Exhibition Review: Delirious at the Met Breuer
The Met Breuer is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's home for modern and contemporary works/exhibitions. In the building originally owned by the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Met Breuer opened in 2016, and has since been presenting ever-changing exhibitions (all from the Met's collection).
I specifically visited the museum to check out Delirious: Art at the Limits of Reason. The exhibition featured works from between 1950 and 1980, years that were often marked by political and social unrest. Globally, as military and political conflict ensued, many artists responded with disillusionment towards society. This resulted in a rejection of rationality, and artists incorporated absurdity, repetition, and disorientation to their works (I do wonder where movements like Dadaism would fit in this exhibition's narrative).
This exhibition explored themes such as excess, nonsense, and depictions of the body as a reflection and critique of society. I loved the inclusion of women artists as well as the numerous Latin-American artists presented throughout the exhibition. There was a nice presentation of Brazilian artists, many of whom were apart of the neo-concrete movement (I actually viewed an exhibit on this movement at the Met Breuer a year ago, and it was satisfying to see curators continue to delve into art movements often considered periphery to the canon). I genuinely discovered a lot of artists I nevere heard of before, which was a change from the typical "big-name artists only" exhibits often put on by major museums. Still, work from globally-renowned artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Bruce Nauman, and Sol LeWitt were presented.
A lot of the pieces were aesthetically stimulating and quite photogenic. Many of the works were meant to fascinate—whether through their insane repetition, chaotic appearance, or confusing structures. There were all types of mediums included, but because the exhibition was not too large (in my subjective opinion), it did not feel overwhelming. In fact, I probably would have loved to see even more works of art added to the exhibit, but perhaps I'm just asking for too much. The exhibition will be on view until January 14, 2018.