Because of limitations in gallery space in the main Museum, many of the masterworks of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's holdings in modern and contemporary sculpture are not always on view, and some have only rarely been exhibited.
With the opening of the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, a new special exhibitions gallery extending alongside Pennsylvania Avenue provides a beautiful light-filled space, characterized by large, floor-to-ceiling arched windows that line opposite sides of the gallery, ideal for the display of sculptures.
The space is dedicated to changing special exhibitions, easily accessed from the lobby and convenient to the nearby café, and can be darkened for video installations as desired.
The works in the inaugural exhibition, A Conversation in Three Dimensions: Sculpture from the Collections, have been selected from the modern and contemporary art collection to take advantage of the spectacular new space and literally bring to light infrequently seen sculptures from the Museum's diverse collections.
On view from September 15, 2007 through May 25, 2008, this inaugural exhibition highlights the many ways in which artists have pushed the limits of this medium and explored its relations with other art forms, through variations in surface, color, and the handling of light.
