The Margulies Collection in Wynwood presents artwork never seen before in Miami
Every year, one of the biggest publicly accessible private art collections in the city undergoes a big change. The Margulies Collection at the WAREhOUSE, tucked away in the northwest corner of Wynwood next to I-95, completed its annual rehang just before Miami Art Week. And this year, there are pieces on display that high-powered collector Martin Z. Margulies rarely lets out of his own home.
“There are a lot of works that came from his home, from the private collection. So we’re very excited to get to show some of these to the public,” says Jeanie Ambrosio, associate curator at the collection.
Two new shows have been installed in the museum’s entrance galleries, one focusing on historical modernism and the other on conceptual work. It’s the former that has the heavy hitters, some of which have never been seen before in Miami. There are sculptures from Joan Miró and Robert Indiana, and paintings and drawings from Cy Twombly, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Jackson Pollock, among others. Rare three-dimensional works from pop art legends Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol are on display.
In the front gallery are electrified artworks incorporating neon lights and television screens. A wall of cathode-ray televisions by Peter Coffin presents footage of wildlife engaged in play, a reminder that all species seek out joy. Chilean artist Iván Navarro created a fluorescent-light replica of de Stijl artist Gerrit Rietveld’s famous “Red Blue Chair” that also serves as a commentary on Pinochet-era blackout curfews the artist suffered through.
There are simpler works too, including a rug made of car mats by John Beech – a play on Carl Andre’s minimalist floor sculptures – and a group of 26 doorstops assembled by the same artist, gathered from the San Francisco Museum of Art and placed in a vitrine. Ambrosio says the work recalls Duchamp’s idea of the “readymade,” the idea that any object can be considered a work of art.
“It’s the idea that, is anything in a museum art, even the door stops? But then, here they are.”
Photography, always a staple of the Margulies, is also well-considered in the rehang. A series of artist portraits by Jason Schmidt includes scenes captured in Miami: Text artist Jenny Holzer is pictured in front of Freedom Tower, where her work was projected in 2004, while local Mark Handforth is shown next to a palm tree. Other artists include Ed Ruscha, Maria Abramovich, the late Richard Serra, and additional famous names.
The museum is also hosting an exhibition from the Barcelona-based Foto Colectania Collection, “Beyond the Single Image,” that focuses on Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan photography from the early 20th century onward. They include images of street life in the Iberian Peninsula, portraits of people from marginalized groups such as women, Black, and LGBTQ+ people, and unsettling historical photos. A portrait of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco is contrasted with images of poor villages in rural Southern Spain.
Of course, the Margulies may be best known for its large-scale installations, including a group of monumental, permanently installed works by Anselm Kiefer. The German artist’s massive sculptures and grim paintings, relating to his country’s history and complicity in the Holocaust, will be supplemented by director and countryman Wim Wenders’ recent documentary on the artist, “Anselm.” The film will play on a screen in the space.
Some of the shows from last year have been retained, including a stately room of works by Italian “Transavanguardia” artist Mimmo Paladino (“Mr. Margulies loved the show so much that we kept it up,” says Ambrosio). But there are plenty of newly installed pieces, including a work by Do Ho Suh, famous for his transparent fabric sculptures that recreate various places and spaces. The piece at the Margulies is a facsimile of the first apartment Suh rented in New York. It’s not the only one of its kind, according to curator Katherine Hinds.
“He was lonely (in New York), as you can imagine. He came from Korea,” she says. “And one of the first social things he did is he knocked on his neighbor’s door and said, ‘Can I make a sculpture of your bathroom?’ And it’s New York, so they said, ‘Sure.’”
That particular piece is on display at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, but its more significant companion, depicting Suh’s own place, is here in Miami.
If you go:
WHAT: The Margulies Collection at the WAREhOUSE
WHERE: 591 NW 27th St., Miami
WHEN: Open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
COST: $10 for adults, $5 for out of state students, free for Florida students with ID.
INFORMATION: 305-576-1051 or margulieswarehouse.com.
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