Exhibition: Thanks for Being With Us: Contemporary Art from the Douglas Nielsen Collection, at Tucson Museum of Art

16 July - 16 October, 2010

July 13, 2010: A choreographer and dance professor at the University of Arizona, internationally known teacher, choreographer, performer and director Douglas Nielsen has amassed an extraordinary resume, including four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. His passion for dance is paralleled by a remarkable art collection of art has Nielsen has amassed over the years.

Hands, a 2004 painting by Grant Wiggins, will be among 75 works on display this summer and early fall, when Nielsen shares his private collection with Tucson Museum of Art (TMA), in the exhibition Thanks for Being With Us: Contemporary Art from the Douglas Nielsen Collection.

United by one collector, Thanks for Being With Us is a reflection of self and an act of selflessness. It is a reflection of self in that, as the TMA observes, "This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a large body of works by internationally renowned artists brought together as a result of the personal vision of one who has made it his life's pursuit to enhance his life with beauty and creative expression." Yet it is also selfless in that Nielsen has generously agreed to share some of his favorite pieces with the public for three months.

The exhibition's title, Thanks for Being With Us, is borrowed from a paper work by Ed Ruscha. To Nielsen, the selection of the title "is a welcoming greeting as he shares his collection with the public," the TMA adds. "It is a show of appreciation for those who value art or are curious and open enough to become exposed to new ideas."

Nielsen owns two paintings by Grant Wiggins; the other is Open System, which exhibited in the 2009 Arizona Biennial at the TMA. "A canvas by Grant Wiggins brings sharp attention to any collection," Nielsen writes. "He invites the eye to sort color and line in a way that provokes pleasure and intrigue. Like a puzzle solved, Mr. Wiggins paints with a precision that demonstrates without question that he has arrived."

An outstanding array of prominent contemporary artists are represented in this exhibition, including John Baldessari, Nan Goldin, Barbara Kruger, Annie Liebovitz, Bruce Nauman, Claes Oldenberg, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Herb Ritts, and Kiki Smith.

For Wiggins, Thanks for Being with Us marks the fifth time in eight years in which he has exhibited in a featured exhibition at the TMA. Wiggins showed in the 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 editions of the Arizona Biennial, held at the TMA.

More at Tucson Museum of Art's site.