Art Of The Stage Exhibit Combines Visual, Performing Arts At MFA

TAMPA, FL — Picture standing in a gallery filled with more than 100 original stage, scene and costume designs, as well as original costumes from dozens of world-famous theater productions.

Now imagine viewing those works while hearing the music from those productions played live, witnessing the grace of a ballerina in movement or experiencing the emotions from a dramatic monologue — all within the same museum.

The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, 255 Beach Drive NE, is presenting this intersection of visual art with the performing arts in Art of the Stage: Picasso to Hockney, on view through May 10. The new exhibition includes the works of noted artists from the 19th century to present day, including Henri Matisse, Natalia Goncharova, Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, Robert Indiana and Lesley Dill.

These artists contributed stunning designs to world-renowned plays, operas and ballets, such as Pulcinella, La Création du Monde (The Creation of the World), King Arthur and The Mother of Us All.

The exhibition showcases the historical breadth of theatrical collaboration and the ways in which artists, often having achieved great success in one area, took their artistic talents in a new direction. Many of these artists were drawn to depicting energy and movement in their art. Working in the world of stage became a natural fit to explore and experiment with that artistic desire.

Art of the Stage: Picasso to Hockney is organized by the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, culled from its prestigious Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts. The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg is the first museum in the country to host the exhibition after it debuted at the McNay in late 2019.

The late collector and philanthropist Robert Tobin firmly believed that “designs come to life only when they are used.” In keeping with that idea, the MFA, St. Petersburg is presenting nearly 30 live performances of classical music, opera, dance and theater (as well as film screenings and lectures) on a performance stage inside the exhibition galleries and throughout the museum. All the performances are directly tied to theater productions presented in Art of the Stage.

The MFA worked with celebrated designer Rush Jenkins of WRJ Design (Jackson Hole, Wyoming) to transform the exhibition space. (Jenkins was also the exhibition designer for the MFA’s 2018-19 Jewels of the Imagination: Radiant Masterworks by Jean Schlumberger from the Mellon Collection).

For MFA Executive Director Kristen A. Shepherd, the opportunity to create collaborations for live performances was part of the appeal for presenting Art of the Stage.

“I am immensely proud that the MFA is able to initiate this unprecedented level of collaboration between the museum and so many performing arts organizations, highlighting how we communicate and connect across disciplines,” she said. “We are very excited to activate the museum and our entire community with visual art and performance, echoing the collaborations between the artists and performers we are celebrating. We look forward to presenting this important collection, and seeing our visitors engaged and immersed in a way they have never
experienced before.”

The exhibition spotlights an international roster of iconic artists and major art movements, including Cubism, Constructivism and Neo-Romanticism. It is divided into six themes, with the anchor of the exhibition being a section that celebrates the legendary Ballets Russes. The famed dance company was founded in Paris in 1909 by Serge Diaghilev, and united the most daring visual artists (Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso), choreographers (Vaslav Nijinsky), dancers (Anna Pavlova) and composers (Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky) of the time to create innovative, avant-garde
performances. Of particular note, there are 16 designs, paintings, drawings and costumes by esteemed Ballets Russes artist Natalia Goncharova — the most of any artist in the show.

There are also spectacular costumes from the theater, such as dresses by Lesley Dill, and a number of costumes and designs by Robert Indiana. He designed the sets and costumes for Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All — an opera based on the life of Susan B. Anthony and her fight on behalf of women’s suffrage.

“This exhibition embraces and celebrates the collaboration and experimentation that is integral to stage design for ballet and opera, and it allows the audience to better understand the practices of artists we may typically associate with two-dimensional work,” said curator of contemporary art Katherine Pill.

At a performance at the museum on Feb. 5, the Florida Orchestra will perform selections from productions presented in the MFA exhibition, such as Darius Milhaud’s La Création du Monde (The Creation of the World).

Sphinx Virtuosi, comprised of 18 of the nation's top Black and Latinx classical soloists, is the nation's most dynamic professional chamber orchestra, dedicated to increasing racial and ethnic diversity in classical music. It will perform its program, For Justice and Peace, at the museum on Feb. 21. In addition to a three-day residency at the museum, the MFA has also arranged for Sphinx Virtuosi to perform private events throughout the community at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum, Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg, Creative Clay and the Sunshine Senior Center.

Other collaborations forged by the MFA include:
• The Sarasota Ballet Conservatory: Feb. 29 and April 25
• St. Pete Opera Company: Feb.29, March 7 and March 12
• Pinellas County Center for the Arts: April 15
• Open/Space Collective residency with international dancer Helen Hansen French:
Final performance on May 2
• Playwright and performance artist Andrea Assaf residency: Final performance on
April 9
• Pianist and New York Philharmonic teaching artist Robert Fleitz and violinist
Giancarlo Latta of the NY-based classical duo, escapeVelocity: March 20

Multiple films will also be incorporated in the exhibition’s public programming, including Aelita, Queen of Mars with a new score composed and performed live by La Lucha.

Other events include a special discussion with Philomena Marano, studio assistant to the late artist Robert Indiana, on Feb. 1, March 7, April 11 and May 9.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, until 8 p.m. on Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Regular admission is $20 for adults; $15 for those 65 and older, Florida educators, college students and active-duty military; and $10 for students 7 and older. Children under 7 and museum members are admitted for free.