It’s been exhaustively covered—on CultureGrrl (here, here and here) and in virtually all art-interested American publications. But at 10 a.m. today, the general public can at last get to see what we’ve been writing about—the new Met Breuer:
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum
I don’t know whether director Thomas Campbell intends to greet the first visitors, as Adam Weinberg did last May at the opening of the new Downtown Whitney:
But you can be welcomed by Tom now on CultureGrrl, via my video of his introductory remarks at the Met Breuer’s press preview, followed by comments about the exhibitions by Sheena Wagstaff, the Met’s chairman of modern and contemporary art, and an artist’s perspective from Kerry James Marshall, who has one work in the Met’s current Unfinished show…
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum
…and in October will get not only a 72-painting retrospective at the Met Breuer, but also a chance to present a 40-work exhibition, curated by him from the Met’s collection, which will “underscor[e] the global and historical nature of the influences that are predominant in his practice,” according to the museum’s (above-linked) announcement.
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum
At the end of this video, you will hear the 60-year-old artist express “how meaningful it is to me to get a chance to be in the Met, as opposed to just coming to the Met”:
For an independent critical perspective, here’s Eric Gibson, the editor of the Wall Street Journal‘s “Arts in Review” page (for which I write on art and museums), who says that, despite its flaws, “Unfinished” is “a ‘run, don’t walk’ exhibition.” (This is a WSJ clip; you’ll have to sit through an ad first.):