WATER MILL, NY.- The Parrish Art Museum presents the annual re-installation of its permanent collection galleries: The Permanent Collection: Art. Illuminated., featuring several important recent acquisitions, many on view for the first time. Marking the second anniversary of its Herzog & de Meuron-designed building (which opened in November 2012), the Parrish Art Museum has drawn works from its 3,000-piece collection, including some 80 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, dating from the late 19th century to the present, shown in seven galleries. The installation remains on view through November 2015.

“The Permanent Collection: Art. Illuminated. is a series of nine thematic mini-exhibitions that can be enjoyed individually, and when taken together, provide a fresh context and overview of the key ideas and impulses that inspire the creative process,” explains Parrish Art Museum Director Terrie Sultan. “The new installation includes many works acquired recently by the Museum, most of which are on view in the Museum for the first time."

Important recent acquisitions shown for the first time include Philip Pearlstein’s pencil drawing Two Nudes on a Bamboo Recliner and Linoleum (1984); Chuck Close’s Self-Portrait/Photogravure (2005); and a series of three small paintings on paper by Eric Fischl, Untitled (Woman in Shower) (1984). The acquisition of one painting and three sculptures by Betty Parsons is a significant addition to the Museum’s existing collection of the artist’s work. The new gifts on view include the painting Indian Acorn (1966), and three sculptures: The Pope (1980), Kachina (1981), and Pulling That Way (1982).

Other important works that are new to the collection and part of the installation are: Michelle Stuart’s Materia Prima II (Islas Encantadas Series) (1981); Robert Kushner’s 120 x 47-inch, mixed-media work on canvas, Untitled (1980); Donald Lipski’s mixed media assemblage Candelabracadabra No. 2 (1990); Diane Tuft’s platinum print, Victoria Valley, Sand Dunes (2013); Ry Rocklen’s sculpture, Sunday Spire (2008); and Clegg & Guttmann’s Cibachrome print, Untitled (1997).

In addition, The Permanent Collection: Art. Illuminated. includes important works from the collection that have never before been shown at the Parrish: two sculptures by Lynda Benglis, Untitled (1971), and Spiracle (ca. 1977); and the Norman Jaffe pencil drawing, Krieger House, Montauk, NY (1977).

The installation’s nine exhibitions offer new perspectives on classic themes: Art Illuminated brings to light the many affinities among works of art when viewed in the context of a collection; Painting Horizons reconsiders the landscape through the lens of a shifting horizon; Face Value reveals how the longstanding tradition of portraiture can be made new in the hands of contemporary artists; and Material World explores how artists have used non-traditional materials and techniques to create compelling works.

Esteban Vicente and Collage reveals how a medium initially considered a temporary diversion for this artist became a life-long pursuit; Drawings by Sculptors illustrates a vital and essential practice for sculptors; Still Life in the Studio presents various approaches to still life, from Jane Wilson’s more traditional style to Michael Combs’ more abstract references; and the works on paper in Land, Sea, Air encourage viewers to consider the artists’ response to the natural environment.

In addition, William Merritt Chase: The Shinnecock Years illuminates the artist’s creative process during his tenure at the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art, as both painter and a teacher, through his masterpiece The Big Bayberry Bush (ca. 1895), and works by three of his students.

The Permanent Collection: Art. Illuminated. is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Maren Otto, the Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Foundation, Suzanne and Bob Cochran, and Christopher Harland and Ashley Leeds. The Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.

Donors of recent acquisitions:
• Chuck Close, Self-Portrait/Photogravure, 2005, Gift of Paul J. Schupf Lifetime Trust, Gregory O. Koener Trustee, in honor of Bill and Bettina Cisneros

• Clegg & Guttmann, Untitled, 1997, Gift of The Carol and Arthur Goldberg Collection;

• Eric Fischl, Untitled (Woman in Shower), 1984, Gift of Douglas S. Cramer in honor of Dorothy Lichtenstein;

• Robert Kushner, Untitled, 1980, Gift of Britta Le Va and Joe Zucker;

• Donald Lipski, Candelabracadabra No. 2, 1990, Gift of Terri Hyland;

• Betty Parsons, Indian Acorn, 1966, Gift of The Betty Parsons Foundation;

• Betty Parsons, The Pope, 1980, Kachina, 1981, and Pulling That Way-Away, 1982, Gifts of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation;

• Philip Pearlstein, Two Nudes on a Bamboo Recliner and Linoleum, 1984, Gift of Adam Lewis and Thomas K. Chu;

• Ry Rocklen, Sunday Spire, 2008, Gift of Carlo Bronzini Vender;

• Michelle Stuart, Materia Prima II (Islas Encantadas Series), 1981, Gift of Jacqueline Brody;

• Diane Tuft, Victoria Valley, Sand Dunes, 2013, Gift of Marcia Dunn and Jonathan Sobel.