"Mike Kelley" © 2010 Scalleja, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license

An untimely death robbed the world of famed American artist Mike Kelley in early 2012; however his memory will live on forever through his brilliant works of art.

From 15 December, 2012 the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam will present a retrospect of his work spanning from the beginning of his career in the 1970s all the way through his final works.

Kelley’s work is extremely diverse in topic and medium and the exhibit will include approximately 250 paintings, sculptures, objects, installations, videos, and performance. This will mark the largest and most comprehensive collection of his work since 1993.

The artist was no stranger to controversy and often challenged traditional attitudes towards topics such as sexuality, religion, gender, education and even art history.

One of his most well-known pieces, More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid from 1987, featured a mess of used rag dolls, animals, and blankets strewn across a canvas and was described as, “a way of investing a fictional childhood scene with some visceral pathos.”

The Stedelijk Museum is centrally located and is situated beautifully for an easy commute from your city hotel. Amsterdam is an eclectic city and it takes great pride in displaying the work of forward thinking artists such as Kelley.

The exhibit will take place in the Stedelijk Museum’s long awaited new wing. Almost a decade in the making, and dubbed the “bath tub” by locals, it opened September of 2012.

Designed by Mels Crouwel, the sleek 10,000sq meter synthetic-fibre extension provides vaulted spacious galleries, one of which is the largest in the Netherlands.

The new structure also incorporates a restaurant and a sunken library and it pivots the museum’s foyer towards the green of the Museumplein—which is also home to the Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum.

Be sure to ask your concierge about the exhibit and the new wing of the gallery when you check into your city hotel. Amsterdam is a city where visitors will be captivated by its phenomenal art scene and it certainly shouldn’t be missed.