatorship in Brazil that lasted from 1964 to 1985. There was a shortage of photography during that era, and many documents and archives were deliberately destroyed. Rennó’s work reflects on this history and brings forward neglected images for public view. In recent years, Rosângela Rennó Gomes has also explored photo-paintings and installation works using household items such as porcelain plates and steel hangers. Rosângela Rennó Gomes, Usar algumas palavras que ainda nao tenham idioma (Group R) da Serie Materia de Poesia (Para Manoel de Barros), 2013. Image courtesy of John Moran Auctioneers. The upcoming sale from John Moran Auctioneers features…
Auction Industry, People, Press ReleaseArtsy Announces Acquisition of Social Impact Platform Greenhouse Auctions and Appoints Its Founder and CEO Shlomi Rabi to Artsy’s VP of Auctions
Inaugural Greenhouse Auction under Artsy’s Brand, “Higher Power—Brothers@: Benefit Auction 2021 Artsy Announces Acquisition of Social Impact Platform Greenhouse Auctions and Appoints Its Founder and CEO Shlomi Rabi to Artsy’s VP of Auctions NEW YORK, November 29, 2021 — Artsy, the largest global online art marketplace, today announces its acquisition of social impact auction platform Greenhouse Auctions, and the appointment of its founder and CEO, Shlomi Rabi, to VP of Artsy’s auctions business. As VP of Auctions, Rabi will lead Artsy’s commercial and benefit auctions businesses. This important acquisition and appointment marks Artsy’s continued investment in its growing secondary-market business, further deepening its art industry talent and enhancing the value provided to Artsy’s partners and collectors. The strategic acquisition also spotlights Artsy’s commitment to social responsibility and increased focus on diversity, equity, and inclusivity. With Artsy’s acquisition of Greenhouse Auctions—founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic—Rabi joins the online marketplace’s leadership team as VP of Auctions following a successful 20-year career in the art industry. With his deep auction-world experience, which spans a variety of leadership roles at premier international auction houses including Phillips and Christie’s, Rabi will work closely with executive leadership to strategically grow Artsy’s commercial and benefit auction business. He will also manage Artsy’s growing team of art experts who specialize in post-war and contemporary art, prints and multiples, and other collecting categories to support in sourcing, selling, and appraising artworks. Greenhouse Auctions is a social-impact auction platform with a unique structure. It unlocks opportunities with a growing number of nonprofits and key players in the primary market who are drawn to Greenhouse’s commitment to social justice initiatives, and its dedicated scholarship fund for art history students in HBCUs. This strategic acquisition supports both Artsy’s and Greenhouse Auctions’ mission of combining profit with purpose, and is neatly aligned with the values of next-gen and established collectors. Discussing Artsy’s acquisition of Greenhouse Auctions and the appointment of its founder to VP of Auctions, Dustyn Kim, Artsy’s Chief Revenue Officer, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Shlomi to Artsy. From our initial conversations, it was clear how much we…
Artists, Auction IndustryArtist to Know: Thelma Johnson Streat
Black Art Auction to Offer Works by American Painter and Dancer When Thelma Johnson Streat was at the midpoint of her painting career, she felt the need to step beyond the canvas. She was already making murals that celebrated multiculturalism and rewrote the narrative around Black Americans. Yet after she received threats from the Ku Klux Klan, Streat decided to take her educational efforts a step further. She began performing dances in front of her paintings. Dance was a natural extension of her art practice, one she hoped would lead to better dialogue and understanding. Streat eventually became a groundbreaking artist and an early advocate of performance art. Two oil paintings by Streat will be available in Black Art Auction’s upcoming single-owner sale from the collection of Melvin Holmes. The bidding will start at 12:00 PM EDT on July 17th, 2021. Before placing a bid, learn more about Thelma Johnson Streat and her work. Thelma Johnson Streat performing in 1948. Image from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Original photo by Roy Flamm. In 1911, Thelma Johnson Streat was born in Yakima, Washington. Her parents were of African and Cherokee descent, influences that Streat often returned to in her mature work. She grew up lonely and isolated in a nearly all-white neighborhood. Still, she showed great promise as an artist and received her first big break while in high school. Streat’s portrait of a local priest won an honorary mention from the Harmon Foundation in New York City. The award kick-started Streat’s career. Streat eventually moved to San Francisco, where she started with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). She joined a generation of artists who created inspiring pieces during the Great Depression. While completing sweeping murals depicting the Black working class, Streat encountered famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Both artists wished to elevate the contributions of Black and Indigenous people within the American mainstream. Rivera recruited Streat to help create his Pan American Unity mural, allowing her unusual liberties in its design and execution. Rivera collected Streat’s paintings and publicly supported her career, stating: “The work of Thelma Johnson Streat…
Auction IndustryArtist to Know: Howardena Pindell
Mixed Media Assemblage Available in Upcoming African American Art Sale With a career spanning more than 50 years, Howardena Pindell reports that she could fill a 100-page résumé. Her work crisscrosses mediums and styles, from hole punch paintings to video performances. These explore racism, misogyny, violence, and— after a near-fatal car accident— the artist’s personal memories. Each work uses small pieces that together form a cohesive whole. Pindell has spent a career exploring the possibilities of tiny paper chads, small number drawings, bits of glitter, and almost everything in between. One of Howardena Pindell’s unstretched collages will come to auction with Swann Galleries in an upcoming African American Art sale. Bidding will start at 12:00 PM EDT on April 22nd, 2021. Get to know Pindell and her works before the auction begins. Howardena Pindell in her studio. Image by Jon Henry for The New York Times. Howardena Pindell grew up around the arts. Her parents often took her on museum visits around Philadelphia and Boston. Pindell cites these excursions as key steps in her artistic journey, which later took her to Boston University and Yale. After graduating from the latter with an MFA, Pindell found work as the first Black woman curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In graduate school, abstraction fascinated Pindell. She connected shapes and symbols to memories from her childhood, as well as the collective experiences of Black Americans. Circles, for example, remind the artist of old glassware. In the 1950s, restaurants added small red dots to glasses and utensils to set them apart for people of color. Inspired by that symbol of segregation, Pindell made liberal use of a hole punch in her early, semi-sculptural paintings. Social justice initiatives were equally important in the development of Pindell’s artistic style. She helped launch A.I.R. Gallery, the first art space made exclusively by and for women artists, while curating at the MoMA. Pindell regularly engaged in the rising wave of 1970s feminism while educating her colleagues on her experiences as a Black woman. Pindell felt increasingly isolated on all sides as her career advanced. Many in…
Auction IndustryWorld’s First Mixed Reality Artwork from Marina Abramović Comes Under the Christie’s Hammer
In February of 2019, visitors to London’s Serpentine Galleries found themselves face-to-face with a holographic version of Marina Abramović. The Serbian conceptual artist had created her first Mixed Reality (MR) performance to be viewed through a headset. Audience members were able to watch as a digital Abramović walked around an enclosed space in a bright red dress. Unlike virtual reality experiences, MR maintains a link to the physical world while the headset is on. “Marina is performing in the same orientation for everybody in the same way. If you are seeing her from the front, someone else is seeing it from the back,” director Todd Eckert told Dezeen after the performance debuted. Abramović collaborated with Eckert’s MR production company, Tin Drum, to create the piece. This October, one edition of Abramović’s The Life will come to auction. This is the world’s first MR performance art piece available for private purchase. The Life will be presented in Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on October 22nd, 2020, at 7:00 PM BST (2:00 PM EDT). The event is part of Christie’s 20th Century: London to Paris auction series and coincides with London’s Frieze Week. Marina Abramović, The Life, 2019. Image from Christie’s. The Life can be seen as a virtual continuation of The Artist Is Present, Abramović’s 2010 performance at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In the earlier work, Abramović silently gazed into the eyes of over 1,500 museum visitors. Over 800,000 more came simply to observe. The artist is not physically present in the new digital format but instead allows the viewer’s gaze to continue unreciprocated. In Abramović’s view, this is a natural next step in her long-running career. She has spent the last 50 years pushing the boundaries of art, from her provocative Rhythm 0 performance in 1974 to her close collaborations with German performance artist Ulay. “I believe that art of the future is art without objects,” Abramović said in a short film co-created with Christie’s. “It is just pure transmission of energy between the viewer and artist.” Marina Abramović during The Artist Is Present,…
ExhibitionsMoMA Acquires Monumental Sculpture by Barbara Chase-Riboud
(New York—October 31, 2017) Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is proud to announce that the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has acquired the Barbara Chase-Riboud sculpture The Albino (aka All That Rises Must Converge/Black), 1972. This major acquisition coincides with her current solo exhibition Barbara Chase-Riboud—Malcolm X: Complete (now on view thru Saturday, November 4, 2017) at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. The Albino (1972) joins several other works by Chase-Riboud already in MoMA’s collection: an early woodcut, Reba, purchased for the museum by curator William Lieberman in 1955 and three dynamic charcoal and pencil drawings (Untitled, 1966; Untitled, 1967 and Untitled, 1971). Untitled (1967) was recently on view at MoMA in last summer’s blockbuster exhibition Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction (April 19-August 13, 2017). Known primarily for her sculptural forms that wed fiber and metal, this exciting acquisition of The Albino (aka All That Rises Must Converge/Black) adds depth to the museum’s holdings of this multi-faceted artist. Barbara Chase-Riboud with “The Albino” (aka “All That Rises Must Converge/Black”), 1972, bronze with black patina, silk, wool, linen, and synthetic fibers, 138" x 137" x 30" / 350.5 x 348.0 x 76.2 cmMichael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY. Ph... For over five decades, Barbara Chase-Riboud has created abstract art with a deep and nuanced understanding of history, identity, and a sense of place. Her celebrated work operates on several dichotomies that have become central to her practice: hard/soft, male/female, flat/three-dimensional, Western/non-Western, stable/fluid, figurative/abstract, powerful/delicate, brutal/beautiful, violence/harmony. In 1958, she developed her own particular innovation on the historical direct lost-wax method of casting bronze sculpture. Creating thin sheets of wax that she could bend, fold, meld, or sever, she developed singular models that she would then bring to a local foundry for casting. This new approach to a centuries-old process enabled her to produce large-scale sculptures comprised of ribbons of bronze and aluminum. In 1967, she added fiber to these metal elements, creating an ongoing dialogue and relationship between the two materials that have continued to inform both her two-dimensional and three-dimensional work. The Albino (aka All That Rises Must Converge/Black) comes out of Chase-Riboud’s explorations of linear, totem-like sculpture for which she is known, transforming how sculpture is viewed by creating a work…
