Guggenheim Museum - Global Exhibitions - Bilbao - Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collection

Visit the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Web Site

Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collection
March 18–September 7, 2003

Of his early approach to acquiring artwork, Eli Broad has said, "I had a theory that the great collections of the world were made when the art was contemporary—you can't go back and create a great Impressionist or Post-Impressionist collection today." Since assuming this focus in the 1970s, the Los Angeles-based Eli and Edythe Broad have amassed one of the finest collections of recognized and emerging artists in the U.S. In 1984, they established The Broad Art Foundation to act as a lending institution to museums and universities, thereby reaching a wider audience with their contemporary collections. Today, the holdings of the Foundation and the Broads total over 1,000 works by 150 artists. Representing a diverse range of artistic styles that have emerged since World War II, the collections particularly target representational works and those with an emphasis on social issues. The Broads have a strong commitment to philanthropic institutions, and in 1999 they created The Broad Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving public education in urban America.

Organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collections features approximately 100 works by 20 seminal artists, including John Baldessari, Anselm Kiefer, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, and Andy Warhol. Together, these artists are responsible for the most important artistic trends of the last 40 years. One of the strongest aspects of the Broad collections is American art of the 1980. The exhibition examines work from this decade within the context of the pivotal artistic developments that preceded it, while underlining the continuing relevance of this work today.

Jasper Johns, Flag, 1967. Encaustic and collage on three canvas panels, 33 1/2 x 56 1/4 inches overall, The Broad Collection