NEW YORK, NY.- On March 18, 2016, The Metropolitan Museum of Art invites the public to celebrate the opening of The Met Breuer with three days of special programs inaugurating its new space dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Through a range of exhibitions, commissions, performances, and artist residencies, The Met Breuer will enable visitors to engage with the art of the 20th and 21st centuries through the global breadth and historical reach of the Met's unparalleled collection and resources. To launch its first season, the Museum will offer extended hours at The Met Breuer from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19. The Met Breuer will also host a special family day on Sunday, March 20 (10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.) with special programs and events for visitors of all ages.

"The reopening of Marcel Breuer's iconic building on Madison Avenue represents an important chapter in the cultural life of New York City," said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Whether frequent or first-time visitors to our Fifth Avenue building or The Cloisters, we look forward to welcoming everyone to The Met Breuer, which will provide an unparalleled opportunity to experience modern and contemporary art through the lens of the historical and global Met collection."

Sheena Wagstaff, the Leonard A. Lauder Chairman of the Met's Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, added: "With the launch of The Met Breuer in March, we are honoring the history of this beloved building and embracing its significance to the cultural landscape of our city as we infuse it with the Met'scuratorial spirit for the public to enjoy. For our inaugural season, we have developed a far-reaching program that explores themes that stretch across history, geography, and art forms. Great works of art can transcend both time and place, as our program will powerfully demonstrate."

The Met Breuer's program will spotlight modern and contemporary art in dialogue with historic works that embrace the full range and reach of the Museum's collection. The building will host both monographic and thematic exhibitions, as well as new commissions and performances. The two inaugural exhibitions at The Met Breuer will be: a major, cross-departmental curatorial initiative, Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, including works by some of the greatest artists of all time, ranging from Titian to Louise Bourgeois, who experimented with a non finito style; and the largest exhibition to date dedicated to Indian modernist Nasreen Mohamedi. Additionally, a music installation by resident artist Vijay Iyer will activate The Met Breuer's lobby gallery.

Photography will also be a cornerstone of The Met Breuer's program, including a presentation of early photographs by Diane Arbus, opening in July, that is primarily drawn from the Museum's Diane Arbus Archive; and, in the fall, a series of commissioned architectural photographs that document four seminal public buildings designed by Marcel Breuer. In October, culminating The Met Breuer's inaugural season, will be the first major survey in the U.S. of Kerry James Marshall, whose work asserts the place of the black figure within the narrative of Western painting.

These programs will all take place within an iconic building that has been renovated and restored with architect Marcel Breuer's original design vision in mind and will support an integrated experience of art and architecture. Restoration work is being executed under the guidance of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners LLC to maintain the unique character of the building's signature attributes such as the concrete walls, stone floors, and bronze fixtures, with special consideration being given to preserving the aesthetic of weathered areas to respect the patina of history within the space. The Met has collaborated with the Whitney Museum of American Art to upgrade the building's infrastructure systems in preparation for its reopening in 2016.