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POMTOMAC, Md. – When they were building a gallery here at Glenstone for the immortal installation "Untitled" by Robert Gober in 1992 – featuring sinks, stacked logs and woodland landscapes – Mitchell P. Rales and Emily Wei Rales to his specifications. This meant lowered ceilings, special plumbing, setting up exit signs, consulting a theatrical lighting specialist and about 70 meetings with the architects.
Similarly, Charles Ray spent hours arranging the four sculptures in his gallery. And On Kawara – before his death in 2014 – was explicit about how he wanted his Date Paintings triptych, "Moon Landing," to be exposed. As a result, it is the only gallery with a wooden floor.
This is the length at which the Raleses have fashioned Glenstone as a bespoke temple for artists they have thoroughly collected over the past 12 years in this prosperous Washington suburb. Works by Brice Marden, Pipilotti Rist and Roni Horn will now be on display in a new 204,000-square-foot building called the Pavilions, designed by Thomas Phifer. It opens on October 4, but the first block of reservations has already been removed. The next block becomes available on October 1st.
Private museums have been criticized as vanity projects where the rich avoid taxes by keeping their collections in the outbuildings and only occasionally making the art accessible to visitors. Collectors can deduce the market value of the art, the money, and the inventory they donate to their museums or foundations, even when they are close to their living room.
Glenstone is one of 11 private museums whose status was exempted from taxation in 2015 by the Senate Finance Committee regarding their degree of public accessibility and their lending policies. "Tax-exempt museums should focus on providing a public good and not around the tax code," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the Republican chair of the committee, at the time. "By law, these organizations have a duty to promote the public interest, not those of easy benefactors, simple and simple." has not yet responded.
But Rales, 62, an industrialist, and 42-year-old former curator and dealer Wei Rales say they have always been generous lenders – and donors – to other museums in their famous art collection. modern and contemporary. And now, they are doubling the public aspect of their collection, having completed the expansion of Glenstone for five years – including two new cafes and three car parks – which will be free for the public (with scheduled visits) four days a week (and possibly six) from 10h to 17h
"They give birth to a whole new institution," said merchant Matthew Marks, who has artists in the Glenstone collection.
In 2006, Raleses opened a 30,000-square-foot, 100-acre exhibition space designed by Charles Gwathmey. For years, it was a hidden gem on the grounds of an old hunting club; In its first seven years of operation, only 10,000 people were visited.
The $ 200-million expansion adds 11 rooms made of stacked concrete blocks, connected by a glass passageway and surrounding an 18,000-square-foot water lot. You can see the family's house in the distance.
In a long recent interview at the new museum, the couple said that they had decided to expand to be able to share more of their collections with more people and to attract groups from neighboring schools, where arts education is in danger.
(In a dissonant note a month before the opening, the contracting company of the project continued the couple's founding for breach of contract and mismanagement, claiming that a "torrent of change" had repeatedly disrupted and delayed work. The Raleses said they plan to challenge the claims.)
At a time when many collectors buy works of art as an asset class, they fall into the category of intense, even obsessive, owners who deliberate on every purchase. They only collect artists with 15 years of experience and rarely sell, except to buy something better, often with the approval of the artist. In 2013, they sold one of Jackson Pollock's classic drip paintings – 19, 1948 – at Christie's for $ 58.3 million to help finance the acquisition of 144 works by Toronto collector and curator Ydessa Hendeles.
Reseller David Zwirner said Raleses "really want to contextualize what they buy – where does the artwork fit into an artist's production?"
"What this museum means to the United States is closer to what Getty did, what Hirshhorn did – it's at that level," he continued, referring to J. Paul Getty and Joseph H. Hirshhorn.
In an art world that is increasingly market-oriented, artists appreciate the Raleses approach. "These people have been looking for my work and they have continued to come back," said Horn, whose two large solid glass cylinders are visible in the passageway along the water course.
"I have never been a passionate artist," she said. "I'm not going to be a big auction in my life. Others may not have the courage to take the kind of commitment they have made. "
She added, "I do not care about having a tax break."
The Glenstone addition also features a strong outer component, with 130 acres of meadows, forests and streams, designed by Adam Greenspan and Peter Walker of PWP Landscape Architecture. Among the sculptures integrated into the landscape are Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Ellsworth Kelly and Richard Serra. The couple employs a full-time horticulturist to take care of the 24,000 flowers of Jeff Koons' monumental "Split-Rocker".
The expansion includes an environmental center, offering educational programs, which will open in the spring. "We are eco-friendly," said Rales.
In addition to those of Mr. Gober, Mr. Ray and On Kawara, the museum's nine single artist installations are owned by Martin Puryear, Michael Heizer, Rist, Lygia Pape, Marden and Cy Twombly.
The facilities have been carefully designed in collaboration with the artist or the artist's field. "We think it's our responsibility to ask them," How would you like that to be shown? "Said Mrs. Rales.
The couple visited Mr. Heizer in the desert and built a rectangular pit at Glenstone for his 15-beam steel sculpture. They have even placed a line of matching raincoats in a closet for those who want to visit the room in bad weather.
The inaugural exhibition in the pavilions shows the range of the collection, in a gallery comprising 65 works by 52 artists, dating from 1943 to 1989. They include examples of movements including Abstract Expressionism, Gutai, Modernism Brazilian, Arte Povera Minimalism.
"We have our wish list, and we have slowly passed through," said Mr. Rales about their artists, "those we believe have made real innovations, changed the way we view art, have changed the definition of art. "
There are familiar names like Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Agnes Martin and Mark Rothko. But Akira Kanayama (Japan), Sergio Camargo (Brazil) and Alighiero e Boetti (Italy) also worked. And there is an abundance of work by women. (The story of minimalism is told by artists like Jo Baer, Anne Truitt and Agnes Martin, not just Carl Andre and Dan Flavin.)
Similarly, the Raleses have hung a flag that has just acquired the activist artist Faith Ringgold, who understands the N-word, alongside that of Jasper Johns. "The story is always ready for reinterpretation," said Rales.
Glenstone has 130 employees, including 24 young professionals working as guides. The Raleses said they visited about 50 other museums before expanding their own museum.
Mr. Rales has been collecting since 1990. In 2005, he joined Emily Wei, former director of the Gladstone Gallery in Manhattan. They married in 2008 and have two children aged 5 and 8 years old. Their collection now has about 1,300 pieces, including sound art, films, videos and works on paper.
Glenstone aims to admit about 400 people per day so that visitors can experience a contemplative experience. The photos on Instagram are not recommended inside, where the space has a Zen serenity, naturally lit, with benches designed by Mr. Puryear and winding paths.
Collectors have said they want a lot of room for maneuver – no crowd or selfie sticks "Mona Lisa", very little text on the wall and no candlesticks forcing people to stay away from art. The message to visitors is clear. "Look – really use your eyes," Ms. Rales said. "Let this be your first experience."
Glenstone
The Potomac Museum in Maryland reopens by reservation from Thursday to Sunday, October 4. The entrance is free; 301-983-5001 glenstone.org.
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