Friday, February 1, 2019

Renaissance Society receives million dollar gift to expand publishing program



The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago has just announced a donation of one million dollars to help fund their publishing program. Philanthropists and longtime supporters of the school Joe and Rika Mansueto pledged the funds, which will be the largest donation in the history of the museum, which was founded in 1915.

“The Renaissance Society is driven by an unwavering faith in artists and their ideas,” executive director Solveig Øvstebø said. “We support them to produce new art and, with it, new knowledge, new discourse, and new ways of thinking. Nowhere is this more evident than in our books, and the Joe and Rika Mansueto Publications Program provides long-term resources to continue to produce and share more broadly this important work.”

The president of the board of directors, Richard Wright, adds  “The Ren’s publications not only document the exhibitions, but expand the critical conversations that begin with them, and enter them into the art historical record. We are deeply grateful to Joe and Rika for their generous gift, which ensures the continued significance of the museum’s output.”

The funds will help ensure that each exhibition is accompanied by a monograph, catalogue or artists' book. The donation will also enable the museum to work with a wider range of authors, designers and printers.

Previously the museum has published books by or about Louise Bourgeois, Mike Kelley, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Raymond Pettibon, Sadie Benning and many others. They have also produced numerous multiples, including Barbara Bloom flashcards, a Jenny Holzer dinner plate, Rodney Graham champagne glasses, Jessica Stockholder placements, and a Sol Lewitt table.

Publications on Liz Magor, Alejandro Cesarco and LaToya Ruby Frazier are forthcoming.




No comments:

Post a Comment