Winter 2019 MMoCA Newsletter

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EXHIBITIONS MIRROR IMAGE: PORTRAITS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION Main galleries • Feb 23–May 19, 2019 Drawn entirely from MMoCA’s permanent collection, Mirror Image examines the evolution of the portrait from the early twentieth century to the present. While often depicting physical likeness, portraiture also unveils aspects of an individual’s identity and disposition. With the introduction of photography and the art historical movement of abstraction, the genre of portraiture expanded from an elite mode of documentation to a more conceptual approach of representation. Alex Katz, one of the most revered portrait painters in the contemporary art world, painted his constant muse and wife Ada over 250 times. While a traditional portrait aims to document the sitter and reveal their character, Katz seeks to supplant this narrative by combining the realistic with the artificial in order to generate an archetype of the human form. Katz’s paintings emphasize the surface through strategic use of smooth, broad swaths of paint and large, flat areas of color that result in bold and powerful compositions that visually dominate a gallery. He further abstracts the individual he is painting in situ by devoting only minimal attention to detail. In Ada on Green Couch (1971), Katz renders Ada’s likeness with such few brushstrokes that her presence is palpable, but unknowable. Katz also manipulates the perspective of the painting by positioning Ada at a sharp angle and closely cropping around her face as she rests on the dark green couch. This view generates a faux intimacy with the viewer—while she is close, there are not enough painted characteristics to conjure her into existence. Stripped of any detail, meaning or context, the painted Ada is all exterior, a representation, a symbol of the person he references. The format of the portrait continues to be a major theme in modern and contemporary art—whether a direct likeness or a conceptual rendering of selfhood. Today, with the ubiquitous social media phenomenon of the selfie, the portrait remains a testament to the fundamental human need for engagement, understanding, and the quest for memorialization of self and other. Mirror Image contains over 100 portraits—over half of which have not been seen in more than two decades or have never been on view at the museum. The exhibition features work by artists Gertrude Abercrombie, Ivan Albright, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Warrington Colescott, David Hockney, Alex Katz, Käthe Kollwitz, Henri Matisse, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum. 2 Generous support, to date, for Mirror Image has been provided by JoAnne Robbins and David Falk; the Theda and Tamblin Clark Smith Family Foundation; Bell Laboratories; Chuck Bauer and Chuck Beckwith; a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts; and MMoCA Volunteers.
YOUNG AT ART State Street Gallery • Mar 16–Apr 20, 2019 Opening Reception • Sunday, Mar 17 • 3–4:30 PM Organized biennially, Young at Art presents works of art by Madison Metropolitan School District students ranging from kindergarten through grade 12. The exhibition is the result of a long-standing collaboration between MMoCA and the school district’s Arts Education Division. For the exhibition, each of Madison’s public school art teachers was invited to submit up to three works of art for the exhibition, including individual works as well as those made collaboratively. The resulting exhibition showcases a full range of subject matter, technique, and art mediums—from drawing, painting, and collage to photography, jewelry, ceramic, fiber, and new media arts. Young at Art calls attention to children’s creative potential and to the scope and variety of individual expression. The exhibition also highlights the high caliber of art instruction in Madison’s public schools and the interdisciplinary nature of art education. Generous support, to date, for the 2019 presentation of Young at Art has been provided by Nancy Mohs; National Guardian Life Insurance Company; Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company; Dane Arts; Perkins Coie LLP; Associated Bank; Total Administrative Services Corporation; RSM; and MMoCA Volunteers. IMAGE CREDITS • COVER: Phuong Nguyen, Self-Portrait (detail), 1995. Oil on Masonite, 11 3/4 x 13 inches. Collection of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Museum Purchase. PAGE 2: Alex Katz, Ada on Green Couch, 1971. Oil on canvas, 32 x 48 inches. Collection of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Gift in memory of Olive Hoyt Smith by her sister. © Alex Katz/ Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY PAGE 3: AJ O., Untitled. Tempera paint. Thomas Jefferson Middle School, grade 6, art teacher Michael McDermott. • Photo by Erica Anderson. The East High School Black Music Ensemble will perform during the Young at Art reception. 3
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Winter 2019 MMoCA Newsletter

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