Crystal Bridges-Museum of American Art Inc

In 2023, CBMAA welcomed 784,971 guests and presented several collection focus shows and three major exhibitions including: Diego Rivera's America, Annie Leibovitz at Work, Flagged for Discussion, and Listening Forest by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Diego Rivera's America was co-organized by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and CBMAA. It examined the artist's life between the early 1920s and early 1940s, when he worked in both Mexico and the United States, through more than 130 works, including his drawings, easel paintings, frescoes, and more. The first major exhibition focused solely on Rivera in over 20 years, it revealed the broad range of his work through a series of thematic sections that brought together more works from this time period than have been seen together since the artist's lifetime. Annie Leibovitz at Work was curated and organized by CBMAA. In addition to the artist's iconic and daring pictures for magazines like Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, the show included a set of new works made just for CBMAA-Leibovitz's first museum commission. Highlighting household names and local heroes, these works demonstrate Leibovitz's discerning vision and desire to celebrate the extraordinary now. The exhibition is currently on tour to two additional museums. Flagged for Discussion, curated by CBMAA, embraced disparate representations of the United States flag from across time, featuring work by more than 20 artists from the 19th century to today. Posing questions and creating space for conversation within the gallery, the exhibition revealed how the flag functions differently within works of painting, printmaking, fiber, photography, and mixed media. Listening Forest by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, located in CBMAA's North Forest, returned for a spring and fall/winter presentation, using light, sound, and projections to create an interactive walk through the woods. This site-specific exhibition brought together eight immersive installations, each one activated by visitors' heart rate, body, voice, and movements, to direct the forest's response. This project united art and technology in a natural setting to create poetic, shared experiences.

In 2023, CBMAA acquired 47 works of art. By classification 16 drawings, 10 prints, 5 mixed media works, 4 sculptures, 4 watercolors, 3 ceramics, 3 paintings, 1 photograph, and 1 textile were acquired. In 2023, CBMAA borrowed 457 objects from 42 lenders. CBMAA loaned 44 objects to 28 institutions during 2023 across the United States and Europe. Conservation efforts in 2023 included: Paintings conservator conducted treatments and examinations of 57 paintings over 2 visits to the museum. Objects conservator conducted treatments and examinations of 41 sculptures over 2 visits to the museum. Works on paper conservator examined 58 works on paper over 2 visits to the museum. Outdoor sculpture conservator examined 28 outdoor sculptures. Neon specialist examined 7 neon artworks. These significant conservation treatments were performed on-site by contract conservators: Tony Tasset/Deer (2017.4, sculpture); Louise Nevelson/Night Zag Wall (2008.23, sculpture); and three paintings by Janet Sobel. In addition, ten artworks were conserved off-site: Betty Woodman/House of the South (2022.30, ceramic); Marjorie Strider/Girl with Radish (2022.40, mixed media); Georgia O'Keeffe/Radiator Building and Flying Backbone (ASC.2012.73, ASC. 2012.74, paintings); Thomas Moran/The Shores of Lake Superior (2019.32, painting); Harry Gottlieb/Bootleg Coal Miners (2012.136, print); Claes Oldenburg/Geometric Mouse (2020.113, sculpture); Keith Haring/Two-Headed Figure (2012.496, sculpture); Luis Alfonso Jimenez/Vaquero (2011.29, sculpture); and Niki de Saint Phalle/Gwendolyn (2022.16, sculpture). Staff conducted regular cleaning and maintenance of 25 artworks installed outdoors. At year's end, our online collection provided access to 82% of the collection (3,363 artworks) to the public through our website.