Americas Society Exhibition Catalogue Shortlisted for The Alice 2014 Award

Unity of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and the Americas catalogue was published in conjunction with the first exhibition in New York to focus on the influential figure.

New York, September 8, 2014—Unity of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and the Americas, published by Americas Society in collaboration with Kerber Verlag, was shortlisted for The Alice award, which is given annually to an illustrated book of distinction. The Alice award winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 23.

Edited by the Visual Arts Department of Americas Society, the Unity of Nature catalogue accompanied the first exhibition in New York to focus on Alexander von Humboldt. A Prussian explorer, scientist, and author, von Humboldt’s journeys and scholarship profoundly influenced artists from Europe and the United States, as well as men of state and scientists. Americas Society Art Gallery in New York featured Unity of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and the Americas on view from April 29 to July 26, 2014.

The Alice award is sponsored annually by Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. The jury of The Alice 2014 includes Michael Bierut, Partner, Pentagram; Paula Cooper, Paula Cooper Gallery; William A. Griswold, Director, The Cleveland Art Museum; Gianfranco Monacelli, Director, The Monacelli Press; and Jock Reynolds, Director, Yale University Art Gallery.

The hardcover, 160-page catalogue Unity of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and the Americas contains contributions from exhibition guest curators Georgia de Havenon and Alicia Lubowski-Jahn; scholars Ingo Schwarz, Katherine E. Manthorne, and Pablo Diener; a preface by Jay A. Levenson, director of the International Program at The Museum of Modern Art; and a conversation between artist Mark Dion, Gabriela Rangel, Director and Chief Curator of Visual Arts, and Wenzel Bilger, Director of Cultural Programs North America, Goethe-Institut New York; with further information about Dion’s residency at FLORA by curator José Roca. It also contains a plates section, an exhibition checklist, a map of Alexander von Humboldt’s expeditions to the Americas, a timeline of Alexander von Humboldt, and a bibliography.

The Alice 2014 short list includes Italian Futurism, 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Leger: Modern Art and the Metropolis, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Yoga: The Art of Transformation, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institute; and Hopper Drawing, Whitney Museum of American Art.

Last year, the inaugural The Alice was awarded to The Brooklyn Museum for Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties.

Press Inquiries: Contact Adriana La Rotta at alarotta@as-coa.org or 1-212-277-8384.

Americas Society is the premier organization dedicated to education, debate and dialogue in the Americas. Established by David Rockefeller in 1965, our mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship. Americas Society Visual Arts program boasts the longest-standing private space in the U.S. dedicated to exhibiting and promoting art from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada; it has achieved a unique and renowned leadership position in the field, producing both historical and contemporary exhibitions.