The Brooklyn Museum, one of the largest art museums in the world, is celebrating the impact of John Vermeer and the Surrealists, celebrating its centennial and welcoming a new president and chief operating officer.
Reporting to the museum’s Chairman, Alan Gold, Michael Birkhead, at the helm, for the 2018-19 academic year will be Matthew Ball, formerly Chief Operating Officer of The Getty Conservation Institute, an international nonprofit group that manages and develops museums and museums-at-risk, and a recognized expert in the conservation and conservation of cultural material and physical environments.
John Cameron (right) and Michael Birkhead in 2006. The Galerie Brusne, Paris
This will be the first time that Vermeer will be shown alongside an artist such as the Surrealists, when the collection will be part of the museum’s “As Seen Through A Very Raw Lens: William Merritt Chase and William Merritt Chase’s Surrealist Groupie” exhibitions, which will also expand to include Monet, Monet’s Wonderful Women, and Degas.
The two days of the collaborative “As Seen Through A Very Raw Lens” showcases will also feature works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Betye Saar, Georgia O’Keeffe, Paul Cézanne, and Alberto Giacometti among others.
Previous discussions between the museum and the museum as part of the $200 million renovation include exploring work by Simeon Jackson, Jennie Beth Roberts, and Cy Twombly.
“I’m delighted to be joining at this time. The museum is standing at a critical moment, both in terms of its cultural stature and its ability to foster and support contemporary artists as they emerge from New York City’s art and cultural culture,” said Ball.