Creating a Legacy with Love: Phong Bui’s Tribute to Meyer Schapiro

Observer
A resonant exhibit at Vermont's Brattleboro Museum brings together work by artists who have endured displacement in search of freedom.
 
Connection was and is of vital importance to both art historian Meyer Schapiro (1904-1996) and Phong Bui (born 1964), a writer, curator and critic, and their influence in the art world is far-reaching. They have integrated art with history, politics, psychology, sociology and social criticism. The two first met in 1986 and quickly became close friends, along with Schapiro’s wife, Lillian. Schapiro, until his death 10 years later, was also Bui’s mentor, including him in his circle of friends and colleagues (a convergence that gave birth to the Brooklyn Rail in 2000). To celebrate that relationship and as a testament to Schapiro, Bui has curated an exhibition featuring works by a number of well-known artists with whom Schapiro had a close bond throughout his life.
 
“Singing in Unison, Part 13,” now on in the Brattleboro Museum’s two main galleries, showcases brilliantly the scope of the pair’s expansive minds. On one of the large walls of the museum is Bui’s “Shrine to Meyer,” which is usually mounted on Bui’s bedroom wall in Brooklyn. A large full-length mirror is surrounded by works that Schapiro collected over the years and gave to Bui, as well as Schapiro’s own art. Bui said Meyer made art so he could understand art and the speed of execution, building a sensitivity to the making of art. The Meyer Shrine acknowledges Meyer’s enduring intellectual curiosity and clearly demonstrates Bui’s love for his mentor and friend.
 
Beyond that, the show is a veritable Who’s Who of American art, with paintings by Philip Guston, Arshile Gorky, Grace Hartigan, Roberto Matta, Mercedes Matter, Pat Passlof, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Janice Biala, Stuart Davis, Hans Hofmann, Larry Rivers, Robert De Niro Sr., Wolf Kahn, Emily Mason and others. They may not be well-known works from the artists’ oeuvres due to insurance costs, but each piece is a testament to Schapiro’s reach in the New York art world. The gathering of these works is also a testament to Phong Bui’s commitment to reaching across time and bringing together a community of craftsmen. Each artist was devoted to their craft, pushing themselves throughout a lifetime of discipline. The show sparkles with excitement.
 
— Dian Parker,  Observer
 
 
January 2, 2026