Works From JPMorgan Chase Collection At The Bruce Museum

GREENWICH — The Bruce Museum of Arts and Science is presenting “Off The Wall: Works from the JPMorgan Chase Collection” through September 12.

The exhibition presents a rare chance to see selections from the renowned JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, one of the foremost corporate art collections in the world and which includes both classic modern as well as the best contemporary works of art.

“Off The Wall” focuses on the drawings in the collection, which are especially important not only because they mirror the collecting focus from its inception in 1959 to the present, but also because drawing itself has become one of the most significant means of expression in the late 20th Century. The exhibition features approximately 65 outstanding two-dimensional and sculptural works, all defined as drawings and selected from a collection of over 20,000 artworks that are installed in JPMorgan Chase offices worldwide.

The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection was begun in 1959 under the guidance of David Rockefeller, then president of the Chase Manhattan Bank. Rockefeller notes in his memoirs that the art program became a powerful expression of the bank’s enlightened role in modern culture. The initial decision to collect both emerging and mid-career artists was made with the assistance of a selection committee of five leading museum directors and curators.

Among the best-known artists whose works are on view in the exhibition are Chuck Close and Andy Warhol, but there are plenty of others represented. There are sculptural works by Saul Steinberg and Mathieu Mercier, drawings by Vik Muniz, Jean Michel Basquiat, paintings by Mark Tansey, David Salle and Gerhard Richter, and mixed works by Saul Steinberg and David Wojnarowicz, among many artists represented.

The Bruce Museum of Arts and Science is at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, just off I-95 Exit 3 and a short walk from Metro-North’s Greenwich rail station. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, free for children under five, and free for all on Tuesdays.

Groups of twelve or more require advance reservations. Museum exhibition tours are held Fridays at 12:30 pm. Free, on-site parking is available. For information, call the Bruce Museum at 203-869-0376 or visit www.BruceMuseum.org.