Transfigurations: Modern Masters from the Wexner Family Collection

Edited by Robert Storr. Foreword by Sherri Geldin. Prologue by Sherri Geldin and Robert Storr. Texts by Lisa Florman, Robert Storr, Diana Widmaier Picasso, Kirk Varnedoe, Marilyn McCully, Valerie Fletcher, and James Demetrion.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary in fall 2014, the Wexner Center for the Arts is presenting an unprecedented exhibition of the personal collection of Leslie and Abigail Wexner. Transfigurations: Modern Masters from the Wexner Family Collection features an in-depth selection of masterworks by Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, and Jean Dubuffet. With its concentrated focus on these three 20th-century virtuosos, along with additional works by Edgar Degas, Willem de Kooning and Susan Rothenberg, the Wexner Family Collection is truly incomparable to any other private collection formed over the last 50 years. Guest curated by Robert Storr, professor and dean of the Yale University School of Art, the exhibition and accompanying catalogue bring fresh perspective to these artists and examine the figurative impulses that connect them. The comprehensive catalogue features essays by such leading art historians and curators as James Demetrion, Valerie Fletcher, Lisa Florman, Marilyn McCully, Diana Widmaier Picasso, Mr. Storr, and the late Kirk Varnedoe, as well as entries on the 60 objects in the exhibition. Apart from the singular significance of each individual work, both the catalogue and exhibition demonstrate the persistence of the human figure in art throughout the 20th century and into our own.

Exhibition

Columbus, Ohio: Wexner Center for the Arts, 09/21/14–12/31/14

Contributors

Robert Storr is Professor and Dean of the Yale University School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, and former Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

James Demetrion is a former Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC.

Lisa Florman is Professor in the Department of History of Art at The Ohio State University.

Sherri Geldin is Director of the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University.

Valerie Fletcher is Senior Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC.

Marilyn McCully is an American art historian based in London.

Diana Widmaier Picasso is an art historian based in New York.

Kirk Varnedoe was Professor of the History of Art at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He previously served as Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.