Mark Rothko
dal 17/2/2001 al 29/4/2001
Segnalato da
17/2/2001
Mark Rothko
Fondation Beyeler, Basel
A Consummated Experience between Picture and Onlooker. Mark Rothko (1903-1970), the American painter born in Russia, may be counted one of the most important and at the same time most original exponents of Abstract Expressionism. His large canvases with their colour strata floating on a monochrome ground have become imprinted as the classic representatives of his art in the memory of countless museum visitors. The core of this exhibition will be created by the Rothko Rooms.
A Consummated Experience between Picture and Onlooker.
Mark Rothko (1903-1970), the American painter born in
Russia, may be counted one of the most important and at
the same time most original exponents of Abstract
Expressionism. His large canvases with their colour strata
floating on a monochrome ground have become imprinted
as the classic representatives of his art in the memory of
countless museum visitors.
The core of this exhibition will be created by the Rothko
Rooms. Although the 75 exhibited paintings will be drawn
from all phases of his career, they have been selected
less to provide a general retrospective as to realise, as the
artist wished, intimate spaces whose installations should
overwhelm the viewer. This inclination began in the early
1950s and was soon to become a defining feature of his
entire output. Mark Rothko did not want his paintings
understood as isolated artefacts, but insisted they be
allowed to activate their own separate space.
The exhibition's focal point will comprise the legendary
Rothko Room from the Phillips Collection (Washington,
D.C.) and the equally well-known Harvard Murals. This is
the first time they are being loaned in their entirety, in
order to reach a wider audience while placed within the
context of Rothko's achievements. Important loans from
both private and public collections, many of which have not
been shown for decades, will be presented as complete
groups, each imparting its own particular, contemplative
character to the exhibition rooms. Together, the exhibited
works will trace a life's work, which reached its logical
conclusion in the dark, black paintings, and found
fulfilment in the Rothko Chapel in Houston.
The exhibition is being organised in collaboration with the
Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, where it can be seen on
a smaller scale from 23 November 2000 - 28 January
2001. A comprehensive catalogue will accompany the
exhibition [Hatje Cantz, Stuttgart], with full-colour
reproductions of all the exhibited works. Essays by Jeffrey
Weiss, Eliza E. Rathbone, Marjorie B. Cohn, Franz Meyer
and Oliver Wick will explore selected aspects of the
exhibition. The publication will also include a detailed
chronology by Jessica Stewart and a bibliography since
1995 compiled by Renée Maurer.
Contact: Dr. Bettina Mette, presse@beyeler.com , Tel.:
+41(0)61 645 97 21, Fax +41(0)61 645 97 39
Riehen/Basel, 10.11.00
Opening hours for the museum
10 am - 6 pm daily
10 am - 8 pm on Wednesdays
The museum is closed on 24 and 25 December 2000
Baselstrasse 101, CH-4125 Riehen / Basel -
Phone +41 (0)61 645 97 00 -
Fax +41 (0)61 645 97 19