Take a Peek Inside the Newly Relocated—and Renamed—Rubell Museum in Miami, Opening Just in Time for Art Basel

More than 300 works are presented across 40 galleries in the inaugural installation.

Don Rubell in front of work by Kehinde Wiley and Keith Haring at the Rubell Museum. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

Regular visitors to Art Basel Miami Beach know that the city’s numerous high-profile private collections offer a quiet respite from the frenzy of the fair. But this year, longtime collectors and Miami residents Don and Mera Rubell have timed the opening of their revamped and renamed private collection to coincide with the fair’s VIP preview day, which is sure to draw some crowds.

The Rubell Museum (formerly called the Rubell Family Collection) will throw open its doors on Wednesday, December 4, in a new home in Allapattah, less than a mile from its previous location in the Wynwood arts district. It will now be housed in six former industrial buildings connected on a single level.

The space includes 40 galleries, a flexible performance space, an art research library, a bookstore, and a restaurant that opens onto a courtyard. The complex has been redesigned by Selldorf Architects.

The inaugural exhibition includes 300 works by 100 artists and will fill out the entirety of the gallery space. It is drawn from the couple’s extensive holdings of more than 7,200 works by 1,000 artists.

Among the highlights are examples by longtime Rubell favorites such as Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Oscar Murillo, and Richard Prince, alongside younger buzzed-about artists such as Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Cy Gavin, and Allison Zuckerman.

Visitors will also get a look at works by Ghanian-born artist Amoako Boafo, the latest artist-in-residence at the collection—and a painter to keep your eye on.

See photos of the new building and works in the collection below.

The Rubell Museum. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

An exterior shot of the Rubell Museum. Photo by Nicholas Venezia. Image courtesy of Selldorf Architects and of the Rubell Museum.

View of courtyard garden. Photo by Nicholas Venezia. Image courtesy of Selldorf Architects and of the Rubell Museum.

View of the Rubell Museum’s courtyard garden. Photo by Nicholas Venezia. Image courtesy of Selldorf Architects and of the Rubell Museum.

Installatio view of John Miller, A Refusal to Accept Limits (2007) at the Rubell Museum. Photo by Chi Lam. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

Installation view of John Miller’s A Refusal to Accept Limits (2007) at the Rubell Museum. Photo by Chi Lam. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

Maurizio Cattelan, La Rivoluzione Siamo Noi (2000). © Maurizio Cattelan. Image courtesy of the Rubell Collection.

Installation view of Kerry James Marshall Untitled at the Rubell Museum. Photo by Nicholas Venezia. Image courtesy of Selldorf Architects and the Rubell Museum.

Installation view of Kerry James Marshall’s Untitled at the Rubell Museum. Photo by Nicholas Venezia. Image courtesy of Selldorf Architects and the Rubell Museum.

Kenhinde Wiley, Sleep (2008). ©Kehinde Wiley. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

Kehinde Wiley, Sleep (2008). © Kehinde Wiley. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

Marlene Dumas, Miss January (1997). ©Marlene Dumas. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.

Marlene Dumas, Miss January (1997). © Marlene Dumas. Image courtesy of the Rubell Museum.


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