RFC/CAF Receives Large Donation of Sculptures and Works on Paper from the Collection of Kenneth L. Freed
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Miami, August 1, 2011-The Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation (CAF) has received a major donation of artwork by California artists from Boston collector Kenneth L. Freed. Mr. Freed’s significant gift includes 59 sculptures and 14 works on paper by Taft Green, Patrick Hill, Evan Holloway, David Ireland, Alice Könitz, Lisa Lapinski, Charles Long, Jason Meadows, Jeff Ono, Robert Overby, Torbjörn Vejvi, Nicolau Vergueiro and John Williams. 23 of these sculptures and all of the works on paper are by Charles Long.
This donation is the largest received since CAF’s inception in 1994 and the first from a private collection. A selection from this donation will be on view at CAF from November 30th, 2011 through July 27th, 2012.
Several generations of California sculptors are included; from the late Robert Overby (1935-1993) and David Ireland (1930-2009) to Charles Long (b. 1958), Evan Holloway (b. 1967) and John Williams (b. 1976).
The majority of the artists are represented by several examples of their work, showing a range of materials and form. This is particularly evident in the 23 sculptures by Charles Long created between 1995 and 2005. Long’s idiosyncratic, nonrepresentational forms range from elegant to abject and include coffee grounds, rubber, detritus and papier-mâché.
Also included in the gift is Evan Holloway’s Gray Scale, which was a highlight of the 2002 Whitney Biennial and The Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas: New Sculpture at the Hirshhorn Museum in 2006. In Gray Scale, Holloway methodically breaks and then reconstructs a tree limb, its twigs painted in gradients from black to white and reaffixed perpendicularly to one another, creating a sculpture that is at once formal and surreal.
“I believe these sculptures form a coherent snapshot of a remarkably productive period and in giving them to CAF I am confident that they can be seen and studied together within a larger context,” said Kenneth L. Freed. “I’ve long admired the Rubells’ collection, and these works complement it and introduce important artists such as Charles Long and Robert Overby.”
The donation is testament to the shared sensibility of donor and recipient– both deeply committed to ensuring that the public has ample engagement with new, challenging art. “The Foundation is honored to receive this generous gift from an esteemed collector who has enhanced CAF’s ability to provide a comprehensive overview of sculpture from 1990 through today,” said Juan Roselione Valadez, CAF’s Director.
“Kenneth Freed’s faith in our Foundation is a tremendous source of inspiration and motivation for us. We are thankful for his support and generosity,” said Donald Rubell, CAF’s chairman.
About the Rubell Family Collection and the Contemporary Arts Foundation
The Rubell Family Collection (RFC) was established in 1964 in New York City, shortly after its founders Donald and Mera Rubell were married. It is now one of the world’s largest, privately owned contemporary art collections.
In Miami, Florida, since 1993, the RFC is exhibited within a 45,000-square-foot repurposed Drug Enforcement Agency confiscated goods facility and is publicly accessible. The Contemporary Arts Foundation (CAF) was created in 1994 to expand the RFC’s public mission inside the paradigm of a contemporary art museum.
The collection is constantly expanding and features such well-known artists as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol. In addition to displaying internationally established artists, the RFC actively acquires, exhibits and champions emerging artists working at the forefront of contemporary art.
Each year the Foundation presents thematic exhibitions drawn from the collection with accompanying catalogs. These exhibitions often travel to museums around the world. Recent exhibitions have been presented at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Palm Springs Art Museum in California and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Sponsors for recent exhibitions have included Bank of America, Puma, Audi, Lanvin and Dedon.
The Foundation has been recognized as a pioneer in what is often referred to as the “Miami model,” whereby private collectors create a new, independent form of public institution.
The Foundation also maintains an internship program, an ongoing lecture series and an extensive artwork loan program to facilitate exhibitions at museums around the world. Its ongoing partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools enables thousands of schoolchildren to visit and engage with the Foundation every year. In addition, the Foundation has a public research library containing over 40,000 volumes and a comprehensive contemporary art bookstore.
