Van Gogh Museum 'Pops Up' At The Mall At Short Hills

SHORT HILLS, NJ - Art enthusiasts may have another reason to visit the Mall at Short Hills this holiday season as the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam Pop-up is open now through Jan. 31.

This travelling exhibit is billed as an unparalleled and curator-approved replicas of nine Van Gogh masterpieces.

“Van Gogh’s works convey an extraordinary emotional intensity that speaks directly to people all over the world. These high-quality limited editions give people the opportunity to experience the power of Van Gogh’s imaginative brush work in a new, exciting and innovative way,” Director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam Axel Rüger said.

The Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam’s mission is to make Vincent Van Gogh’s life and work accessible to the world, in order to enrich and inspire as many people as possible. Vincent’s original paintings are delicate and transporting them outside of the museum could damage them, so the museum began exploring new ways of sharing his work with a global audience. The Van Gogh Museum commissioned a limited-edition collection called ‘Van Gogh Museum Editions.' Using highly advanced fine art reproduction technology developed by Fujifilm Europe, these premium quality, three-dimensional replicas of Van Gogh’s masterpieces pay exclusive tribute to his artistic genius and unique approach to art.

In the Pop-up, visitors can get up close to examine famous works of art that once graced the walls of the Van Gogh family home. They are also given the unique opportunity to acquire their own replicas, helping the museum to preserve Van Gogh’s cultural heritage. All proceeds go towards supporting the museum’s mission, which includes educational programs and future initiatives to make Van Gogh's work more accessible around the world. The collection featured at The Mall at Short Hills consists of nine carefully selected masterpieces: Almond Blossom, Sunflowers, The Harvest, Wheatfield under Thunderclouds, Boulevard de Clichy, Undergrowth, The Bedroom, Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Landscape at Twilight.

As to why the travelling museum is travelling to shopping malls, Josh Blogg, executive director of Retail is Detail, the company producing the pop-up exhibit told Forbes.com that the museum’s mission to make the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh and his contemporaries accessible to as many people as possible.

“By developing the pop-up, the museum has found an easy access for people to encounter with Van Gogh’s art who normally wouldn’t go to a museum, or would not have the opportunity to come to the Netherlands," Blogg said in the report. "The pop-up is like a sneak preview to what the Van Gogh Museum offers in the Netherlands, and it even enables people to acquire a replica which is as close to the original as it gets, so they can enjoy Vincent Van Gogh’s art on a daily basis.”

The Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam Pop-up tour will also present several recently launched facsimiles of Vincent Van Gogh’s sketchbooks. Vincent Van Gogh is possibly best known for his colorful paintings, but he was also an accomplished draughtsman. Of the many sketchbooks that Van Gogh must have owned, only four have stood the test of time. These sketchbooks are all part of the Van Gogh Museum collection and are very rarely put on public display due to the fact that they are very delicate. The Van Gogh Museum therefore decided to collaborate with Uitgeverij Komma to publish limited edition facsimiles of the four sketchbooks, used by Van Gogh between 1884 and 1890, in addition to two cahiers, several loose sketches and a letter. An example of a facsimile edition will be on display in the shop.

The Van Gogh Museum Pop-up will offer a selection of holiday gifts including ornaments, books, prints, toys, fashion accessories and home accessories.

Locations were selected in cooperation with Simon Properties and Taubmann Malls. Following the Short Hills stop, the tour will continue to the following destinations:

• Houston: The Galleria - February/March 2019 exact dates to be confirmed
• Boston: Copley Place - March/April 2019 exact dates to be confirmed
• Hartford: West Farms - May /June 2019 exact dates to be confirmed
• Denver: Cherry Creek - August/September 2019 exact dates to be confirmed
• Los Angeles: Beverly Center - October/November 2019 exact dates to be confirmed

For more information on the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, visit the website.

(Photo courtesy of YouTube)

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter by clicking here. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading our Apple iOS app here, or by visiting the Google Play store for the Android app here.