Jan, 27, 2021
CollectionsNew Acquisitions
Phoenix Art Museum acquires new works by Derek Fordjour, Alexander Calder
The Museum adds in 2020 more than 70 works to collection, including photographic work by Arizona-based artist Liz Cohen, among others
PHOENIX (January 27, 2021) – In 2020, Phoenix Art Museum added 71 works to its collection of more than 20,000 objects of Asian, American, Latin American, European, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design. Notable acquisitions include The Futility of Achievement (2020) by critically acclaimed New York-based artist Derek Fordjour and Untitled (1972), a gouache painting, by Alexander Calder. In addition, the Museum has acquired Chaco Canyon (c. 1927-1930s) by Warren Eliphalet Rollins and Lowrider Builder and Child (2012) by Liz Cohen, an Arizona-based artist and an associate professor at the School of Art at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. These four new acquisitions elevate the Museum’s collections of American, modern, and contemporary art and are joined by 67 additional works of fashion design and Asian, Latin American, Western American, and contemporary art.
“We are thrilled to add these exceptional works to the collection of Phoenix Art Museum,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Museum’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and the Selig Family Chief Curator. “Not only does the acquisition of The Futility of Achievement by Derek Fordjour and Liz Cohen’s photographic work Lowrider Builder and Child contribute to the Museum’s ongoing efforts to diversify its collection and better represent our community by acquiring works by artists of color and Arizona-based artists, but these works also advance the Museum’s contemporary art collection on a national and international level while providing the opportunity for our community to access some of the most important works by contemporary artists today. These works, along with a rare example of a late-career painting by Alexander Calder and many others, are important and meaningful additions to the collection.”
Acquisition Highlights
- The Futility of Achievement (2020) by Derek Fordjour is the third artwork purchased with funds from the Dawn and David Lenhardt Emerging Artist Acquisition Fund, a key component of the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. The large-scale painting was recently featured in the exhibition SELF MUST DIE at Petzel Gallery in New York City, which contrasted the inevitability of actual death with the aspirational death of the artist’s ego. Fordjour, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to parents of Ghanaian heritage, earned his BA at Morehouse College, his MA in Art Education at Harvard University, and an MFA in Painting at Hunter College. He has exhibited at notable institutions around the world and received commissions for various public projects, including a permanent installation for Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City at 145th Street Subway Station and The Whitney Museum’s Billboard Project. Fordjour’s work appears in several national collections, including The Studio Museum of Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Dallas Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, LACMA, and now, Phoenix Art Museum. The Futility of Achievement (2020) will be on view at Phoenix Art Museum beginning Spring 2021.
- Untitled (1972) by Alexander Calder was a gift to the Museum by the Estate of Billie Javancie, who was an Arizona-based artist working primarily in metal sculpture. Although Calder is best known for his innovative, kinetic mobiles powered by motors or air currents, he preferred gouache painting as his primary medium for two-dimensional works. Untitled (1972) reveals Calder’s concern with primary colors, abstraction, motion, and playfulness.
- Gifted by Norine Heinrich, Chaco Canyon (c. 1927-1930s) by Warren Eliphalet Rollins depicts one of New Mexico’s most famous ruins. Rollins, who was born in Carson City, Nevada, studied art at the San Francisco School of Design before settling in Santa Fe in 1919. In 1921, Rollins served as a founding member and president of the Santa Fe Arts Club. He is known for his traditional depictions of Indigenous peoples in Arizona and New Mexico, with whom he lived for months at a time, and he was especially fascinated by ancient ruins and sites such as Chaco Canyon, as well as Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo sites.
- Lowrider Builder and Child (2012) by Phoenix-based photographer and performance artist Liz Cohen was purchased with funds provided by the Zuber Award and the Opatrny Family Foundation. The photographic work features Cohen reclining in a tranquil, idyllic setting and breastfeeding her newborn child in front of an East German Trabant that she restored and transformed into an American El Camino-style lowrider as part of her project BODYWORK. Lowrider Builder and Child examines the role women have traditionally played in lowrider car culture by focusing on the artist as both a car customizer and model.
About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.