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Centennial Celebrations: Klimt and Rodin – An Artistic Encounter

July 13, 2017July 31, 2017 arts-NY 1 Comment

Centennial Celebrations: Klimt and Rodin – An Artistic Encounter

A dialog between grand masters on grace, beauty and sensuality

The year 2017 is rich with the anniversaries. Centennial of the Russian Revolutions (March – November 1917), 150 years of the Alaska Purchase (March, 1867), 500 years since a publication of 95 Theses by Martin Luther that started the Protestant Reformation are just a few to mention. The art world is commemorating centenaries of two great admirers of female beauty, Auguste Rodin who lived until November 17, 1917 and Gustav Klimt, who died shortly after in February, 1918.

Klimt and Rodin artistic encounter at Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco — The Maiden, 1913 (oil on canvas) by Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918); 190×200 cm; Narodni Galerie, Prague, Czech Republic; Austrian, out of copyright / Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco is mounting an exhibition Klimt & Rodin: An Artistic Encounter which will be on view in October 14, 2017 – January 28, 2018 to celebrate the centenaries of the grand masters. The show which will be held at the Legion of Honor is marking the first time the works of Klimt will be shown on the West Coast. The Legion of Honor had celebrated Rodin centenary with an installation which had officially ended in April of this year but the works had remained in place and will be jointed by the works of Klimt for an artistic dialog between the masters on their beloved and deeply explored topic of love, beauty and eroticism.

Centennial Celebrations: Klimt and Rodin - An Artistic Encounter — Gustav Klimt, “The Black Feathered Hat (Der Schwarze Federhut,” 1910. Oil on canvas, 79 x 63 cm. Private collection, courtesy of the Neue Galerie, New York / Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Auguste Rodin had only one in person meeting with Gustav Klimt when he traveled to Prague via Vienna in 1902. Rodin had accepted an invitation to visit an exhibition of Vienna Secession movement Beethoven Frieze by Klimt. The story of the encounter, as described by The Telegraph art critic, has a confession by Rodin that he had “never before experienced such an atmosphere – your tragic and magnificent Beethoven fresco, your unforgettable, temple-like exhibition, and now this garden, these women, this music.” In the words of art historian Berta Zuckerkandl, Klimt suggested that the reason for all of that is in one word: Austria. That insight had clearly worked for the Modernists and their circle in Vienna. The interplay between art, music and the beauties will be the main object of the exhibition in San Francisco.

If you are not planning to travel to San Francisco, you can still see all major works by Rodin at Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, PA . As for Klimt, Neue Galerie would be your fist stop to see modernists’ masterworks including Klimt’s. The Met has 2 paintings at Gallery 829 and several drawings which are not currently on view. There are also 2 paintings and several drawings at MoMA available to view online.

Venue: Legion of Honors, San Francisco, CA Time: October 14, 2017 – January 28, 2018

Art in NYC: Robert Motherwell Exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery

September 15, 2017January 18, 2018 arts-NY 1 Comment

Art in NYC: Robert Motherwell Exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery

Early Paintings

Chelsea Art Gallery NYC exhibition Robert Motherwell paintings — Robert Motherwell, La Belle Mexicaine, 1941;
©Dedalus Foundation, Inc./ Licensed by VAGA / Image courtesy of Paul Kasmin Gallery

This well-researched exhibition at Paul Kasmin gallery in Chelsea presents the early works by an American abstract expressionist artist Robert Motherwell . The show includes 18 works from 1941 to 1951 when the artist was actively searching for his style and its meaning. In 1941 he started studying studio art at Columbia University after pursuing a PhD degree in philosophy at Harvard. Building up on his interest in modernist writings and poetry, he turned to the visual arts while traveling to Europe in the late 1930s. His other influences were from the exiled surrealists leaving in New York City at that time such as Max Ernst, Duchamp, Masson. In particular, an idea of letting out the unconscious through the process of “automatic” drawing made a considerable effect on Motherwell and was further developed in his later works alternating between figurative and abstract images.

His travels to Mexico City in 1941 brought him in contact with a Chilean painter Roberto Matta, another promoter of abstract expressionism. The works made at the time of that trip, La Belle Mexicane (Maria) and Three Figures are included in the exhibition and are on public view for the first time.

Another strong influence apparent in the selection of works on view is by Piet Mondrian, the founder of De Stijl movement who had his first exhibition in New York in 1942. The minimalism of De Stijl style adapted to convey the sorrows from the Spanish Civil War can be seen in The Sentinel (1942), Recuerdo de Coyoacán (1942) and The Spanish Prison (Window) (1943-1944). It is well documented that the Spanish Civil War made a huge impact on Motherwell. His cycle of paintings Elegy to the Spanish Republic is now at the Guggenheim museum. Robert Motherwell’s book with the same title gives more ground to the subject of the cycle.

The works from the later years in the current show are turning more to abstract with an idea of automatic painting getting into action. At that time the artist also started experimenting with collages on paper and became known for his innovative style in the medium. An expose Robert Motherwell: Early Collages covers 60 works from that period.

The gallery is open Tue – Sat, 10am – 6pm

Venue: 293 Tenth Avenue, NY Dates: September 07 – October 28, 2017

The Met Fifth Avenue Roof Top Garden: The Theatre of Disappearance by Adrian Villar Rojas, April 14 – October 29, 2017

May 25, 2017January 18, 2018 arts-NY

Adrián Villar Rojas: The Theatre of Disappearance at The Met Fifth Avenue Roof Top Garden

On view April 14 – October 29, 2017

The Roof Top Garden of the Met Fifth Avenue Museum is hosting a fascinating exhibition titled “The Theater of Disappearance” by Argentinean artist Adrian Villar Rojas. The exhibition, which includes 16 large sculptures by Villar Rojas, is intertwined with multiple other events under the same umbrella title this year including film series at Berlin Film Festival and visual art shows in Greece, Austria and Los Angeles. This overarching theme seems timely today as our accelerated pace of life with at times endless pileup of stuff leads to its opposite, a void or disappearance.

Villar Rojas came to fame when at the age 32 he was selected to represent Argentina at the 2011 Venice Biennial. His next big engagement on the international art scene was at the Documenta 2013 and Istanbul Biennial 2015. Villa Rojas is known for making life-size sculptures from large animals caring heavy loads as at the Istanbul Biennial to the ruins of tumbled staircase at MoMA PS1 “LA INOCENCIA DE LOS ANIMALES” in 2013.

For current installation at the Met the artist used spectrometry and 3D scans of the artifacts from the Met collection mixing up the time periods, places, ideas and facts. Ideally the viewers have to visit this installation after seeing the originals on the floors below. The FT review notes that at times it seems that the artists is “undoing all of art history”. The ArtNews reports about Rojas’s laborious study of the Met Museum collection encompassing its all 17 departments as well as interviews with the staff as part of the creation process.

The photos from Art Summary blog lets you get a taste of the exhibition:

Photographs by Corrado Serra. Artist’s Statement The Met’s history as an institution is a testimony to America’s path as a nation. Its doors opened in 1870 with a large collection of plaster casts of sculptural masterpieces. By the mid-twentieth century, genuine artifacts had displaced the copies. Departments quickly emerged, dividing the cultural endowment into regions […]

via The Roof Garden Commission: Adrián Villar Rojas, The Theatre of Disappearance at The Met Fifth Avenue, April 14 – October 29, 2017 — Arts Summary

The Roof Top floors had to be redone with the tiles created by the artists for this installation . The particularly designed greenery were added as well as the bar. The effect of the spectacular Manhattan skyline in the background accentuates the bacchanal in the garden. Come and see it yourself.

For museum hours and more click here.

Enjoy your free visit to the Met museum with NewYorkPass!

Venue: The Met Museum on Fifth Avenue Time: till October 29, 2017

April – October 2017 Fall Art in NYC: CHIHULY at New York Botanical Garden

April 26, 2017January 18, 2018 arts-NY 1 Comment

April – October 2017 Fall Art in NYC: CHIHULY at New York Botanical Garden

Open from April 22 – October 29, 2017

World-renowned glass sculpture artist Dale Chihuly returns to New York Botanical Garden with his new installation CHIHULY. The exhibition includes 20 works combining early drawings and the latest creations.

“CHIHULY, a major new exhibition at The New York Botanical Garden spotlights world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly’s bold innovation in a variety of media throughout his celebrated career. Chihuly’s first major garden exhibition in New York in more than ten years features more than 20 installations and includes drawings and early works that reveal the evolution and development of his […]

via CHIHULY at New York Botanical Garden, April 22 – October 29, 2017 — Arts Summary

Dale Chihuly’s art blends easily with the nature, so this year installation at the NYBG is not the first experiment in that regard. The New Botanical Garden gives these innovative art works a genuine environment. In an interview with the ArtNet Todd Forrest, the NYBG’s vice president for horticulture and living collections stressed that “the combination of art and nature that exemplifies Dale Chihuly’s art is something that is very close to our hearts at the New York Botanical Garden.”

Chihuly came a long way in reaching the level of expression he is presenting to the public today. After years of studies and work at the top art schools in the US, he studied glass blowing at the Venini factory on the island of Murano off Venice, Italy. There and elsewhere in Europe he was able to experiment with the techniques, colors and materials that now make integral parts of his installations.

The exhibition at the NYBG is highlighting the interplay not only between the glass creations and the nature but also between daylight and nighttime illumination. The garden will open late for the visitors to experience this magic. Check the hours here.

Enjoy your free visit to New Botanical Garden with your NewYorkPass!

In addition to the art and nature there will be summer concerts in the garden. The opening concert in the series on Friday June 16, 2017, the French Connection, is featuring vocal sensation Camille Bertault and Alphonso Horne on trumpet.

Venue: New York Botanical Garden, NY

Date: April 22 – October 29, 2017

May 5 – September 24, 2017: Florine Stettheimer at the Jewish Museum

May 5, 2017September 27, 2017 arts-NY 1 Comment

May 5 – September 24, 2017: Florine Stettheimer at the Jewish Museum

Painting Poetry

An exhibition of paintings, theatrical costumes and poems of an American Modernist artist Florine Stettheimer (1871–1944) is on view at Jewish Museum through the summer. The collection presented here paints the world of Jazz Age New York as its experienced by high society of that time with witty satire and warm touch. The playful nature, light tones and elegant scenes were the reasons for relegating this artist to a decorative camp. However her talent is evident in everything she made and her oeuvre places her among the greatest artists of 20th century.

May - September, 2017: Florine Stettheimer at Jewish Museum — From the exhibition via artssummary.com

“Florine Stettheimer: Painting Poetry is the first major U.S. exhibition in over 20 years focused on artist Florine Stettheimer (1871-1944). The exhibition showcases over 50 paintings and drawings in addition to costume and theater designs, photographs, and ephemera, offering a timely reconsideration of this influential American artist with a sharp satirical wit, placing her centrally in the modern […]

via Florine Stettheimer: Painting Poetry at Jewish Museum, May 5 – September 24, 2017 — Arts Summary

Florine Stettheimer studied at the Arts Student League of New York from 1892 to 1895. She continued to refine her artistic style in pre-World War I Germany following Symbolist artists of the time. Another strong influence on Stettheimer work was made by the Ballets Russes. Upon returning to New York, she adapted her style to depict the life of her family and its circle of friends in her paintings and poetry. Continuing her connection to the world of ballet, she worked on costume and stage design incorporating new materials in her work. Because she didn’t depend on the sales of her works, she preferred to show her work only to her acquaintances and close friends and remained largely unknown to the public. After her death her close friend Marcel Duchamp organized a retrospective of her work at MOMA in 1946.

The history of the celebrated Ballets Russes is masterfully shown in The Ballets Russes by Zeitgeist Films.

Jewish Museum exhibition gives us a chance to understand this sensible artist. For museum hours click here.

Venue: Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Avenue, NY

Dates: May 5 – September 24, 2017

Category: Art

Centennial Celebrations: Klimt and Rodin – An Artistic Encounter

Centennial Celebrations: Klimt and Rodin – An Artistic Encounter

A dialog between grand masters on grace, beauty and sensuality

Art in NYC: Robert Motherwell Exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery