Steven Young Lee (Korean American, born 1975). Moon Jars with Dragon, 2013. Porcelain, white slip, 15 x 15 x 15 in. ea. Courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery. In the collection of Kimberley A. Pelyk.

Around four years ago, Virginia Shearer, the executive director of Sarasota Art Museum (SAM), worked with her team to establish a trip program, in which the organization takes a group of around 40 people to visit major art museums around the country. While visiting the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, something interesting happened.

“We turned a corner, and a woman on the trip said, ‘oh my gosh, I own works by this ceramicist,’” says Shearer. “A light bulb went off in my head—we’re at the Smithsonian and she lives in Sarasota and owns a piece like this—this could be pretty cool for us. Then we went to another major contemporary art museum, Glenstone, in Maryland, and the same thing happened.”

A few years later, one of SAM’s latest exhibitions, Something Borrowed, Something New, was born. Drawn from private collectors across Southwest Florida, Something Borrowed, Something New is an amalgamation of works from some of the foremost modern and contemporary artists to date. Artists such as Chuck Close, KAWS, Richard Walker, Richard Serra, Yoka Ono, Ai Weiwei and Louise Bourgeois are featured in the exhibition that includes everything from paintings, prints, sculptures and mixed media works, both from the 20th and 21st centuries.

“The through line is that these are exceptional, world-class works of art that we assembled because they speak to the last 40 years or so of art making in contemporary practice,” says Shearer.

There are also connections between the different collectors. Pieces from Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei’s papercut collection, detailing consumerism and the hypocrisy of Chinese communism are positioned across from a series of ceramic vessels emblazoned with American consumer brands. These works, both heralded in the world of contemporary art, come from the collectors of different collectors based in the Sarasota area.

Something Borrowed, Something New, April 19-September 27, Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

Steven Young Lee (Korean American, born 1975). Moon Jars with Dragon, 2013. Porcelain, white slip, 15 x 15 x 15 in. ea. Courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery. In the collection of Kimberley A. Pelyk.

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