What to watch

 

How to look at an abstract painting

Artist Amy Sillman, art historian Erin Kimmel, and PROGRAM host Helen Molesworth examine the paintings of Joan Mitchell and debate how—or how not—to look at an abstract painting.

 

 

The back of a Martin Wong painting unlocks the history of graffiti art

This short documentary tells the unknown story of how the back of this painting got covered in graffiti. Before Martin Wong's painting Houston Street became part of our collection, rumors circulated about another artwork on its back. When our team replaced the stretcher, they had a chance to study a hidden piece that hadn’t been seen in over 40 years.

 

 

The Norwegian polar explorer opens up his Oslo home and expansive art collection

Trekking the North Pole, South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest on foot – and as the first to reach all three – Erling Kagge’s curiosity and penchant for risk-taking has taken him to some of the most extreme environments on earth. A prolific Renaissance man who can lay claim to an array of titles, the Norwegian polar explorer, publisher, author, lawyer and mountaineer is also known as a dedicated art collector – amassing a vast collection of contemporary works with an anarchic undercurrent.

 

 

Philip Guston: the restless artist painting everyday evil

Philip Guston thought hard about the artist's responsibility to bear witness to ‘the brutality of the world‘. Consistently changing and reinventing, he sought to make work that embodies life’s complexities, its beauty, absurdity, humour and suffering. In this short film, curators Michael Wellen and Michael Raymond, conservator Anna Cooper and the artist's daughter, Musa Mayer, recount the story of Guston's life and career, as well as his restless urge to challenge himself creatively.

 

 

Larry Gagosian in Conversation with Glenn Fuhrman

Take an intimate look at how the art market is shaped at its highest levels, as contemporary collector and MoMA board member Glenn Fuhrman talks with art superdealer Larry Gagosian, whose network of exhibition spaces comprises 16 commercial galleries across the US, Europe, the UK and Asia.

 

 

The Vogels - A Look at their Art Collection

Over 30 years, a retired postal worker and his wife, a retired librarian, have amassed one of the world's great collections of avant-garde art. But rather than cash in, Herb and Dorothy Vogel are donating all 2,000 pieces to the National Gallery of Art.