Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
2 special exhibits illuminate light, architect Safdie’s work
BENTONVILLE — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has announced two temporary exhibitions for the fall, including one devoted to the designer of the 201,000square-foot facility.
“Moshe Safdie: The Path to Crystal Bridges,” scheduled to open Oct. 13, showcases the Boston-based architect’s “aesthetic language of transcendent light, powerful geometric form, and metaphoric imagery,” according to the Bentonville museum.
Opening on the same day is “See the Light: The Luminist Tradition in American Art,” which traces the importance of light for American artists from the 19th century through today, according to a news release from the museum.
That exhibition will include a new acquisition to the museum’s permanent collection, a piece by a midcentury American artist that was acquired through a private sale, according to the museum.
The work has not been displayed for several decades. Diane Carroll, media relations manager for Crystal Bridges, said she could not disclose the identity of the piece, but added it will debut at a preview for museum members and the media Oct. 12.
The exhibitions, both scheduled to run through Jan. 28, are free, and advance tickets aren’t required, Carroll said.
Crystal Bridges also announced a traveling exhibition for the spring. “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell” scheduled to run March 9 through May 28.
Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., the exhibit will feature 42 original Norman Rockwell paintings and a set of all 323 of Rockwell’s Sat-
urday Evening Post covers. Among the works planned for the display are Rockwell’s Coming and Going (1947), Girl at Mirror (1954), Art Critic (1955) and Triple Self-Portrait (1960).
Crystal Bridges owns and displays one of Rockwell’s most iconic works, Rosie the Riveter, which graced the May 29, 1943, cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
Timed, reserved tickets will be needed for the Rockwell show and are to go on sale in November. Exhibit admission will be free for children and Crystal Bridges members.
The Safdie show includes models, architectural drawings, photographs and video on his work on four key projects prior to Crystal Bridges: Habitat 67 in Montreal, Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
The Crystal Bridges complex references elements from those and several others of his major national and international projects, according to the museum.
Safdie’s Bentonville design consists of a series of eight connected pavilions surrounding a pair of creek-fed ponds.
“The sensitive integration of the building into nature mirrors the museum’s mission of uniting the power of art and the beauty of landscape,” according to Crystal Bridges.
The late Arkansas architect E. Fay Jones also influenced Safdie’s blueprints for Crystal Bridges, founded by Alice Walton, daughter of late WalMart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton.
Jones designed Sam and Helen Walton’s home in Bentonville, near the museum site. Safdie visited the Walton residence after agreeing to design Crystal Bridges.
The “See the Light” showcase features works selected by Crystal Bridges curators from the museum’s permanent collection.
They range from impressionist paintings of John Singer Sargent from the late 19th century to contemporary pieces by artists such as James Turrell and Jim Campbell.
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