'FROM NEW YORK TO NEW MEXICO' American Modernism Exhibition to Open 6/7 at Phoenix Art Museum

From New York to New Mexico: Masterworks of American Modernism from the Vilcek Foundation Collection will open at Phoenix Art Museum on June 7, 2015. The exhibition includes 65 objects of American modernism spanning more than fifty years by notable artists like Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley and Georgia O'Keeffe. The subject matter ranges from the skyscrapers of New York City to the adobe homes of the American Southwest.

These objects are on loan from the Vilcek Foundation in New York that was started by Marica and Jan Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. With success in their respective careers in art history and biomedical science, the Vilceks are collectors of American modernism artworks. To complement the exhibition more than 30 paintings and sculpture of modernist American art from Phoenix Art Museum's collection will also be on display.

All the paintings, drawings and sculpture that make up this exhibition will help show visitors the American response to European modernism. During this time period American artists began making abstract styles their own by using American subjects in their works. This exhibition explores four themes of American Modernism including nature's great unfolding, town and country, the cubist impulse and our western roots.

"Modernists are known for their daring and bold compositions that break from academic traditions, and we are fortunate to bring to Phoenix so many strong examples by leading artists," said Jerry Smith, curator of American and European art to 1950 and art of the American West at Phoenix Art Museum. "Most of these works have rarely been shown publicly," added Smith."Marica and Jan Vilcek and the Vilcek Foundation are well known and admired for their support of the arts, and our community will benefit through their desire to have their outstanding art collection travel the country for people to enjoy," said Amada Cruz, The Sybil Harrington Director at Phoenix Art Museum. Cruz added, "This exhibition continues Phoenix Art Museum's long history of collecting and exhibiting innovative American modernism."

From New York to New Mexico: Masterworks of American Modernism from the Vilcek Foundation Collection will be at Phoenix Art Museum from June 7 to September 7, 2015. This exhibition is organized by The Philbrook Museum of Art. Support for the Phoenix venue was made possible through the generosity of UMB Bank and the Women's Metropolitan Art Council, a support organization of Phoenix Art Museum. For additional information about the exhibition, visit phxart.org/exhibition/vilcekmodernism.

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for more than 50 years and is the largest art museum in the Southwestern United States. Top national and international exhibitions are shown alongside the museum's collection of more than 18,000 objects of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, photography and fashion design. The museum hosts photography exhibitions through its landmark partnership with The University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography in Tucson. Visitors can also enjoy the PhxArtKids gallery, the Dorrance Sculpture Garden, the Thorne Miniature Rooms of historic interiors, and a collection of works by renowned Arizona artist Philip C. Curtis. For additional information about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org or call 602-257-1880.

Images: (left) George Copeland Ault (1891-1948), View from Brooklyn, 1927 (detail). Oil on canvas. ©Vilcek Foundation; (right) Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), Provincetown, 1916. Oil on canvas board. ©Vilcek Foundation.