BUFFALO.- Two exhibitions opening at the Albright-Knox reflect the Gallery’s dedication to collecting the “art of our time.” They are Remix Recent Acquisitions, on view through July 27 and Remix Recent Acquisitions Works on Paper on view through August 24, 2008. For any museum whose mission and vision is to acquire and exhibit contemporary art, an active approach to collecting is at the heart of both success in the present, and for generations to come.

The collection has continued to grow in significant ways and both exhibitions present a summary of our collecting highlights over the past five years. The majority of the works presented in Remix Recent Acquisitions are by living artists who explore contemporary issues in a myriad of ways. These artworks span a variety of mediums from photography and painting to installation, and several works are on view to the public for the first time. Among them Evan Penny’s wall sculpture, Male Stretch, #2, 2005 at left; the painting Drowning on Dry Land, 2007 by Emilo Perez; the first sound piece to enter the collection, Telephone Time by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller from 2004; and Andrea Zittel’s A to Z 1994 Living Unit.

One gallery is devoted to large-scale photography and features various interpretations of the figure and the landscape including Rineke Dijkstra’s Coney Island, N.Y., USA, 1993 ; Spencer Tunick’s Buffalo 1(Central Terminal, Albright-Knox Art Gallery) 2004, 2005; John Phahl’s Clair de Lune, 2006; and Tim Hyde’s UNTITLED “INDIANA,” 2003.

Wall labels is this exhibition will explore these new acquisitions and explain the motivation and excitement surrounding each one. In an attempt to educate our audiences about works as they enter the collection, recently introduced “New on View” labels outside of this exhibition signify other recent acquisitions and will continue to infiltrate future installations of the permanent collection. These thoughtful additions to the Gallery’s collection will ensure the prominence and significance of the Albright-Knox for years to come.

The Remix Recent Acquisitions Works on Paper component opening April 25 presents some of the Gallery’s most recent acquisitions of works on paper. While some of these artists work solely on paper, others utilize the medium to further explore the creative
process and reflect an iconography they have developed in other bodies of work. Works by artists Karin Davie, Phillip Guston, Heather McGill, and Robert Therrien, who are also represented in other areas of the permanent collection, convey details about their working process and exemplify the various methods they employ in their art making
practices.

Works enter the collection in a variety of ways—sometimes as gifts from an artist or patrons, or en masse as a body of works from a collector. Other times, they are purchased from an art dealer, or directly from the artist themselves. The curatorial staff is committed to seeking out and exploring new art, as well aspiring to uphold a collecting policy that is cohesive and focused on strengthening the collection as a whole. Each work is thoughtfully and thoroughly considered before it is acquisitioned. We not only explore how the artwork relates to the entirety of the permanent collection, but also consider future exhibition opportunities or other works in the collection that a particular work of art will enhance, as well as existing gaps that the work will help alleviate.

Associate Curator Holly Hughes and Curatorial Assistant Anna Kaplan organized Remix Recent Acquisitions and Remix Recent Acquisitions Works on Paper.