Opening Celebration for Collecting the New Irascibles: Art in the 1980s

Experience Collecting the New Irascibles: Art in the 1980s, highlighting pivotal artistic developments of the 1980s, featuring works that reflect the period’s diverse movements—from Neo-Expressionism and Post-Graffiti to conceptual and appropriative practices—and the collectors whose commitment shaped their legacy. Guests will be among the first to view the exhibition while enjoying light refreshments, conversation and music throughout the evening. This program marks the official debut of a show that examines the dynamic interplay between artists, cultural shifts, and the patrons who helped define an influential era in contemporary art.

This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition focused on the power of collecting to affect the trajectory of art history is curated by Dr. Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Inaugural Faculty Director of the Arthur Ross Gallery and James and Nan Farquhar Professor of the History of Art at Penn.

Image: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, New Irascibles Collectors (from the series Art World), 1985. Gelatin silver print, 20 in. x 15 7/8 in. Courtesy of the artist.