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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2009

PRESS CONTACT:           
Andrea Potochniak
607 254-4563
arp37@cornell.edu

Works by Close, Lichtenstein, Warhol, and many others from one of
the premier collections of contemporary art in the United States

Ithaca, NY—The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents Contemporary Art from the Barron Collection, on view from April 4 to July 5, 2009.

Nora Lee (Smokler, Cornell Class of 1959) and Guy Barron have continued the Barron family tradition of supporting artists of their time. Collector Florence Barron, Guy’s mother, commissioned Andy Warhol to paint his first self-portrait in late 1963. Mrs. Barron was passionate about finding emerging artists and commissioning work from them—two years later, she commissioned Warhol to do her own portrait.

Nora and Guy Barron have been collecting the art of their time for nearly five decades, an ongoing passion resulting in one of the most impressive private collections of contemporary art in this country. “Viewing a portion of this wonderful private collection will hopefully allow a small glimpse into the mind of the collectors, but more importantly encourage viewers to make innumerable connections themselves among the works on display,” says Andrea Inselmann, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Johnson Museum.

The exhibition includes twenty-six works by Richard Artschwager, Chuck Close, Jean Dubuffet, Carroll Dunham, Caio Fonseca, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Giacometti, Jane Hammond, Winslow Homer, Jasper Johns, Sol Lewitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Marisol (Marisol Escobar), Reginald Marsh, Malcolm Morley, David Smith, Frank Stella, Donald Sultan, Robert Therrien, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and Terry Winters.

The works on view highlight two equally compelling facets of their collection. Important Pop, Conceptual, and Minimalist works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Morley, Artschwager, Stella, and Close illustrate how many artists of the time were concerned with the power of images generated by television, advertising, and movies that began to dominate society in the 1960s.

Another sensibility apparent in the Barron collection has to do with mark-making and the love of books and writing. The most recent work in the exhibition is one of Jane Hammond’s rebus paintings, donated by the Barrons to the Johnson Museum. “Hammond shares the Barrons’ love of words and books, all the while demonstrating that the concepts of the 1960s are very much alive in contemporary art,” says Inselmann.

Reminiscent of Florence’s insightful commission, Nora and Guy Barron have also collaborated since the 1990s with a number of well-known contemporary artists—Louise Bourgeois, Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, and Lichtenstein, to name just a few—to produce limited editions of 14 x 11 inch holograms. Included in the exhibition at the Johnson Museum is the series of four holographic self-portraits by Chuck Close.

The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The museum building was designed by I. M. Pei. Funds for the building were donated by Cornell alumnus Herbert F. Johnson, late president and chairman of S C Johnson. The building opened in 1973.

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The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, located on the campus of Cornell University, is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Museum is completely accessible for mobility-impaired visitors, and a wheelchair is available in the lobby. Metered parking is available in the lot next to the Museum. For more information, please call 607 255-6464. Visit the Museum’s website at  www.museum.cornell.edu. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is a proud member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail: www.DiscoveryTrail.com.

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