The Miami collector Jorge M. Pérez has donated more than 100 photographic works to the Pérez Art Museum Miami (Pamm) by key Modern and contemporary artists such as Thomas Ruff, Ana Mendieta, Cindy Sherman and Isaac Julien. The works given are currently on show at the museum in the exhibition Language and Image: Conceptual and Performance-Based Photography from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection (until 11 January).
“The exhibition began in May. Although we had discussed the importance of the works, we didn’t know that it was definitely going to be a gift; we were hopeful as we had discussed how to compliment the works we already had in the collection of photography and these specific artists,” Franklin Sirmans, the museum’s director tells The Art Newspaper. He adds that photography has been an integral part of the museum’s collection since it became a collecting institution in 1996.
“The Düsseldorf School of Photography is represented through artists like Thomas Ruff and Candida Höfer. We’re adding another photograph by [UK artist] Isaac Julien to the collection, Emerald City/Capital (Playtime), 2013, along with three works by Vik Muniz,” Sirmans adds.
Isaac Julien, Emerald City / Capital (Playtime), 2013 Jorge M. Pérez Collection. © Isaac Julien. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
“A good thing about the conceptual nature of much of this work is that it also allows us to think about photography as a medium that has so much life in terms of moving imagery and also how we consider the digital prospects within the museum. It’ll be interesting to be able to add this [donation] to the conversation,” he adds.
Other works donated include El Cuerpo del Silencio (The Body of Silence), a photograph of a performance by the Cuban artist Tania Bruguera (1997-98), and Untitled (Barulho de fundo) (Untitled [Background Noise], 2005-06), a series of gelatin silver prints by Renata Lucas of Brazil. Other pieces that will enter the collection include candid portraits from the US artist Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s Heads series and Tree Filling Window (2002) by Wolfgang Tillmans.
“We want to be the best at presenting the work of Latin America and the Caribbean, looking towards the African diaspora. Jorge has provided the blueprint in many ways since he donated the first big gift of Latin American art in 2011,” says Sirmans.
Juan Carlos Alom, Habana Solo (Havana Solo), 2000 Jorge M. Pérez Collection. © Juan Carlos Alom
Jorge Pérez and his wife Darlene are major players in the Miami art scene and have given at least $60m to the Pérez Art Museum Miami. The museum was controversially renamed following the gift in 2011, whereby Jorge Pérez donated $40m in both cash and works to the Miami institution. The couple donated a further $25m in 2023. In 2019, Jorge Pérez opened El Espacio 23, a nonprofit art space in Miami’s Allapattah neighbourhood to display works from the couple’s collection. He founded the real estate development company, The Related Group, in 1979; Forbes estimates his current net worth to be $2.6bn.
Asked about Pérez’s influential role at the museum as a key patron, Sirmans says: “I don’t understand the criticism; Jorge has set an incredible example of generosity and patronage for hopefully others to exemplify. What he has done in partnership with his team and our curators is about what it means to lead. He’s a leader in this [philanthropic] conversation and wants to be a leader in this conversation.”
Last month the Pérezes donated 36 works by 15 artists from Africa and the African diaspora to Tate as part of an ongoing partnership between the Miami couple and the UK institution. The Pérezes have also funded a “multi-million dollar endowment” to support Tate’s curatorial research that will help to fund curatorial posts dedicated to work on African and Latin American art.
