Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
Encyclopedia
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina
is a 36,500 sq. ft. museum space dedicated to the exhibition of mid-20th-century modern art. It is named after the family of Andreas Bechtler, a Charlotte, North Carolina resident and native of Switzerland who assembled and inherited a collection of more than 1,400 artworks created by major figures of 20th-century modernism.
The modern art
collection is part of the new Levine Center for the Arts. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened to the public on January 2, 2010 with Mayor Anthony Foxx
of Charlotte and Andreas Bechtler attending.
after World War II. The collection comprises mid-century modern art in various media by artists such as Alberto Giacometti
, Joan Miró
, Max Ernst
, Andy Warhol
, Jean Tinguely
, Barbara Hepworth
and Pablo Picasso
. Many of the artists are represented by their exploration of a particular theme or subject matter through a variety of media and approaches.
Specific focus areas of the collection are:
Only a handful of these wonderful artworks have been on public view in the United States before the opening of the Bechtler. Until now, the collection was privately held by the Bechtler family of Switzerland.
. They frequented local galleries, purchased art and made friends with artists. These early forays into the art world led Hans and his wife Bessie on a journey of almost 70 years in which the couple amassed a collection of incredible depth and diversity. The couple preferred art that revealed the working methods of the artist, and to this end acquired drawings and other preparatory work related to the artists’ total oeuvre. The Bechtler brothers incorporated art into their workplaces and the family passed on the admiration for modern art and respect for the artists to their children.
Andreas, the son of Hans and Bessie, grew up around artists and became an artist himself as well as an entrepreneur. Business holdings brought Andreas Bechtler to Charlotte, North Carolina and he chose to make the city his permanent home. After inheriting a portion of his parents' extensive collection, and augmenting it with his own acquisitions, Andreas decided to commit the collection to the city of Charlotte.
, who also designed the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
. A key design element of the four-story structure is the soaring glass atrium that extends through the museum’s core and diffuses natural light throughout the building. The open atrium allows for visual interplay between spaces. Other notable features include a vaulted skylight system and an enveloping terra cotta exterior.
The building’s dominant feature is the fourth floor gallery which makes a bold and dramatic statement as it flies out from the core of the building, cantilevered and supported by a swelling column rising from the plaza below. Inside, Botta maintained a rigorous but elegant simplicity in the palette of materials which include steel, glass, terra cotta, black granite, polished concrete and wood. Botta also designed select pieces of furniture for the museum including the reception desk, café bar, gallery benches and hanging globe lights.
completed in 1991. The sculpture was installed on the plaza of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art on October 24, 2009. The sculpture underwent conservation for four days and was unveiled to the public on November 3, 2009.
The Firebird is 17 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 1,433 pounds. It is composed of an estimated 7,500 mirror mosaics over polyester on steel armature. It is now a permanent fixture of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art collection. Complementing the Firebird are eight more Saint Phalle sculptures located directly across Tryon Street
in the urban mini-park known as The Green
.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
is a 36,500 sq. ft. museum space dedicated to the exhibition of mid-20th-century modern art. It is named after the family of Andreas Bechtler, a Charlotte, North Carolina resident and native of Switzerland who assembled and inherited a collection of more than 1,400 artworks created by major figures of 20th-century modernism.
The modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
collection is part of the new Levine Center for the Arts. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened to the public on January 2, 2010 with Mayor Anthony Foxx
Anthony Foxx
Anthony R. Foxx is an American politician. He is the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. He was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, winning 51.5% of the vote and defeating his City Council colleague, Republican John Lassiter...
of Charlotte and Andreas Bechtler attending.
About the Collection
The Bechtler collection reflects most of the important art movements and schools from the 20th century with a deep holding of the School of ParisSchool of Paris
School of Paris refers to two distinct groups of artists — a group of medieval manuscript illuminators, and a group of non-French artists working in Paris before World War I...
after World War II. The collection comprises mid-century modern art in various media by artists such as Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
, Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
, Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Jean Tinguely
Jean Tinguely
Jean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptural machines or kinetic art, in the Dada tradition; known officially as metamechanics...
, Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. Many of the artists are represented by their exploration of a particular theme or subject matter through a variety of media and approaches.
Specific focus areas of the collection are:
- European Perspective
- The holdings of the Bechtler reveal principally the tastes and opportunities of a family of collectors based in Zurich, Switzerland. Nonetheless, the works they acquired were by artists from throughout Europe, Britain and America but all seen through their own personal lens.
- School of Paris
- School of Paris is a term that has unusually broad applications but generally is meant to embrace the modern works in Europe during the years after World War II. Most often defined by various approaches to abstraction, the School of Paris is seen as flexible enough to embrace certain explorations in figural subjects.
- American and British Artists
- In addition to a focus on European artists, the Bechtler collection is also rich in American and British artists, often as a result of personal relationships. American Mark TobeyMark TobeyMark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
, for example, practiced for many years in Zurich, Switzerland and was acquainted with the Bechtler family. A cluster of British artists formed relationships with the Bechtlers, especially Ben NicholsonBen NicholsonBenjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
who often spent his summers in AsconaAsconaAscona is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore.The town is a popular tourist destination, and holds a yearly jazz festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival....
, the Italian region of Switzerland, and served as an artistic mentor to a teenage Andreas Bechtler.
- In addition to a focus on European artists, the Bechtler collection is also rich in American and British artists, often as a result of personal relationships. American Mark Tobey
Only a handful of these wonderful artworks have been on public view in the United States before the opening of the Bechtler. Until now, the collection was privately held by the Bechtler family of Switzerland.
The Bechtler Family
Hans Bechtler credited his brother Walter for leading the way to the family’s interest in modern art. In 1950 the brothers began to visit the Kunsthaus ZürichKunsthaus Zürich
The Kunsthaus Zürich houses one of the most important art museums in Switzerland and Europe, collected by the local Kunstverein, called Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, and holdings running from the Middle Ages to contemporary art, with an emphasis on Swiss art.Kunsthaus is also the name of the tram stop...
. They frequented local galleries, purchased art and made friends with artists. These early forays into the art world led Hans and his wife Bessie on a journey of almost 70 years in which the couple amassed a collection of incredible depth and diversity. The couple preferred art that revealed the working methods of the artist, and to this end acquired drawings and other preparatory work related to the artists’ total oeuvre. The Bechtler brothers incorporated art into their workplaces and the family passed on the admiration for modern art and respect for the artists to their children.
Andreas, the son of Hans and Bessie, grew up around artists and became an artist himself as well as an entrepreneur. Business holdings brought Andreas Bechtler to Charlotte, North Carolina and he chose to make the city his permanent home. After inheriting a portion of his parents' extensive collection, and augmenting it with his own acquisitions, Andreas decided to commit the collection to the city of Charlotte.
About the Building
The museum is only the second in the country designed by Swiss architect Mario BottaMario Botta
Mario Botta is a Swiss architect. He studied at the Liceo Artistico in Milan and the IUAV in Venice. His ideas were influenced by Le Corbusier, Carlo Scarpa, Louis Kahn. He opened his own practice in 1970 in Lugano.-Career:...
, who also designed the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
. A key design element of the four-story structure is the soaring glass atrium that extends through the museum’s core and diffuses natural light throughout the building. The open atrium allows for visual interplay between spaces. Other notable features include a vaulted skylight system and an enveloping terra cotta exterior.
The building’s dominant feature is the fourth floor gallery which makes a bold and dramatic statement as it flies out from the core of the building, cantilevered and supported by a swelling column rising from the plaza below. Inside, Botta maintained a rigorous but elegant simplicity in the palette of materials which include steel, glass, terra cotta, black granite, polished concrete and wood. Botta also designed select pieces of furniture for the museum including the reception desk, café bar, gallery benches and hanging globe lights.
The Firebird
In 2006, Andreas Bechtler purchased the Firebird or Le Grand Oiseau de Feu sur l’Arche, a sculpture by Franco-American artist Niki de Saint PhalleNiki de Saint Phalle
Niki de Saint Phalle, born Catherine-Marie-Agnès-Brandon Fal de Saint Phalle was a French sculptor, painter, and film maker.-The early years:...
completed in 1991. The sculpture was installed on the plaza of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art on October 24, 2009. The sculpture underwent conservation for four days and was unveiled to the public on November 3, 2009.
The Firebird is 17 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 1,433 pounds. It is composed of an estimated 7,500 mirror mosaics over polyester on steel armature. It is now a permanent fixture of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art collection. Complementing the Firebird are eight more Saint Phalle sculptures located directly across Tryon Street
Tryon Street
Tryon Street is a major north-south street of Charlotte, North Carolina. It traverses through the center of Uptown Charlotte and is the address for some of the city's tallest buildings like the Bank of America Corporate Center and Hearst Tower. U.S...
in the urban mini-park known as The Green
The Green (Charlotte, North Carolina)
The Green is a one and a half acre park at 400 South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. At one end of this so-called pocket park are the Mint Museum and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art; at the other end is the Charlotte Convention Center. Next to it stands Charlotte's historic...
.
See also
- Charlotte metropolitan areaCharlotte metropolitan areaThe Charlotte metropolitan area is a metropolitan area/region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte...
- Mint Museum of Art
- Mint Museum of Craft + Design
- North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts CenterNorth Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts CenterThe North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It opened in 1992 and is named in honor of the people of the state of North Carolina and the Blumenthal Foundation established by I.D. Blumenthal who founded RSC Brands, the largest private donor to the...
- Niki de Saint PhalleNiki de Saint PhalleNiki de Saint Phalle, born Catherine-Marie-Agnès-Brandon Fal de Saint Phalle was a French sculptor, painter, and film maker.-The early years:...
- Mario BottaMario BottaMario Botta is a Swiss architect. He studied at the Liceo Artistico in Milan and the IUAV in Venice. His ideas were influenced by Le Corbusier, Carlo Scarpa, Louis Kahn. He opened his own practice in 1970 in Lugano.-Career:...