Whoever thinks museums are stuffy, static places where nothing changes has not been to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art (a Knight Arts grantee) lately.  The main exhibition, “Giacometti: Memory and Presence,” has undergone a face lift recently and a new exhibition, “Antoni Tàpies: Texture and Image,” opens Saturday December 15.  A flurry of things are happening at the Bechtler this December.

Giacometti drawings newly exhibited in “Giacometti: Memory and Presence” at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.

On November 28, 2012 the Bechtler Museum exchanged 17 drawings by Giacometti for 15 different works on paper. These drawings new to the exhibition continue to deepen “our understanding of Alberto Giacometti’s growth as an artist whether it is found in revealing images of his parent drawn over the span of 40 years or in his portrait of Henri Matisse,” according to President and CEO of the Museum, John Boyer. While this exchange provides visitors with the chance to see more of Giacometti’s work, it also helps protect these fragile works on paper from over exposure to light.

“Untitled” by Antoni Tàpies 1965, lithograph on paper. Copyright 2012 Fundacio Antoni Tapies/Artists Rights Society/New York/VEGAP, Madrid.

“Antoni Tàpies: Texture and Image” showcases prints in the Bechtler’s collection from this important Spanish artist whose work is perhaps not as well known in the U.S. Tàpies died in February of this year. Coming to prominence in the late 1940’s, Tàpies’ symbolic paintings were strongly influenced by Surrealism. His mature style emphasizes thick, built-up surfaces with signs, letters, and numbers pitted and gouged into them. Using a variety of materials, Tàpies’ work captures the Spanish street scene and the political drama of his youth in Catalonia.

“Texture and Image” largely shows Tàpies’ lithographs and though they lack the heavy textures of his paintings, the prints do suggest rough, grainy surfaces. Particularly, “La Porte” from 1969, which is an etching with embossing.  The rectangular shape in the center of the etching is highly suggestive of a door with white lines radiating out from the corners like light coming through cracks. The embossed surface of “La Porte” is richly tactile.

Tonight from 5:30-7 p.m., a special preview event will give museum members a chance to view “Texture and Image” while enjoying tapas, sangria and listening to classical guitarist Aris Quiroga Nieto. Please RSVP to [email protected].

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art: 420 South Tryon St., Charlotte; www.bechtler.org. Hours: Mon., 10-5 p.m.; Tues., closed; Wed.-Sat., 10-5 p.m.; Sun., 12-5 p.m.