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Corporate art patronage is hardly new. Consider the influence the great Italian merchant family, the de’ Medicis, had on their time and place: Florence during the Renaissance. Some might say culture was carried to the French by one of their daughters, Catherine, who brought the country ballet and the fork.
Now the great corporate art patrons are less public and more institutional, and the largest contribution is in the assemblage of collections. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is hosting such a collection in, "Reverberations: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Bank of America Collection." The exhibition, which runs through Sept. 21, is comprised of more than 80 works by such famous artists as Milton Avery, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, Donald Judd, John Marin, Louise Nevelson, Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha and Frank Stella.
While the great families and companies of Europe have been at the art-collecting game for centuries, such is not the case in the United States. The Bank of America collection, considered to be one of the strongest in the country, has only been active since the early part of the last century.
The academy calls the grouping among the finest of any corporation in the nation and, according to academy Director David Brigham, "Bank of America is a leader among corporate collectors and it has extraordinary works of art. It is particularly exceptional in large-scale works that private collectors and museums could not collect. In that regard, corporate collections literally helped to shape the course of contemporary art."
Perhaps "shaped" seems a bit strong, but the bank not only collects, it commissions. They hire the experts necessary for any good corporate investment.
"We were thrilled by the creative control that Bank of America granted to our curator, Robert Cozzolino. This is the largest temporary exhibition we have ever done, made possible by the generosity of the bank and our own recent institutional advancement: Renovation of the Hamilton Building. Our exhibition space has grown to about 12,000 feet, which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago."
Normally the bank does loan works from its collection, but this venture was collaborative, with the academy taking an active role in the show’s design. That meant the academy researched the collection, picked the theme and selected the works.
The exhibition is grouped around a concept that underscores Bank of America’s community outreach philosophy, as well as the strengths of its postwar collection. "Reverberations" is the starting point for an assemblage that focuses on intense color and geometry.
According to Cozzolino, the bank’s collection brings together "major works by some of the strongest and most resonant artists of the last 40 years in a dynamic dialogue.
"In the past few years, there has been new interest in Color Field painting and its legacy. ‘Reverberations’ juxtaposes works by artists who are rarely seen together to show the eccentric, reverent and subversive ways that artists learned from what [the late critic] Clement Greenberg called ‘Post Painterly Abstraction.’ Bank of America’s collection, with its high quality and regional diversity, is uniquely suited to this view."
The show has earlier works by colorists such as John Marin and Stanton MacDonald-Wright to show the beginnings of this type of art. The prime example might be the monumental work by Stella titled "Damascus Gate II," created in 1968. Stella will make an appearance at the academy to discuss his work Sept. 18.
Gilliam, a noted painter with strong local ties, will be there Aug. 14. These public programs, as well as others, are designed to bring attention to the exhibit and provide a context for viewing.
Bank of America provides the works without cost to the institutions who show them, but there is a clear economic motive in enhancing the bank’s image as a patron of the arts.
Reverberations: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Bank of America Collection
Through Sept. 21
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
118-128 N. Broad St.
215-972-7600
www.pafa.org
Adults, $15; seniors and students, $12; children, $8
