Prominent British artist Rachel Whiteread, recipient of the 1993 Turner Prize, receives her second U.S. museum survey.
The Boston School is the first museum exhibition to identify common threads in the work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Nan Goldin, Jack Pierson, Shellburne Thurber, and other photographers living and working in Boston in the late 1970s and the ’80s.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Paul McCarthy, and David Wojnarowicz participate in CURRENTS.
WIth works by such artists as David Hammons and Glenn Ligon, Malcolm X: Man, Ideal, Icon explores the cultural and political legacy of one of the most galvanizing African-American leaders in U.S. history.
The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is founded.
The Hammer Museum is founded.
Milena Kalinovska joins the ICA as director, serving in that position until 1998.
Robert Mapplethorpe’s first U.S. museum survey culminates at the ICA after traveling nationally from the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. At two other venues, the exhibition’s homoerotic content becomes embroiled in a highly visible censorship scandal involving the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Congress, and conservative organizations, serving as a cause célèbre for both sides of the Culture Wars. The ICA’s determination to proceed with the exhibition in the midst of this heated debate testifies to its commitment to artists over politics, and to speaking out against censorship.
Pioneering performance and conceptual artist Chris Burden receives his first U.S. museum survey, organized by the Newport Harbor Art Museum and shown at the ICA.
In conjunction with the ICA’s 50th anniversary, the museum launches a landmark project including a major print catalogue and three exhibitions around Dissent: The Issue of Modern Art in Boston. This important project analyzes the distinct attitudes and ideas, during the first half of the 20th century, that set Boston modern art apart from the mainstream as defined by New York City.
The Pérez Art Museum Miami is founded.
David Ross joins the ICA as director, serving in that position until 1990.