WASHINGTON, DC.- In 2011,
The Phillips Collection celebrates its 90th anniversary and launches the countdown to its centennial. A host of exhibitions, programs, and events throughout the year debut stunning new acquisitions in contemporary art, engage artists in conversation with the collection, and tell the story of artistic innovation that has been the heart of the museum since Duncan Phillips opened its doors in 1921.
The Phillips kicks off the anniversary with a free weekend on January 1516 and brings it to a close with a birthday bash at years end. Visitors can expect an array of new interactive tools, from a fully loaded mobile application to a things to do in 90 minutes at the Phillips guide. A 90th anniversary reading room will reveal in photographs, letters, and other archival materials how museum founder Duncan Phillips shaped, in his own words, an intimate museum combined with an experiment station. In-gallery interpretation will highlight the Phillipss pivotal role in supporting emerging artists, for example when it became the first museum to buy a work by Georgia OKeeffe or exhibit work by Marc Chagall in the U.S.
From the start, the Phillips has been a place of tremendous risk-taking with an innovative approach to thinking about art and culture, said Director Dorothy Kosinski. The 90th anniversary gives us an opportunity to renew and invigorate that spirit of open-minded, interdisciplinary, and collaborative inquiry as we begin to count down to the museums 100th birthday.
The Phillips celebrates many of its astonishing firsts, to be featured in special installations throughout 2011 under the 90 Years of New moniker. Turner Prize winner Sir Howard Hodgkin, who had his first American exhibition at the Phillips in 1984, will be represented by his most ambitious work to dateAs Time Goes By (2009)a pair of 20 foot long, hand-painted etchings recently acquired for the Phillipss permanent collection. The Phillips will recreate its 1938 Klee Room, the first room dedicated exclusively to Paul Klees work by a museum, and reinstall in the wood-paneled Music Room a courageous, monumental series by Augustus Vincent Tack, which in 1928 was the first abstract commission of the artist. Pierre-Auguste Renoirs beloved celebration of light and color, Luncheon of the Boating Party, will make a triumphant return to its original location in the first gallery Duncan Phillips opened to the public in his home in 1921. In a special commission for the 90th anniversary, D.C.-based artist Sam Gilliam, who had his first solo show at the Phillips in 1967, will suspend a jubilant draped canvas from the museums signature, elliptical stairway.
ANNIVERSARY INSTALLATIONS
90 Years of New: Anniversary Reading Room Jan. 8Dec. 31, 2011
90 Years of New: Howard Hodgkins As Time Goes By Jan. 8May 8, 2011
90 Years of New: Sam Gilliam Jan. 29April 24, 2011
90 Years of New: Renoirs Luncheon of the Boating Party and European Masterworks May 28Dec. 31, 2011
90 Years of New: Gifts from the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection June 16Oct. 2, 2011
90 Years of New: Augustus Tack in the Music Room June 30Dec. 31, 2011
90 Years of New: Morris Louis July 14Oct. 9, 2011
90 Years of New: The Klee Room Sept. 29Dec. 31, 2011
90 Years of New: Joseph Marioni Oct. 20, 2011Jan. 29, 2012
The Phillipss Center for the Study of Modern Art will serve as the hub for many of the museums 90th anniversary activities. Milestones will include the announcement of dynamic new partnerships in higher education, a major symposium, and the launch of Artists Voices D.C., a new series focused on Washingtons vibrant creative community to compliment the museums ongoing internationally focused Conversations with Artists series.
Beyond the museums walls, Phillips education initiatives lead the way in cross-curricular arts integration in K-12 classrooms. In 2011, the museum will deepen its commitment by initiating a new partnership with D.C. Public Schools Office of Innovation. This collaboration will bring the Phillipss signature approach to arts integration to the Districts catalyst schools. Proceeds from the Phillips Annual Gala on May 13 will galvanize these efforts.
Featured exhibitions during 2011 include: David Smith Invents and Philip Guston, Roma (Feb. 12May 15, 2011), From Drawing to Painting: Kandinskys Painting with White Border (June 11Sept. 4, 2011), Stella Sounds: The Scarlatti K Series (June 11Sept. 4, 2011), and Degass Dancers at the Bar: Point and Counterpoint (Oct. 1, 2011Jan. 8, 2012). Intersections contemporary art series features projects by Jae Ko (through Feb. 20, 2011), Regi Müller (through May 31, 2011), Nicolas and Sheila Pye (Feb. 17May 8, 2011), Allan deSouza (June 23Sept. 25, 2011), and Balasubramanian (May 19Oct. 30, 2011).