News — Mar 21, 2013

The MIKE KELLEY retrospective—the first international exhibition in the reopened Stedelijk Museum—has attracted more than 200,000 visitors since it opened in mid-December. The exhibition will be on view for another two weeks, with the final day on Monday, April 1.

“It is wonderful that so many have come to see the exhibition and the new museum,” says Karin van Gilst, managing director of the Stedelijk Museum. “It is exceeding our expectations, and it proves that contemporary art is relevant to our broad publics—many are coming to the Stedelijk Museum for the first time.”
 
Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of our time, Mike Kelley (1954–2012) created a protean body of deeply innovative work, which mined American popular culture, modernism and alternative traditions alike for purposes of a relentless, dark and delirious examination of self and society.

“It is deeply gratifying that Kelley's remarkable work has touched our visitors, many who are visiting the exhibition multiple times, and others who are traveling from abroad especially to see it,” says Stedelijk Artistic Director Ann Goldstein, and the exhibition's organizer. In the largest presentation of this oeuvre ever organized—and the first comprehensive survey since 1993—the Stedelijk has brought together over 200 of the artist’s works, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, installation, performance, music, video, photography, and collaborative works spanning the entirety of his 35-year career.

In the largest presentation of this oeuvre ever organized—and the first comprehensive survey since 1993—the Stedelijk has brought together over 200 of the artist’s works, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, installation, performance, music, video, photography, and collaborative works spanning the entirety of his 35-year career.

Organized chronologically, the exhibition occupies all of the temporary exhibition spaces (1792-square-meters/19,289 square-feet) of the new wing of the expanded Stedelijk Museum. An overview of the artist’s work from the mid-1970s until shortly before his death in early 2012, MIKE KELLEY offers visitors a unique opportunity to consider the full scope of the artist's achievements.

Mike Kelley Public Program & closing weekend

On December 14, as a special feature of the opening of the exhibition, the Stedelijk presented the re-staging of the performance “Pansy Metal/Clovered Hoof” (1989) by Anita Pace, the original choreographer, along with four Amsterdam-based dancers. 

On December 15, to inaugurate the exhibition, the Stedelijk presented a day-long symposium on Mike Kelley, with renowned scholar, curators, long-time collaborators and other experts.

On Thursday evening March 7, the Blikopeners of the Stedelijk—young peer educators who work at the museum—presented the BANANA Blikopener Event, inspired by the work of Mike Kelley. The program with artists, speed tours, improv theatre, and musical performances, attracted more than 600 young visitors.

To celebrate the closing weekend of the exhibition, there will be special programming from Friday, March 29 though to Monday, April 1st (Easter Monday). This Public Program will be announced at www.stedelijk.nl.

MIKE KELLEY travels internationally to France and the USA

The first major international traveling exhibition to be organized by Stedelijk since its expansion and renovation, the exhibition will travel to the Centre Pompidou, Paris (May 2-August 5, 2013), MoMA PS1, New York (October 13, 2013-February 2, 2014) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (March-June 2014, dates to be confirmed).

MIKE KELLEY is organized by Ann Goldstein, Director of the Stedelijk Museum, in cooperation with the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts. The curator of the first exhibition concept is Dr. Eva Meyer-Hermann.

For this exhibition, the Stedelijk Museum received the first Turing Art Grant in 2009. The Turing Art Grant is a donation of € 450,000 from the Turing Foundation that is awarded biennially to a Dutch museum for an exceptional exhibition concept.

MIKE KELLEY is made possible by lead support from the Turing Foundation, with major support from Cees and Inge de Bruin-Heijn and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by All Art Initiatives.




The Stedelijk Museum highly appreciates the support from principal sponsor Rabobank for the exhibition in the Amsterdam venue.