THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM PRESENTS BREAKING THE MOLD: BROOKLYN MUSEUM AT 200

From groundbreaking early acquisitions to striking new additions, the Brooklyn Museum’s collection has long championed artists and artworks that catalyze imaginative storytelling and brave conversations. As the Museum commemorates its 200th anniversary, Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 celebrates its unique legacy. Comprising three sections that boast long-time favorites and brand-new standouts, the exhibition brings fresh narratives to the fore while exploring the collection’s rich history and evolution. Breaking the Mold is organized by curators across the institution, featuring works from all collection areas. 

Three chapters—Brooklyn Made, Building the Museum and Its Collection, and Gifts of Art in Honor of the 200th—examine foundational aspects of the Museum’s story.  

Brooklyn Made pays homage to the borough’s artists and designers from the seventeenth century to today. Beginning with a pair of Delaware Lenape youth moccasins to acknowledge the land’s original inhabitants, this section journeys through time to spotlight works by contemporary Brooklyn-based artists such as KAWS, Duke Riley, and Tourmaline. Spanning the Museum’s vast collection, from decorative arts and design to painting, photography, and works on paper, as well as its immersive period rooms, these works illuminate the borough’s rich histories, including those of its many immigrant communities.

Building the Museum and Its Collection features transformational artworks and archival materials that trace the development of the collection as well as the rich history of the Museum’s famed Beaux-Arts building. This section highlights the acquisitions, people, and programs that exemplify the Museum’s trailblazing engagement with the borough’s communities and the daring vision that has made it a cultural touchstone.

Gifts of Art in Honor of the 200th Anniversary showcases extraordinary pieces of contemporary art, including painting, photography, video, and sculpture, given to the Museum by valued donors in honor of the 200th anniversary. Exemplary artworks by Robert Frank, Coco Fusco, Antony Gormley, Julie Mehretu, and Alex Katz are joined by contributions from influential artists working today in Brooklyn and beyond. The works in this section reveal how the collection continues to evolve to reflect our changing world, and new gifts will be added over the course of the exhibition.

Additional gifts are on view throughout the Museum, including selections from the Dennis Freedman collection on the fourth floor, Mark di Suvero’s sculpture Sooner or Later (2022) on the Plaza, and Liza Lou’s Trailer (1998–2000) in the Pavilion. Find out more about the Museum’s 2024 acquisitions, including those presented in this exhibition.

Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 is organized by Meghan Bill, Coordinator of Provenance; Abigail Dansiger, Director of Libraries and Archives; Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts; Liz St. George, Assistant Curator, Decorative Arts; and Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography; with Kimberli Gant, Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art; Carmen Hermo, former Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art; Michael Gibson-Prugh, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and Europe; and Imani Williford, Curatorial Assistant, Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture.