EAST HAMPTON, NY — For the first time since its inception in 1986, collections from the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) are on public view at the Museum at Guild Hall, featuring works by more than 200 renowned American artists.
From Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichenstein, to Alex Katz, the exhibition, presented in association with Christie’s, features original prints, photographs, and site-specific models donated by the artists to FAPE and placed in U.S. embassies around the world.
“Most Americans are unaware of this program because most of the works are displayed at embassies far from home,” said Robert Storr, curator and chairman of FAPE’s Professional Fine Arts Committee. “What we’re doing is we’re making available the richness of the visual culture of this country.”
The exhibition space is divided into two distinct spaces. One of the halls is dedicated to FAPE’s site-specific installations, while the other focuses on the original print and photography collection.
The photography collection is the newest initiative by the non-profit organization, inaugurated by Tina Barney and William Wegman. Barney donated her 2007 chromogenic color print “Color Guard,” where she captured young parade participants in revolutionary garb awaiting their turn to march. “There’s a kind of synchronization between everything that’s happening,” said Barney. “To get that is one in a million.”
In the site-specific exhibition, drawings, photographs, and maquettes for the large-scale works are presented in the Guild Hall. Among the highlights is sculptor Joel Shapiro’s “Now (2013),” a striking blue figurative installation created for the new U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China.
The exhibition at the Museum at Guild Hall, 158 Main Street in East Hampton, New York, is on view through July 27.
