American Icons: Masterworks from SFMOMA and the Fisher Collectiona
April 8–June 22, 2015
Grand Palais
3, avenue du Général Eisenhower
75008 Paris
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is pleased to present American Icons: Masterworks from SFMOMA and the Fisher Collection, opening at the Grand Palais in Paris on April 8. Marking the first time these collections will be shown in tandem, American Icons features nearly 50 landmark paintings and sculptures by 14 leading American artists. The selection includes works joining the museum’s collection as a result of an unprecedented partnership forged with Doris and Donald Fisher, founders of the Gap. Curated by Gary Garrels, the Elise S. Haas Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at SFMOMA, this exhibition will give European audiences a glimpse of the spirit and vibrancy the newly expanded museum will embody when it reopens in spring 2016. American Icons will be on view at the Grand Palais in Paris from April 8 to June 22, and at the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence from July 11 to October 18.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the Grand Palais and the Musée Granet in presenting this selection of work by some of the most distinguished American artists, providing a preview of the quality and depth of art on view when we open our expanded building in 2016,” said Neal Benezra, director of SFMOMA. “American Icons offers a glimpse of SFMOMA’s future.”
Among the most celebrated artists in the exhibition, Ellsworth Kelly and Alexander Calder share strong connections to Paris, having created their first mature works in the city that deeply influenced works throughout their careers. Bringing seminal American works to France, American Icons also extends SFMOMA’s history of partnership with French institutions. Examples of these important relationships include the groundbreaking 2011 exhibition The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde presented at the Grand Palais and the celebrated Marc Chagall retrospective, organized by the Grand Palais and the Musée National Marc Chagall, Nice, that traveled to San Francisco in 2003.
American Icons marks the international debut of SFMOMA On the Go, an array of new art experiences, exhibitions, and programs presented while the museum is closed for construction, and reflects SFMOMA’s ability to extend its reach to a global scale, impacting international audiences.
A comprehensive catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition, including an introductory essay by Garrels, will reflect the diversity of movements and styles seen in American Icons, as well as a wide variety of new approaches toward the use of materials, color and form.
Exhibition organization
American Icons is made possible by extraordinary support from the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund. Leadership support is provided by the Prospect Creek Foundation. Major support is provided by Christie’s, Roberta and Steven Denning, and Helen and Charles R. Schwab. Generous support is provided by Gay-Lynn and Robert Blanding, Jean and James E. Douglas, Jr., and Thomas W. Weisel and Janet Barnes. Additional support is provided by the Gensler Family Foundation and Christine and Pierre Lamond.
