Miami art showdown: How two major new museums stack up
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The Reno
The beloved Bass Museum of Art, city-owned but privately run, reopened in October after a $12 million revamp, its second in less than 20 years. Overseen by the same architect, Arata Isozaki, this makeover added 24,000 square feet to the museum’s Miami Beach footprint, including 50 percent more programmable space.
The back story
The main building is an art deco masterpiece designed by Russell Pancoast, grandson of original Miami Beach developer John Collins. John and Johanna Bass endowed it as a museum in 1963 for their personal stash of European art.
The guiding light
Current director Silvia Karman Cubiñá has been aggressively repositioning the veteran museum away from its original, magpielike approach to curation. She aims to make it a contemporary hub, often thrillingly mishmashing its old master haul — think: Botticelli and tapestries — with just-completed work in a single room.
The hood
This grand dame lives at the heart of Collins Park — an area just north of South Beach that’s the buzziest of the buzzy, thanks to bars like Sweet Liberty and hotels like the Plymouth.
On view
The veteran museum opted to open with a splashy solo exhibition by Ugo Rondinone — known for his witty, oversize sculptures, usually in day-glo colors — whose work (such as a room full of life-size clowns) is tailor-made for Instagram (on show through April 29). This summer, the Deste Fashion Collection exhibit will explore the tension between art and international fashion.
ICA
The Reno
The upstart ICA squatted in the historic Moore Building while it awaited completion of its custom-built home, which debuted in December in the nearby Design District. Underwritten by auto magnate Norman Braman and his wife, the 37,500-square-foot complex was master-planned by Spanish firm Aranguren + Gallegos Arquitectos and features a notable sculpture garden.
The back story
This freshman offering emerged in the wake of the nasty implosion of Miami’s MOCA three years ago and is intended as a nimbler counterpart to the mammoth Pérez Art Museum Miami nearby.
The guiding light
The ICA has a clearer, though less unique identity: It’s another showcase for cutting-edge, envelope-pushing art (comparable to LA’s Broad). Its long-term secret weapon is director Alex Gartenfeld, who earned a stellar rep in New York for combining artistic flair with a ferocious knack for fund-raising.
The hood
The new kid on the block is yet another salvo in the battle to turn the mainland, fashion-focused Design District into a worthy rival, but it’s still vulnerable to terrible causeway traffic at peak times.
On view
The newcomer’s opening gambit was “The Everywhere Studio,” a roundup of work by more than 50 talents, including Bruce Nauman and Dieter Roth, which explored how artists react to societal change. Currently starring in a special exhibit are the rarely displayed paintings of radical artist Donald Judd. A public-sculpture program throughout the Design District, including two pieces by conceptualist Sol LeWitt, supplements the highbrow shows.
The winner is…Make it a double-header — you’re going to want bragging rights to both.
Click here to view original web page at nypost.com
April 19, 2018
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