Stacks of over 300,000 drawings, assemblages of collected hair and debris, as well as meticulously hand-carved wooden figurines make up just a few of the items on display in the New Museum’s latest exhibition, 'The Keeper'. It's a show which effectively blends the boundaries between curating, creating, and collecting art.
Dedicated to the act of preserving and collecting, 'The Keeper' tells the stories of individuals through the objects they chose to safeguard. With more than 4,150 objects on display, the show marks the largest number of objects that have ever been on view for an exhibition in the museum’s 39-year history.
'This exhibition blurs the lines between artist and non-artist, professionals and amateurs,' says Massimiliano Gioni, who curated the exhibition alongside artistic director Edlis Neeson, and a curatorial team comprised of Natalie Bell, Helga Christoffersen, and Margot Norton.
'It’s an exhibition about collecting, saving and preserving artworks, artifacts, objects and images,' he continues. 'Through a series of portraits and case studies spanning the 20th century, the exhibition raises questions around notions of value and ownership.'
At the centerpiece of the exhibition is Partners (The Teddy Bear Project), a display of over 3,000 family-album photographs of teddy bears and their owners collected by Ydessa Hendeles. 'It looks at people through the trails of images that they left behind and, in doing so, I hope, invites us to engage more affectionately with the images that surround us every day,' says Gioni.
'This exhibition blurs the lines between artist and non-artist, professionals and amateurs,' says Massimiliano Gioni, who curated the exhibition. Pictured: a presentation by designer/artist Carol Bove responding to a series of Carlo Scarpa’s works from his exhibition 'Ambiente', at the 1968 Venice Biennale.
'The Keeper' tells the stories of individuals through the objects they chose to safeguard. Pictured: Levi Fisher Ames' intricate animal carvings, displayed in hinged shadow boxes that he crafted by hand.
The exhibition's showpiece is Ydessa Hendeles' Partners (The Teddy Bear Project), 2002 – an enormous trove of vernacular photographs collected according to one criterion: the presence of a teddy bear.
A series of colourful abstractions, imbued with alchemical and zodiacal symbolism, by Swedish painter Hilma af Klint. She produced over 1,000 such works over the course of her lifetime.
Another collection on display is 'The Houses of Peter Fritz', preserved by artist Oliver Croy and architecture critic Oliver Elser. The buildings were the creations of Austrian insurance clerk Peter Fritz
INFORMATION
’The Keeper’ is on view until 25 September. For more information, visit the New Museum’s website
ADDRESS
New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
-
Revolutionary Apple icon designer Susan Kare unveils a playful jewellery and objet collaboration with Asprey StudioAsprey Studio's new collection, Esc Keys, brings digital artworks by Susan Kare to life
-
What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central ParkThe 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truthsAt the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
-
Miami’s new Museum of Sex is a beacon of open discourseThe Miami outpost of the cult New York destination opened last year, and continues its legacy of presenting and celebrating human sexuality
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watchSundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok banDownloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dreamBrady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
-
Inside Luna Luna: the amusement park designed by artists lands in New York‘Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy’ – featuring rides by Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Hockney, Haring, and Dalí – has opened at The Shed
