Jeppe Hein
Smoking Bench, 2003
Fog machine, bench (stainless steel and leather), mirror
Courtesy Johann König, Berlin

For most folks, Sarasota’s John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is synonymous with Old Master style: ginormous Rubens tapestries, Italian canvases in dramatic chiaroscuro, twisting Baroque columns. In comparison, the Ringling’s current exhibit of modern art from the mid- to late-20th century seems decidedly less retro, despite its cheeky title. A second, contemporary exhibit also on view feels downright fresh.

Ringling Retro, which plays out in two rooms at the museum’s recently built Searing Wing for special exhibitions, takes the bigger gamble. Advertise that works by John Chamberlain, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella and Barbara Kruger will be displayed, and expectations soar.

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Stella, Frank
American, b.1936
Jablonow I, 1971
Mixed media on shaped canvas
96 x 116 x 3 5/8 in. (243.8 x 294.6 x 9.2 cm)
Museum Purchase, 1974, SN941