Kandinsky Retrospective Brings Modern Masterworks from the Centre Pompidou–Paris to the Frist Center
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts presents Kandinsky: A Retrospective, an exhibition celebrating a lifetime of work by Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) in the Center’s Ingram Gallery from September 26, 2014–January 4, 2015. Chronicling four decades of artistic evolution—from early figurative works to exuberant experiments in abstraction and color—this exhibition invites visitors on an extraordinary stylistic journey of one of the most innovative modern art masters of the twentieth century.Kandinsky: A Retrospective is drawn largely from the collection of the Centre Pompidou–Paris, and features more than 100 paintings, drawings and other works. A majority of these stunning works were part of the artist’s personal collection and were given by the artist’s widow, Nina. Additional paintings from the Milwaukee Art Museum, including works by Gabriele Münter, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, further an appreciation of the artist in the context of his contemporaries.
Organized chronologically and spanning the artist’s periods in Russia, Germany and France, the exhibition begins with paintings from the early 1900s including landscapes, painted folk tales and figurative works. “These works show how the young artist was influenced by major styles such as Art Nouveau, Impressionism, Symbolism, and Post-Impressionism,” says Frist Center Chief Curator Mark Scala. In a period of experimentation and movement towards more symbolic work, Kandinsky and other like-minded artists founded Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) in 1911, a group of artists based in Munich who emphasized the expression of extreme psychological conditions in their art. “Kandinsky made a radical move away from recognizable subject matter in the belief that painting’s most important property was its capacity to dissolve the outside world and evoke inner conditions,” says Mr. Scala.
Kandinsky felt that music has the capacity to induce spiritual feelings within listeners through its formal arrangement of melodic sounds, harmonies and rhythms. He believed that “painters could similarly ‘orchestrate’ the elements of art—color, form, and line—to trigger pure emotional experiences,” says Mr. Scala. In the theoretical treatise Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky wrote that “color is the keyboard. The eye is the hammer, while the soul is a piano of many strings. The artist is the hand through which the medium of different keys causes the human soul to vibrate.”
In 1914, Kandinsky returned to Russia, his country of birth, and married Nina Andreevskaya in 1917. Facing financial hardship and material shortage during World War I and the Russian Revolution, his artistic output was somewhat limited. However, the paintings that Kandinsky did complete, some marking a return to Impressionism, further demonstrated his belief that art should comfort and convey inner meaning rather than provoke and express political views, as other avant-garde Russian artists believed.
Back in Germany during a period of heady intellectualism in the 1920s at the Bauhaus, a highly influential German art school, Kandinsky favored geometric works and created monumental decors, including the large scale mural panels he and his students designed for the Juryfreie Kunstschau—Berlin (Non-juried Art Exhibition—Berlin). The panels, built for a never-realized museum lounge, were intended to immerse the viewer in a complete aesthetic experience. A 1977 reconstruction of this room is a highlight of this exhibition, and as Kandinsky initially desired, lets “the viewer ‘stroll’ within the picture.” In stark contrast with the rigid geometry of the Bauhaus period, Kandinsky’s paintings from the end of his life and career in France are recognized for their joyful use of biomorphic forms, which reflect the influence of Parisian light and nature as well as Surrealism.
Exhibition Credit
Kandinsky: A Retrospective is organized by the Centre Pompidou—Paris and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Sponsor Acknowledgment
Platinum Sponsor: The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and TriStar Health
Silver Sponsors: Anne and Joe Russell
Hospitality Sponsor: Union Station Hotel
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Exhibition Catalogue
The exhibition is accompanied by a 202-page illustrated catalogue distributed for the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and the Milwaukee Art Museum by Yale University Press.
Related Public Programs
Friday, September 26
Community Opening: Kandinsky: A Retrospective and Helen Pashgian: Light Invisible
10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Free
Celebrate the opening of two new exhibitions, Kandinsky: A Retrospective and Helen Pashgian: Light Invisible, during our Community Opening. This event is free and open to the public. A cash bar and hors d’oeuvres will be available in the Frist Center’s Grand Lobby from 6:00–8:30 p.m. Remarks will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Frist Center Auditorium. RSVP by Monday, September 15 by calling 615.744.3987 or membership@fristcenter.org. Join us!
Friday, September 26
Curator’s Perspective: Kandinsky: A Retrospective Presented by Angela Lampe, curator, Centre Pompidou
Frist Center Auditorium
12:00 p.m.
Free
There are not many artists who successively adopted three nationalities during their lives.Wassily Kandinsky was born in Russia, achieved renown as a pioneer of abstraction and as a teacher at the Bauhaus art school in Germany, and settled in Paris where he was buried as a French citizen in 1944. In each country, in each context, he found new inspiration for his art. This lecture provides a journey through the life and work of one of the great masters of modern art. Kandinsky: A Retrospective is on view in the Ingram Gallery from September 26, 2014–January 4, 2015.
Tuesday, October 7
Lecture Series: “Food for Thought”
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. with lecture to follow at noon.
Frist Center Auditorium
Free with advance registration; lunch and gallery admission included. Registration for this lecture opens Tuesday, September 16; call Vanderbilt University at 615.322.8585 to register.
In partnership with Vanderbilt University’s Office of Community, Neighborhood, and Government Relations, “Food for Thought: Kandinsky―Exploring Connections between Music and the Visual Arts,” is a three-part lecture series presented by Vanderbilt professors, Frist Center curators, and members of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. This series provides the community at large with an opportunity to build challenging intellectual connections to the exhibition Kandinsky: A Retrospective. Mark your calendars for our next lectures on Tuesday, November 4 and Tuesday, December 2. Visit http://www.fristcenter.org for lecture details. Kandinsky: A Retrospective is on view in the Ingram Gallery from Friday, September 26, 2014, to Sunday, January 4, 2015.
Thursday, October 9
Curator’s Tour: Kandinsky: A Retrospective Presented by Mark Scala, chief curator, Frist Center
12:00 p.m.
Meet at exhibition entrance
Gallery admission required; members free
Join Frist Center Chief Curator Mark Scala on a tour of Kandinsky: A Retrospective as he explores the work of this influential Russian painter and art theorist throughout his long career.
Sunday, October 19
Artful Tales: “Little Logan Golden Eye”
2:00–3:00 p.m.
Frist Center Auditorium/Studios
Free; seating is first come, first seated
Artful Tales is a FREE family program geared toward everyone ages three and up! Listen and play along as an art-related story comes to life. Then, head upstairs to the art studio and make an artwork that relates to the story.
Enjoy this gentle, original story about a long-awaited child, a magical fiddle, and the power of believing in yourself and the gifts that you are given. Afterwards, make paintings that explore the connections between color and music. This program complements the exhibition Kandinsky: A Retrospective.
Tuesday, November 4
Lecture Series: “Food for Thought”
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. with lecture to follow at noon.
Frist Center Auditorium
Free with advance registration; lunch and gallery admission included. Registration for this lecture opens Tuesday, October 14; call Vanderbilt University at 615.322.8585 to register.
In partnership with Vanderbilt University’s Office of Community, Neighborhood, and Government Relations, “Food for Thought: Kandinsky―Exploring Connections between Music and the Visual Arts,” is a three-part lecture series presented by Vanderbilt professors, Frist Center curators, and members of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. This series provides the community at large with an opportunity to build challenging intellectual connections to the exhibition Kandinsky: A Retrospective. Mark your calendars for the final lecture on Tuesday, December 2. Visit http://www.fristcenter.org for lecture details. Kandinsky: A Retrospective is on view in the Ingram Gallery from Friday, September 26, 2014, to Sunday, January 4, 2015.
Thursday, November 6
Lecture: “Understanding Kandinsky in His Early Twentieth Century Context” Frist Center Auditorium Presented by Linda Dalrymple Henderson, Ph.D., David Bruton, Jr., Centennial Professor in Art History and Regent’s Outstanding Teaching Professor, The University of Texas, Austin
6:30 p.m.
Gallery admission required; members free
Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky was one of the major pioneers in the emergence of totally abstract painting—art without recognizable subject matter. Kandinsky believed that, by communicating through color and form rather than by subject matter, art could achieve a higher level of spirituality. In an effort to have a transformative artistic effect upon his audience, Kandinsky grounded this quest in contemporary scientific ideas and discoveries such as radioactivity. This lecture, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kandinsky: A Retrospective, will explore the cultural context in which Kandinsky worked and place the artist within this important historical moment. Find more lecture details at http://www.fristcenter.org.
Friday, November 14
ARTini: Kandinsky: A Retrospective
7:00 p.m.
Meet at exhibition entrance
Gallery admission required; members free
Are you curious about art? Do you want to learn more about the content and concepts behind an artist’s work? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then the ARTini program is for you! ARTinis are designed for everyone—from the novice to the connoisseur—and include informal and insightful conversations that offer a deeper understanding of one or two works of art in an exhibition. Join Frist Center Associate Curator of Interpretation Megan Robertson as she explores a few of the works of this influential Russian painter and art theorist.
Tuesday, November 18
ARTini: Kandinsky: A Retrospective
12:00 p.m.
Meet at exhibition entrance
Gallery admission required; members free
Are you curious about art? Do you want to learn more about the content and concepts behind an artist’s work? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then the ARTini program is for you! ARTinis are designed for everyone—from the novice to the connoisseur—and include informal and insightful conversations that offer a deeper understanding of one or two works of art in an exhibition. Join Frist Center Associate Curator of Interpretation Megan Robertson as she explores a few of the works of this influential Russian painter and art theorist.
Thursday, November 20
Performance: “Blue-Yellow-Red” Presented by Robbie Hunsinger and Missy Raines
6:30 p.m.
Rechter Room
Gallery admission required; members free
Seating is first come, first seated
Interdisciplinary artist and transmedia performer Robbie Lynn Hunsinger will present an original composition inspired by the art and writings of Wassily Kandinsky that explores synesthesia and the interconnectedness of music, visual art and the senses. Hunsinger’s multimedia concert piece complements the motives and visual materials of her concurrent interactive installation, Blue-Yellow-Red, on view in the Frist Center’s Rechter Room from November 13–21, 2014. Virtuoso bassist Missy Raines will join multi-instrumentalist Hunsinger for this premiere performance of “Blue-Yellow-Red” for acoustic instruments, laptop, and projector.
Tuesday, December 2
Lecture Series: “Food for Thought”
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. with lecture to follow at noon.
Frist Center Auditorium
Free with advance registration; lunch and gallery admission included. Registration for this lecture opens Tuesday, November 11; call Vanderbilt University at 615.322.8585 to register.
In partnership with Vanderbilt University’s Office of Community, Neighborhood, and Government Relations, “Food for Thought: Kandinsky―Exploring Connections between Music and the Visual Arts,” is a three-part lecture series presented by Vanderbilt professors, Frist Center curators, and members of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. This series provides the community at large with an opportunity to build challenging intellectual connections to the exhibition Kandinsky: A Retrospective. Visit http://www.fristcenter.org for lecture details. Kandinsky: A Retrospective is on view in the Ingram Gallery from Friday, September 26, 2014, to Sunday, January 4, 2015.