In celebration of its 25th anniversary in fall 2014, the Wexner Center for the Arts presented an unprecedented exhibition of the personal collection of Leslie and Abigail Wexner. Transfigurations: Modern Masters from the Wexner Family Collection features an in-depth selection of masterworks by Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Jean Dubuffet. With its concentrated focus on these three twentieth-century virtuosos, along with additional works by Edgar Degas, Willem de Kooning and Susan Rothenberg, the Wexner Family Collection is truly incomparable to any other private collection formed over the last 50 years. Guest curated by Robert Storr, professor and dean of the Yale University School of Art, the exhibition and accompanying catalogue bring fresh perspective to these artists and examine the figurative impulses that connect them. The comprehensive catalogue features essays by such leading art historians and curators as James Demetrion, Valerie Fletcher, Lisa Florman, Marilyn McCully, Diana Widmaier Picasso, Robert Storr and the late Kirk Varnedoe, as well as entries on the 60 objects in the exhibition. Apart from the singular significance of each individual work, both the catalogue and exhibition demonstrate the persistence of the human figure in art throughout the twentieth century and into our own.
