Third Dimension Exhibition Announcement

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The Brant Foundation is pleased to present the second exhibition at its New York City space, Third Dimension: Works from The Brant Foundation, featuring over 20 artists integral to its collection. The selected sculptures, installations, and other works oscillating between painting and object represent the multifaceted practices of the artists on view, offering visitors the opportunity to encounter artists who have been collected in depth by Brant Foundation founder Peter M. Brant over the past 50 years. With a focus on sculpture and installation, The Brant Foundation pays tribute to the history of its East Village space, formerly the longtime studio of artist and sculptor Walter De Maria. The exhibition opens to the public on November 13, 2019.

Third Dimension represents the impact of decades of collecting and highlights a selection of works that have never before been exhibited at the Foundation by Carl Andre, John Chamberlain, Urs Fischer, Dan Flavin, Glenn Ligon, Claes Oldenburg, Kenny Scharf, Oscar Tuazon, Andy Warhol, and Franz West.

The exhibition brings together a dynamic group of artists who are among the most influential voices in modern and contemporary art. Additional artists in the exhibition include David Altmejd, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Maurizio Cattelan, Adam McEwen, Mike Kelley, Karen Kilimnik, Nate Lowman, Cady Noland, Richard Prince, Rob Pruitt, Jason Rhoades, David Salle, Julian Schnabel, Josh Smith, and Dash Snow.

“We are thrilled to do another exhibition in the Foundation’s new East Village space that celebrates the building’s history as De Maria’s studio where he created so many daring works,” said Brant. “Having collected sculpture from a young age, I am pleased to be able to show many pieces that we have not been able to share with the public at the Foundation until now.”

Working with dealers such as Peter Weber and Leo Castelli, Peter M. Brant began collecting Minimalist and Post-Minimalist sculpture while in his early 20s, initially acquiring works such as Claes Oldenburg’s Giant Blue Shirt with Brown Tie (1963); and Dan Flavin’s Puerto Rican Light (to Jeanie Blake) 2, (1965), and The Diagonal, May 25, 1963 (To Robert Rosenblum). The latter is a milestone of Minimalism and the very first of Flavin’s fluorescent-light sculptures, which was gifted by Brant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1974. (Brant installed both Puerto Rican Light and Giant Blue Shirt in the United Nations lobby, while living in an apartment in the building.) Similar examples of work by both artists are included in this exhibition, which have not been exhibited at the Foundation before: Oldenburg’s Soft Pay Telephone (Ghost Version) (1963) and Flavin’s alternate diagonals of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd) (1964).

Highlights on view across three floors of the Foundation’s 16,000-square-foot building include several works and installations by conceptual sculptor Cady Noland, including Crate of beer (1989); Cowboy with Holes, Eating (1990); SLA Group Shot #1 (1991); and Gibbet (1993-94). Noland is recognized for her exploration of the American psyche and impacts of mass media through collage, sculpture, and mixed-media installations. Brant was an early collector of Noland’s work, and the artist has become a key part of the Foundation’s collection.

In addition, the exhibition includes two sculptures, by Urs Fischer and John Chamberlain, never before shown at the Foundation due to their monumental size. Their display is made possible by freight doors and a gantry mechanism that moves large artworks between levels through a floor-door system in the building. Fischer’s Untitled (The Rape of the Sabine Women) (2011) features a wax replica of Giambologna’s 16th-century sculpture, measuring more than 20 feet in height. It will be on view on the second floor of the Foundation, taking over the more than 30-foot-high space. The candle work, which also includes a wax sculpture of artist Rudolf Stingel and an office chair, will melt away over the course of the exhibition, through a system of wicks incorporated in the sculptures’ interiors. On the third floor, visitors will encounter Chamberlain’s Fuccimanooli (1990), made of bent, twisted, and painted pieces of metal reaching over 12 feet high.

About The Brant Foundation Art Study Center

The Brant Foundation Art Study Center has a mission to promote education and appreciation of contemporary art and design, by making works available to institutions and individuals for scholarly study and examination. The Brant Foundation Art Study Center presents long-term exhibitions curated primarily from the collection. The collection is remarkable in that scores of artists are represented in depth, including works from the earliest period of their practice through their most recent works. Currently, The Brant Foundation, Inc., established in 1996, lends works to more than a dozen exhibitions per year. The Brant Foundation has two locations, at 941 North Street, Greenwich, Connecticut, and 421 East 6th Street, New York, New York. brantfoundation.org

The Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich is currently closed for renovation and will reopen in Spring 2020.

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