NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art opened Surrounds: 11 Installations, on view in The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Center for Special Exhibitions, in The Peggy and David Rockefeller building. The presentation, spanning the entire sixth floor, presents 11 watershed installations by living artists from the past two decades, all drawn from the Museum’s collection and on view at MoMA for the first time. Each installation occupies its own gallery, providing an individualized, immersive experience.
Surrounds includes work by Jennifer Allora (American, b. 1974) and Guillermo Calzadilla (Cuban, b. 1971), Sadie Benning (American, b. 1973), Janet Cardiff (Canadian, b. 1957) and George Bures Miller (Canadian, b. 1960), Sou Fujimoto (Japanese, b. 1971), Sheila Hicks (American, b. 1934), Arthur Jafa (American, b. 1960), Mark Manders (Dutch, b. 1968), Rivane Neuenschwander (Brazilian, b. 1967), Dayanita Singh (Indian, b. 1961), Hito Steyerl (German, b. 1966), and Sarah Sze (American, b. 1969).
Each work included in the exhibition was conceived out of different individual circumstances—as a contribution to a biennial, as an element of a larger ongoing body of work, as a response to a classic work of art history, or as a stand-alone work unrelated to others—but the installations are united in their ambition and scope, marking decisive shifts in the careers of their makers and the broader field of contemporary art.
Surrounds is organized by Quentin Bajac, former Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Chief Curator of Photography, Christian Rattemeyer, Harvey S. Shipley Miller Associate Curator for Drawings and Prints, Yasmil Raymond, Associate Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Sean Anderson, Associate Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, and Joshua Siegel, Curator, Department of Film, with Hillary Reder and Taylor Walsh, Curatorial Assistants, Department of Drawings and Prints and Kelly Sidley, former Curatorial Assistant, Photography. Special thanks to Michelle Kuo, Marlene Hess Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Lucy Gallun, Associate Curator, Department of Photography, Erica PapernikShimizu, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance, Arièle Dionne-Krosnick, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design for their assistance. Performances produced by Kate Scherer, Manager, with Beatrice Johnson, Assistant Performance Coordinator, Performance and Live Programs.
