This press release read like a low voltage brainstorm, but the light at the end of the brain stem is that David S. to the Rubin will finally bring SAMA out of the darkness when it comes to showcasing Contemporary Art at one of the largest venues in town. Thanks David!!================================A revival of contemporary art at the San Antonio Museum of Art is planned this summer, under the direction of The Brown Foundation Curator of Contemporary Art, David S. Rubin. The Museum’s Contemporary Galleries will reopen July 7, 2007, in conjunction with San Antonio’s Contemporary Art Month, with a fresh new look. Rubin plans to install familiar objects and some never before seen gems in a beautifully designed and user-friendly manner.

Sections will be devoted to traditional subjects, such as portraits, still life, and landscape, while abstract painting—one of the collection’s chief strengths—will unfold in a somewhat chronological fashion that reveals the evolution and development of abstract art. Other areas—determined by the Museum’s existing holdings—include assemblage sculpture and thematic groupings devoted to identity and heritage and other social issues that defined the late 20th-century.

The installation will include many visitor favorites—such as paintings by pioneering 20th-century artists like Hans Hofmann, Frank Stella, Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler, Alberto Mijangos, and Michael Tracy. Recent acquisitions to be on view include a story quilt by African American artist Faith Ringgold, and a sculptural work by Dario Robleto, a San Antonio native who has earned national recognition in the past few years.

Also on exhibition will be works that have been in storage some time, among them a major painting by Ronald Davis, an early sculpture by Donald Lipski, and a major painting by Irene Rice Pereira, a pioneering abstract artist who was active in the 1950s, when women artists were generally not being recognized.

A strong believer that “art is for everyone!,” Rubin hopes to make the language of contemporary art more accessible to audiences of all backgrounds through clear and simple text labels that will focus on the meaning and purpose of each artwork. Additionally, he will host public conversations with artists from the collection throughout the month of July…stay tuned for further details!

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