Inspired by the idea of interior design, the viewing room looks at different meanings of “interior”. The viewing room uses work by Georgia O’Keeffe, Damien Hirst, N.C. and Andrew Wyeth, and more to asks different questions, unified by the idea of interiority. What does a landscape mean in an interior setting? How do artists express their interior creativity?

Rather than looking a particular movement or historical period, the viewing room expands our view of art by looking at the theme of interiority. The show is split into two – moving from the outside in and the inside out. The landscape section includes works by Georgia O’Keeffe and N.C. and Andrew Wyeth. For each, landscapes were not about faithful reproductions of the outdoors but an opportunity to explore different themes and ideas. For O’Keeffe, it was the play of light and color, amplified by the desert sun. For the Wyeths, it was about creating a narrative onto which both the artist and the viewer could create a story. The Abstract Expressionist section includes works by Mary Abbott and Jack Roth. Also known as AbEx, the movement prioritized non-representational art that placed primacy on the artist’s emotive mark-making. With roots in the 1930s before finally emerging in the 1940s, Abstract Expressionism materialized as America found itself with both a newfound confidence and anxiety of a new present. Taking the opposite direction of landscapes – from the outside in – we can imagine Abstract Expressionism as going from the inside out. Bridging the two sections is a painting by Damien Hirst. One of his most famous series of paintings is the butterfly paintings. These works literally bring the outdoors into an interior setting but they express themes of life and its temporality, in essence, asking us to look within ourselves.