The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s (SAAM) modern and contemporary galleries reopened Friday after a three-year renovation – bringing new installations exploring American art and ushering the return of the iconic “Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii.”
“American Voices and Visions: Modern and Contemporary Art” will feature over 100 artworks from a range of media pieces that explores the explosion of possibility in American art between the 1940s and today, according to a release from SAAM.
“It would be too simplistic to reduce the development of American art to a linear series of artistic movements since it is a messy, dynamic, ever-evolving history that reflects the American experience through a multitude of perspectives and geographies,” Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Stephanie Stebich said.
The third-floor galleries were redesigned to highlight the historic building and improve wall space for artwork. The gallery aims to create a more expansive view of American art with history from Asian American, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and women artists, according to the release.
“We decided that the modern and contemporary galleries needed a rethink, a reimagining of the whole story of America and modern art,” Stebich said. “We have to tell the best story, the most inclusive story of American art.”
The modern art gallery will feature work from artists based in D.C. in the 1960s and 70s when the area was a center for abstract art. The artists are Sam Gilliam, Alma Thomas, Anne Truitt and Morris Louis, whose “Beta Upsilon” will be on display for the first time in 30 years.
The contemporary art gallery will include Nam Jun Paik's monumental video installation as well as selections from the museum's Paik archive and a new gallery dedicated to photography with a focus on representations on identity.
This is the first time the two galleries have been redone since the museum's historic building was renovated in 2006, the release said. The rest of the museum’s permanent collection will follow a similar course set to be completed by 2026.
The museum is hosting an open house with gallery talks in the modern and contemporary galleries on Friday.
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