The Long Run

Floor Four, The David Geffen Galleries

Innovation in art is often characterized as a singular event—a bolt of lightning that strikes once and forever changes what follows.  “The Long Run” provides an alternate view: by chronicling the continued experimentation of artists long after their breakthrough moments, it suggests that invention results from sustained critical thinking, persistent observation, and countless hours in the studio.  Each work in this presentation exemplifies an artist’s distinct evolution.  For some, this results from continually testing the boundaries of a given medium, for others it reflects the pressures of social, economic, and political circumstances.  Often, it is a combination of both.  “The Long Run” includes monographic galleries and rooms that bring together artists broad ranging in background and approach, drawn from MoMA’s collection.  All the artists in this presentation are united by a ceaseless desire to make meaningful work, year after year, across decades.   They include Lee Bontecou, Louise Bourgeois, Melvin Edwards, Gego, Philip Guston, David Hammons, Jasper Johns, Joan Jonas, Helen Levitt, Elizabeth Murray, Georgia O’Keeffe, Gerhard Richter, Frank Stella, and many others.