Rubell Museum

The Rubell Collection is the work of art appreciators Mera and Don Rubell. The couple began collecting art in 1965 on a budget of $25 per week. Though the Rubells lacked an arts background or education, they spent extensive time visiting artists studios and educating themselves about the art world. For the Rubells, collecting art is an intensely personal process. They refuse to buy a work until both are completely sure that they love it. Their knack for spotting emerging artists early in their careers has served the Rubells well. They were the first purchasers of art from many now famous artists, such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Cindy Sherman. The couple quickly made a name for themselves in the New York City art scene and continued collecting there for many years.

In the early 1990s, the Rubells moved to Miami. As their collection had become far larger than a private residence could support, the couple purchased a Wynwood district warehouse previously used by the Drug Enforcement Administration. At the time, the Wynwood area was dominated by abandoned industrial buildings and empty warehouses. Realizing the potential of their collection to revitalize the area, the Rubells opened their 40,000 square-foot warehouse to the public as the Rubell Family Collection in 1993. The organization was formed as a non-profit and had a significant impact on the arts and culture scene of Miami. Furthering their patronage of the arts, the Rubells were also instrumental in bringing Miami’s quintessential art event, Art Basel, to the city. Art Basel attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually, who flock to Miami to experience the city’s vibrant and thriving art scene.

By 2016, the Rubells’ collection had outgrown its space in Wynwood. While looking for additional storage space, the Rubells found a series of six connected warehouses in the nearby Allapattah neighborhood. The warehouses had been formerly used for food processing and storage. Despite initially planning to purchase the warehouse only for storage purposes, the Rubells fell in love with the space and resolved to move the entire Rubell Family Collection. The museum also changed names to become the Rubell Collection. The Rubells enlisted Selldorf Architects to outfit the building to be museum appropriate. Selldorf Architects is headquartered in New York City, and overseen by Annabelle Selldorf. The firm is renowned for its museum redesigns, which include the Frick Collection, Neue Galerie, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. 

The new museum location features 100,000 square feet of space, 80,000 of which is accessible to the public. Rather uniquely for a museum of this size, the floor plan sprawls across a single floor, making elevators or stairs completely unnecessary. An internal hallway connects forty galleries in the same way a tree trunk might service the branches. Huge windows allow passersby a look into the galleries. The exhibition spaces are static, a departure from recent museum tradition. This was an intentional choice by the Rubells and Selldorf, who wanted the space to be familiar and evocative to repeat visitors. A cafe, performance space, bookstore, research library, and courtyard filled with local plants also grace the museum’s grounds. The reinvigorated Rubell Museum opened to the public in 2019.

The Rubell Museum’s permanent collection is organically grown and carefully cultivated. Even to this day, Mera and Don eschew hiring an art adviser and select works to purchase independently. This is not, however, to suggest that the collection is small. With over 7,200 works by over 1,000 artists, the collection is one of the largest private collections in the United States. Works are almost exclusively contemporary and include artists such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, and Yayoi Kusama. Under-recognized artists — like Nina Chanel Abney, Ludy Dodd, and Oscar Murillo — are also included in the holdings. The museum does not host travelling exhibitions, nor does it borrow artwork from other institutions. All art placed in the museum is part of the permanent collection. Works rotate frequently throughout the galleries, as the Rubells strive to create dynamic and interactive dialogues between art pieces. In addition to exhibiting art, the Rubell Museum also executes a variety of programs. These include an educational partnership with Miami-Dade County Schools, curatorial training internships, and artist residency programs. The museum’s art research library is also the largest of its kind in South Florida. The Rubell Museum is a unique passion project from which all contemporary art lovers stand to benefit.

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Rubell Museum, Selldorf Architects. Accessed December 7th 2020. https://www.selldorf.com/projects/rubell-museum.

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