Texas’ oldest art museum unveils new home
by Bernie Scheffler, editor-in-chief

(see photos)

    More than three years after construction began, the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its new building Saturday, Dec. 14.

   The new $65 million facility, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, quadruples the museum’s total area, including five times more gallery space.

   The Modern is Ando’s largest architectural project undertaken outside Japan.

   Ando acknowledges that his building in Fort Worth’s cultural district is in close proximity to other great architectural achievements, like Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum.

   “Fort Worth has a rare example of three unified museums together in one area,” he said.

   “I studied Louis Kahn, and in the Kimbell, I feel a sense of silence. I wanted to design life into the Modern—quiet in the galleries, but when a viewer steps out of a gallery, he is integrated into the outdoors,” he said.
Extensive use of natural light and views of the 2-acre pond and downtown Fort Worth help achieve this goal, Ando said.

   The museum’s opening exhibition, which runs through March 9, will occupy the entire 53,000 square feet of gallery space and consists entirely of works from the museum’s permanent collection.

   In addition to older pieces of the permanent collection, many of the museum’s new acquisitions, never before shown as a part of the collection, will be on display.

   “At least 20 major works will be unveiled with the opening of the museum,” Michael Auping, chief curator, said.

   Older pieces in the collection include works by Pablo Picasso, George Baselitz, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jonathan Borofsky, Ed Ruscha and Nic Nicosia.

   New acquisitions to be exhibited include works by notable artists such as Francis Bacon, Carl Andre, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Philip Guston, Anselm Kiefer, Sean Scully, Susan Rothenberg, Richard Serra and Bruce Nauman.

   Terri Thornton, curator of education, praises Auping’s installation of the works and their placement in the new building.

   “I find it really difficult to talk about the art without talking about the architecture, and vice-versa,” she said.

   “Michael (Auping) has done a great job of placing the art for this exhibition. Each piece really seems to have a home,” she said.

   Photos can’t accurately represent the beauty of the new facility and the installation of the exhibit, Thornton said.

   “There is no virtual reality in the art world. You have to see it in person to truly understand it,” she said