The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art located on Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.

Review

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s original mission was to collect works of art by living artists, primarily American. While the collection later included art from other cultures and time periods, the mission has generally continued to focus on modern art.

The parent organization of this institution, the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, is one of the oldest art establishments in the United States. It was formed in 1862. The original building — designed by architect E.B. Green, who also designed the Toledo Museum of Art and the Dayton Art Institute — was erected in 1905. (Look for the limestone caryatids on the exterior designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.) The building’s modern addition was designed by Gordon Bunshaft and it opened in 1962. The visitor experience is heightened by the natural daylight that floods into many of the rooms.

A gallery is defined as a room or building for the display or sale of works of art. A museum is a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. If you visit a city’s art institution, the word ‘museum’ usually appears in the title. The fact that the Albright-Knox still retains the word ‘gallery’ in its title offers a clue to its current state of affairs.

For decades, the art on the walls remained pretty much in the same places. Pieces were added and, if you were a regular visitor, you noticed subtle changes in the overall presentation. For all intents and purposes, it looked and acted like a museum that could get a little sleepy at times.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Even with its 1962 addition, the relatively small square footage footprint means that there’s not much space to show off everything. Add the economic crisis, a decreasing endowment, a decreasing city population, and mass entertainment that has an endless tug-of-war for the visitor dollar then you have a result that clearly shakes up the can’s contents. That’s no surprise: many museums battle similar demons.

There’s nothing sleepy about the Albright-Knox anymore. You never know what will be on the walls during your next visit. Whole galleries devoted to the permanent collection may be temporarily abandoned to a traveling exhibition. There is, indeed, a sense of chaotic disarray. Be adventurous, be patient, and go along for the ride. Because you don’t know what to expect, your emotional reaction and appreciation of what’s on display may change dramatically on each visit. Sometimes, you’ll feel you paid too much for admission and other times you’ll feel it’s the best bargain in the world. Sometimes, you may want to stage a protest on the Albright-Knox’s doorstep and other times you may want to kiss a curator.

The Albright-Knox is a museum that has in many ways become a gallery and it can be a maddening experience, but also a joyous and very much a vibrant one. It’s not perfect, to be sure. This is an institution trying to prove its continued relevance and it wants you involved in its journey.