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New Barnes Exhibit Mixes Classic And Contemporary

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Barnes Foundation is the only U.S. location for an exhibition that opens Friday exploring the works of contemporary artist Anselm Kiefer.

He pays homage to an old master, who has his own dedicated museum a block away on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

There are more than 100 works of art including paintings, sculpture, and books by Anselm Kiefer, along with water colors, drawings, and sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

Barnes executive director Thom Collins says it's noteworthy, since Philadelphia helped grow the early reputation of Rodin.

"His first US exhibition was presented at the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876," said Collins.

"It was a failure, I'm afraid, but then, he became a star in the US around 1900," recalled exhibition co-curator Sylvie Patry.

Patry points out, although separated by 100 years, Kiefer's approach to art-making is similar to Rodin's, and there is a "synergy between the artistic practices and philosophies."

"An artist can revisit another one, and that there can be a dialogue between them, without belonging to the same culture or the same time," she said.

Patry says even "Dr. Barnes viewed artistic expression as an endless conversation between works of different times and places."

She points out his ensembles mixed and matched contemporary artists of his time (the 1920's) alongside Old Master paintings and African sculptures.

The event marks the 100th anniversary of Rodin's death, and is part of a worldwide series of tributes to the artist.

The Kiefer-Rodin display is on view at the Barnes through mid-March.

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