Kandinsky 1911-1913
at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Perhaps more than any other 20th-century painter, Vasily Kandinsky (b. 1866, Moscow; d. 1944, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) has been closely linked to the history of the Guggenheim Museum. Hilla Rebay -- artist, art advisor, and the museum's first director -- promoted nonobjective painting above all other forms of abstraction. She was particularly inspired by the work and writing of Kandinsky, a pioneer of abstraction, who believed that the task of the painter was to convey his own inner world, rather than imitate the natural world. The museum's holdings have grown to include more than 150 works by Kandinsky, and focused exhibitions of his works are presented in the Kandinsky Gallery on Annex Level 3. The current installation, Kandinsky 1911-1913, highlights paintings completed at the moment the artist made great strides toward complete abstraction and published his aesthetic treatise, On the Spiritual in Art (1911, though dated 1912). Also featured are paintings by Robert Delaunay and Franz Marc that were exhibited alongside the work of Kandinsky and others in the landmark 1912 Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) exhibition held at the Moderne Galerie Heinrich Thannhauser in Munich.

Pictured: Vasily Kandinsky, Landscape with Rain (Landschaft mit Regen), January 1913. Oil on canvas, 70.2 x 78.1 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Venue Description: Celebrated worldwide as one of the most noteworthy art museums and architectural icons of the 20th century, the Guggenheim Museum is all together an essential cultural center, an educational institution, as well as the heart of an international network of museums. Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic inverted ziggurat leads visitors through a series of interconnected rooms and requires them to retrace their steps when exiting. Visitors can experience special exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, lectures by artists and critics, performances and film screenings, classes for teens and adults, and daily tours of the galleries led by experienced docents. Founded on a collection of early modern masterpieces, the Guggenheim Museum today is an ever-increasing institution devoted to the art of the 20th century and beyond. Through extraordinary exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation achieves its mission of promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art and architecture, and the collection, conservation, and observation of the art of our time.

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