Unveiling an Extraordinary Restoration
The RISD Museum has completed extensive renovations at its very heart—the historic original building and galleries.
Originally commissioned by Jesse Metcalf in honor of his wife, Helen Metcalf, the founder of RISD, the galleries of the museum’s original historic building have been named the Helen and Jesse Metcalf Galleries. The naming honors the generational legacy of the Metcalfs. Members of the family have remained among the museum’s most generous benefactors and loyal supporters since its founding.
A generous and anonymous $500,000 gift concluded the $4.5 million fund-raising campaign to renovate the space. Additional significant funders included the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, The Champlin Foundation, the Rockefeller Family, Ida Ballou Littlefield Memorial Trust, and members of the RISD Museum’s Board of Governors and Fine Arts Committee.
The renovations, which took place over the course of eight years, presented the museum with an invaluable opportunity to reinterpret its collections. Curators played a central role in renovation planning and gave careful consideration to how items could be shown in these reimagined spaces.
“The restoration of the galleries allows us to fulfill our mission in increasingly innovative ways. I am deeply grateful for the commitment and support of our donors, particularly the Museum’s board of governors, who have rallied behind this essential and transformative
work,” says museum director John Smith.
One of the galleries now serves as a special exhibition space dedicated to temporary installations. The first such exhibition is Raid the Icebox Now, a 10-artist celebration and response to the 50th anniversary of the RISD Museum’s groundbreaking Raid the Icebox I with Andy Warhol exhibition.
Raid the Icebox Now
Raid the Icebox I with Andy Warhol (1970) presented entire sections of objects at the RISD Museum as they appeared in storage, with little or no regard for their condition, authenticity or art history status. It remains one of the most celebrated and subversive exhibitions in contemporary art. Raid the Icebox Now celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Warhol exhibition.
Artists Pablo Bronstein, Nicole Eisenman 87 PT, Pablo Helguera, Beth Katleman, Simone Leigh, Sebastian Ruth, Paul Scott and Triple Canopy have created new bodies of work that use the museum as a site for critical creative production and presentation.
The artists interact with the collection as an extension of their studio practice and explore ideas they otherwise would not have the opportunity to pursue. Galleries throughout the museum have been activated by immersive installations, which bring together new
work with a collection of art and design that spans from ancient times to the present.
A free digital publication features new writings and multimedia projects by each of the artists. Museum objects, spaces and the stories they hold have provided the catalysts and fertile ground for new narratives and experiences.
VIEW: publications.risdmuseum.org/raid-icebox-now
Please visit risdmuseum.org to see which installations will remain on view through the summer and early fall.
