Exhibitions and The Collection
Exhibitions and The Collection
The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi
Coming Soon
Through November 3, 2013
Julia Margaret Cameron
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden
Imran Qureshi (b. 1972, Hyderabad, Pakistan) is renowned for his skillful reinterpretations of traditional miniature painting that first flourished in the Mughal courts of the Indian Subcontinent at the end of the 16th century. He is equally adept at creating large-scale environments in which foliate motifs sourced from miniature landscapes surround the viewer and transform the site. Qureshi won the Sharjah Biennial Prize in 2011, and his site-specific work They Shimmer Still was a highlight of last year’s 18th Biennale of Sydney. Made possible by Bloomberg. Additional support provided by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky. Threatened (detail), 2010, by Imran Qureshi, gouache and gilt on Wasli paper. Collection of Amna and Ali Naqvi. © Imran Qureshi. Photo: courtesy the artist and Corvi-Mora, London
Birds in the Art of Japan Through July 28, 2013 The Sackler Wing Galleries for the Arts of Japan, 2nd floor
Japanese artists from earliest times have depicted birds—real and fanciful—often with literary, religious, or auspicious connotations. Birds in the Art of Japan Cranes (detail), Edo period (1615–1868), by Nagasawa Rosetsu, pair of hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper. Fishbein-Bender Collection, Gift of T. Richard Fishbein and Estelle P. Bender, 2011 (2011.572.2a, b) 8 | www.metmuseum.org
August 19, 2013–January 5, 2014 captures a spectacular array of real and imaginary East Asian bird species in seasonal settings. Presented are approximately 150 works in various media and styles from medieval times to the present. The exhibition draws mostly on the Met’s own impressive holdings of pre-modern Japanese art, but also includes major loans from New York City private collections. Made possible by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation.
At War with the Obvious: Photographs by William Eggleston Through July 28, 2013 The Howard Gilman Gallery, 2nd floor
William Eggleston (American, b. 1939) emerged in the early 1960s as a pioneer of modern color photography. Now, 50 years later, he is its most prolific and influential exemplar. Through a profound appreciation of the American vernacular (especially near his home in the Mississippi Delta) and confidence in the dye transfer printmaking process to reveal the region’s characteristic qualities of light and saturated chromatics, Eggleston almost single-handedly validated color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Made possible in part by Renée Belfer. Untitled (Memphis), 1971, printed 1999, by William Eggleston, dye-transfer print. Purchase, Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, and Charlotte A. and William E. Ford Gift, 2012. © Eggleston Artistic Trust
Plain or Fancy? Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts Through August 18, 2013 Wrightsman Exhibition Gallery, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, 1st floor
Modernism was not the first movement to cast a shadow on ornament and adornment, though it was the most effective one. This
exhibition contrasts austere works of art with ornate ones, encouraging viewers to examine their own responses and to consider them in the light of different stylistic imperatives of the past. Drawn from the Museum’s collection of European decorative arts, the exhibition follows the theme from the Renaissance to the early 20th century.
Living in Style: Five Centuries of Interior Design from the Collection of Drawings and Prints June 18–September 8, 2013 Drawings and Prints, 2nd floor
From an early moment on, sculpting our living environment became an art form in its own right, often involving highly paid artists working in a wide array of disciplines. Made singlehandedly or by an interpreter in various stages of the actual manufacturing process, many features of their designs have been captured on paper. Collected over a period of more than 100 years, this selection of drawings, prints, and objects highlights the ingenuity, beauty, and wit often found in designs for the interior. Wall Elevation for a Salon, ca. 1780, by Jean Démosthène Dugourc, pen and ink and watercolor. Gift of William Rieder, 2009 (2009.465.11)
Everyday Epiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969 June 25, 2013–January 26, 2014 Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography, 2nd floor
This exhibition examines the ways in which artists have used the camera to explore subjects close to home—the quotidian, intimate, and overlooked aspects of everyday existence. The works on view range from the countercultural questioning of conventions in art and life by Conceptual artists to recent works by young artists who combine process and product in novel ways.
Flora and Fauna in Korean Art June 15, 2013–June 1, 2014 Arts of Korea Gallery, 2nd floor
With works from the Met’s collection, this small installation takes a closer look at portrayals of plants and animals in Korean paintings, ceramics, lacquer, and textile. Noteworthy themes and motifs range from auspicious symbols like dragons, cranes, deer, and pine trees to emblems associated with the Confucian gentlemanscholar, such as plum blossoms and bamboo, as well as such quintessential flowers of the East as the peony and lotus. Deer Amidst Pine Trees (Part of Ten Symbols of Longevity)(detail), 19th century, two hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk. Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2013 (2013.29a, b)
Small Is Beautiful: Chinese Snuff Bottles July 19, 2013–February 17, 2014 Charlotte C. Weber Galleries for the Arts of Ancient China, 2nd floor
Snuff bottles caught the imagination of the upper class at the Qing imperial court and hold a unique place in the history of Chinese art. The broad range of materials, techniques, and artistic styles found in these miniature masterpieces represent almost every art form developed during the five millennia of Chinese civilization. All the works on view are from the Museum’s collection, and many have not been shown in decades.
Snuff Bottle, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, painted enamel on copper. Bequest of Edmund C. Converse, 1921 (21.175.314a, b)
General Information: 212-535-7710 | 9