You know what? Even though I've been lucky enough to lurk in New York's MoMA and the Centre Pompidou, spending hours basking in the breathtaking and challenging modern art on display in those collections, I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit to the Bechtler and the tiny but impressive collection housed here.
The museum's permanent holdings are comprised of the Bechtler family's private collection, all the way from Switzerland. It's only been open for a year, and the building itself is new yet lovely (designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, whose only other American creation is San Francisco's MoMA): bright, airy, expansive, and full of windows that peer into other galleries and lower floor space to create a sense of physical continuity yet gentle separation.
The current exhibition offers work from the School of Paris, including a few walls of Manessier, Singier, and a fantastic de Stael ("Landscape") that kept me lingering and gazing. The permanent collection had several works I hadn't seen previously: in particular, an older Miro ("Traced in the Wall V") and a Calder painting ("Untitled", from 1964) with beautiful flowers and dripping colors were captivating and surprising reminders that as much of their catalog I've seen elsewhere, there's still newness to discover and encounter from their work. I'd also never seen Miro's tapestries, and there are a few on the walls in the Bechtler.
Overall, the fourth floor (on which the aforementioned works were displayed) was small but the walls filled with such beautiful and new gems. I could have stayed much longer than we did. A little fun side note was the furniture display on the third floor, complete with side tables and a coffee table, glass-topped with twining metal legs, designed by Giacometti. Want.
The Bechtler was a lovely little oasis of culture for me in downtown Charlotte, and if and when I'm here again, I'll be visiting. You'll find me with my Miro up on the fourth floor, in case you need me.