Taking A Look
At The Art Scene...

Sculpture At The Guggenheim

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

"The most outstanding thing about the
Guggenheim exhibit is that it presents the his-
tory of modern sculpture from 1875 to today,"
Nasher said. "When museum visitors go up
the first ramp, the first work they see is Rodin's
Age of Bronze, which is truly the beginning of
modern sculpture.
"Then, as people go up the other ramps, they
go through the history of the works until they
finally get to the contemporary time with
Abakanowicz's Bronze Crowd at the end."
The Nashers started acquiring major stat-
uary in 1962, when Mrs. Nasher gave her hus-
band a Jean Arp flower form for his birthday.
'We had no general plan," Nasher said. 'We
wanted to live with and have our children grow
up with works of art that really could be aes-
thetically, intellectually and culturally stim-
ulating.
"Our approach was to go to museums, read
books and get to know dealers, and we grad-
11211y bought both pieces of sculpture and paint-

Top:
aymond Nash-
er, chairman Constantin Brancusi:
The Kiss, plaster,
of Comerica-
1907-08.
exas, believes
that great works of art
Right:
should be shared, and
Claes Oldenburg:
that's what he's doing Typewriter Eraser, ferro
with his monumental cement, stainless steel
collection of 20th-centu- and aluminum, 1976.
ry sculpture.
While he generally
has some 300 works on view inside and around
his Dallas home, he also loans his acquisitions
to museums, universities and business cen-
ters.
Visitors to New York City's Guggenheim
Museum will have the opportunity to see more
than 100 sculptural masterpieces amassed by
Nasher and his late wife, Patsy.
A Century of Sculpture: The Nasher Collec-
tion will be on view through June 1, showcas-
ing statuary by masters such as Rodin,
Brancusi, Picasso and Matisse.
"We never keep our works in storage," said
Nasher, who launched a major tour of his col-
lection in 1987, when the pieces began their
travels to prestigious museums in Dallas,
Washington, Madrid, Florence and Tel Aviv.
"If people see enough art, they'll be able to
enlarge their environment and have a much
better understanding."
Nasher believes the Guggenheim offers an
optimal setting for his acquisitions, compar-
ing the Frank Lloyd Wright building — with
its ramps, open areas and skylights — to sculp-
ture.

er ey a ist
sines photograph
ulpture, painting and collage to examine possib .
tare disturbing and exhilaradng. He consi
radictions, accidents, diversity and chaos
stic tools. "I am impatient with static disc
s that cage rather than release," he says. "I
ways curious to see the next thing and what it can
then become through the lens of vision and craft."
Lieder's works will be on display March 4-29 at the
Gallery, 211 N. Woodward (second floor), I3irm-
ngham. There will be
an artist's reception
from 6-10 p.m. Satur-
day March 8, and an
open house and gallery
talk with Lieder at
7 p.m. Wednesday,
March 12. (810) 644-
91.

.

Rick Lieder: Handmade
Shadows, mixed media.

RT

92

ings that made a great impression on us and
were very exciting. We had no thought about
creating a collection that would be museum
quality or exhibited."
Nasher, who has been active with UJA and
the American Jewish Committee, recalls see-
ing his works in Israel.
`The exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum was
a tremendous success," he said. "People in-
volved in government and the arts were there,
and they brought people from every kibbutz
throughout the land.

SCULPTURE page 94

Jill Henrietta Davis: Truth & Consequences, Candela,
glass, wood, leaf and pigment.

Gallery: Functio
is
having its fourth annual
"Eclectic Electric" fea-
turing more than 60
works formed from light-
ing and electrical struc-
tures. More than 35
artists will be represent-
ed.
David Bergman's flu-
orescent menorah, Jo T.
Sc.hon's Southwest-styled
table lamps and Jill Hen-
rietta Davis' mixed-me.:
dia lamps are among the
featured pieces at 21 N.'•
Saginaw, Pontiac. The
exhibit, which runs
through March 15, will
be part of the Pontiac
Gallery Crawl from 7-1.0
p.m. tonight. (810) 333- 1
0333.

Suzanne Chessler is a freelance writer who compiles and writes our "Hang-

ing Around" Fine Arts pages. If you have information about art happenings
you wish to have considered for our Fine Arts section, including show oPen-