Artists Unite to Support the Hammer Museum
Through an auction of works by its illustrious network of supporting artists, Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin hopes to establish a fund that will support culture for the future.
"The Hammer Museum at UCLA in Los Angeles has, in less than 30 years, become one of the city’s best-loved institutions. So successful is its contemporary art programme that it is in need of more space. In 2017, the Hammer announced its plans, designed by architect and long-term partner of the museum Michael Maltzan, to extend its exhibition space by 60% and provide vital back-of-house facilities. In typical style, however, the Hammer’s ambitions to grow under director Ann Philbin are not confined to the building. As part of this project, they are creating a new Artist Fund to support the museum’s exhibition programme and work with emerging artists. A section in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction in May will contribute to this, with works created especially for the sale by leading contemporary artists including Mark Bradford, Charles Gaines and Barbara Kruger.
Hammer Museum Director Ann Philbin. Photo: Mark Hanauer For the Hammer, this is just a continuation of their work. “For the last 20 years we’ve had a commitment to emerging and under-recognised artists and to amplifying voices that historically haven’t always been heard,” says Philbin.
Almost from the outset, the Hammer had big dreams. “The transformation of the museum began with a vision and masterplan that Michael [Maltzan] and I worked out together not long after I came to the Hammer in 1999,” according to Philbin. She adds, wryly, that “he was an ‘emerging’ architect back then”, just as the Hammer “was an ‘emerging’ museum”. The plan they concocted could be executed in phases, some of which have already come to pass: such as the Billy Wilder Theater, the central courtyard and the John V. Tunney Bridge. These recent changes were essentially tweaking what already existed. Now that UCLA has bought the adjoining office tower Philbin faces what she refers to as a “gamechanger” – the Hammer is about to have two more floors to play with."— Edward Behrens, Apr. 18, 2019
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Sotheby's Magazine website.
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