Construction delays have struck Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art, which had planned to launch its renovated facility in December 2016 during Art Basel in Miami Beach. Its new date for opening, the museum announced this morning, is spring 2017.
“The process of renovating historic landmarks differs greatly from that of modern structures, and we have needed to extend our construction deadline to accommodate these intricacies,” says executive director and chief curator Silvia Karman Cubiñá.
That means you’ll have to wait for the inaugural shows of artists Ugo Rondinone, Mika Rottenberg, and Pascale Marthine Tayou. Architect Arata Isozaki, who oversaw an expansion in 2001, is heading up the newest expansion as well, with interior design by New York’s Jonathan Caplan and visual identity by Prem Krishnamurthy of Project Projects, New York.
Rendering of the interior of The Bass in Miami Beach by Arata Isozaki and David Gauld. Rendering © David Gauld Architect, 2016. Courtesy of The Bass, Miami Beach.
The museum’s 1933 Art Deco edifice earned a spot on the National Register in 1978. The architect, Russell Pancoast, was the grandson of real estate developer John S. Collins, for whom Miami Beach’s main drag is named. The museum was founded in 1964.
Customarily, the museum unveils some of its splashiest exhibitions during Art Basel in Miami Beach, like its 2014 show devoted to the work of Peter Marino, the architect known for his black leather biker wear.
The $12 million expansion (which is on budget, the museum notes in the announcement) will add almost 10,000 square feet, which will accommodate exhibition space, store, education facilities, and café.