Ged Quinn’s paintings combine landscapes in the vein of Claude Lorrain with fragments of history, art history, and mythology. The works are awe-inspiring in their combination of painterly skills and provocative conceptual strains. In Quinn’s work, sublime backgrounds meet broken-down foregrounds, and at all turns utopian ideals are acknowledged and critiqued. Death, deceit, and decay are also dragged into the frame.
Jul 01, 2012 - Oct 28, 2012
Lucian Freud is widely considered the greatest portrait painter of the twentieth century. His visceral renderings of people from all walks of life have a painterly and psychological drama that is unparalleled in contemporary art. For much of a century—from the late 1940s until his recent death in July 2011—Freud made the living human presence his subject.
Sep 09, 2012 - Mar 31, 2013
As an encore presentation to last winter’s exhibition, FOCUS: KAWS, which featured the work of Brooklyn-based artist KAWS (b. Brian Donnelly, 1974), the Modern is currently featuring the installation of the artist’s monumental sculpture, COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010. The work has been on view at the Modern’s entrance since September 9, 2012. Originally scheduled to leave on January 6, the installation at the Modern has been extended through March 31.
Jan 13, 2013 - Mar 13, 2013
New York-based artist Gary Simmons is known for his “erasure” technique, which he began using in the early 1990s. Initially creating semi-erased works with chalk on blackboards, the artist has evolved to works on paper, paint on canvas, and murals that mimic smudged chalk. The resulting blurred and ghostly images often refer to intersections of pop culture, race, and class.
Jan 13, 2013 - Mar 24, 2013
British/Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare MBE explores colonialism and the intricate ways in which it has shaped, and continues to shape, cultural identities. He is well known for his life-size sculptural tableaux featuring staged, headless mannequins dressed in elaborate period garments. In these works, the materials and designs of the original clothing are replaced with batik, a colorful and ornately patterned fabric.
