Category: Art Stroll | Page 9

Art Stroll: National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia

The first day Julie, my husband and I arrived in Melbourne, it was raining and so we went straight to the National Gallery of Victoria. A beautiful building filled with wonderful artwork. I am not showing everything we saw, only a couple of my favorites, either for their subject matter, composition, material, texture or else.

Shield made of bark I assume and I loved the scenery depicting typical Australian animals.

The Australian Indigenous Art was amazing. These wooden sculptures were intriguing and beautiful.

This Painting made me happy with it’s texture and the colors- yummmmmie!

Asher BILU, Yuga ii, ca. 1966 Melbourne, mixed media on composition board

I love how Jenny Watson created texture and dimension in a grid on this oil painting called House painting: Box Hill North, 1977 Melbourne

Rosalie Gascioigne, Flash Art, 1987 Canberra, tar on reflective synthetic polymer film on wood

Rosalie made assemblages from found objects found around her home in Canberra. The piece above is made from retro-reflective road signs, which she cut up and rearranged. She once said “Most of the things that I use have been exposed to the weather and in that sense, mine is an art of the outdoors.” I love that- I have never thought about this when you use found objects that have been part of the world outside :)

Constanze Zikos, Fake Flag, 1994 Melbourne, thermo-setting laminate, enamel paint, crayon, metallic and plastic self-adhesive tape on composition board

In this painting Zikos uses everyday materials and inserts stars symbolic of other cultures. It reflects his examination of cultural identity and the concept of authenticity.

I could not stop looking at this! The colors were so vibrant and the dots were pulsing.

Paddy Japaljarri Stewart, Marlu Jukurrpa (Kangoroo Dreaming), 1987 Yuendumu, Northern Territory, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Trevor Nickolls, Third eye, 1986 Adelaide, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

This painting was so mesmerizing- I love the depth of it and the limited color palette.

This one is also by

Trevor Nickolls, Wrestling with the white spirit, 1990 Adelaide, synthetic polymer paint on canvas. The details and symbolism of this painting !

This artwork touched me deeply. It refers to the experience of Indigenous people as outcasts.

Sandra Hill (born 1951) , Beyond the pale, 2010 Balingup, Western Australia, synthetic polymer paint on plywood, painted wood

Sandra Hill was taken from her parents at just seven years of age – the third generation of her family to be removed and placed in an institution.

Gordon Hookey, Aboriginality victorious, 2008 Brisbane, oil paint, plastic and metal on canvas, paper, metal and metallic and oil paint on boxing gloves

Wait…who are those people here ? Goof balls- LOL

Limpi Tjapangati, Waputi and Tatupa, 1979, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

This painting provides an aerial view of how the artist perceives his landscape. We will see the landscape entirely different from our perception of the same landscape. I love this concept and idea!

This was massive.

Lorriane Connelly-Northey, Possum-skin cloak: Blackfella road, 2011-13 Vistoria, rusted iron and tin, fencing and barbed wire, wire

Djambu Barra Barra, Preparing for ceremony, 1988, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

The colors – the details – swoon!

I hope you enjoyed this art stroll through the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. It was such a different museums experience and we spent many hours there.

Nat

Comments (6)

Joi @RR

May 23, 2016 at 10:15 am | #

Wow – amazing pictures. What a place. Thanks bunches for sharing these Nat. Just awed. XXj.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 23, 2016 at 11:49 am | #
  
  thank you Joi! have a wonderful week :)
  
  Reply
Sue Clarke

May 22, 2016 at 10:51 am | #

What a wonderful tour for my Sunday morning.
Thank you Nat.
I especially l Wrestling with the White Spiritike .

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 23, 2016 at 11:48 am | #
  
  so glad you liked it Sue! I love putting those together as it makes me relive the visit :) Have a wonderful week!
  
  Reply
Joyce

May 22, 2016 at 9:30 am | #

Thank you for this tour through this museum broading the mind with new insight and possibilities thanks for shsring

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 22, 2016 at 10:25 am | #
  
  Thank you Joyce, I am glad you enjoyed the little tour ! Have a wonderful sunday!
  
  Reply

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Art Stroll: Edgar Degas – A Strange New Beauty at MoMA

Art Stroll Edgar Degas MoMA Monotype

In March, I went to the opening of Edgar Degas – A Strange New Beauty at MoMA . Honestly I am not the biggest Degas fan – I mean – I like his paintings but not in a geeky “ohhhh I looooovveee” kinda-way. But …I was really surprised how much I loved the exhibition because it showed Degas experimenting phase with monotypes in the late 1870s and how that lead to his later so famous signature painting style.

A monotype is a hybrid between a drawing and a print. It is a drawing that is printed – Degas painted on copper plates with ink, or covered a copper plate with ink and painted into it, put paper on it and run it through a press.

The Jet Earring – 1876-77 – Monotype on paper

But furthermore, Degas would often make a second pull – a so called ghost print and then enhance that one with pastel.

Now one of the coolest things of the exhibition was that the curators pointed out where to look even closer and provided a magnifying glass to do so.

“Make a drawing, begin it again, trace it, begin it again, and retrace it” – Edgar Degas

Degas also experimented using oil instead of ink for his monotypes and then enhancing again the ghost prints with pastels.

River Banks, 1890 – Pastel over monotype in oil in paper

Wheatfield and Line of Trees, 1890 – Pastel over monotype in oil on paper

Two Dancers,1905 – Charcoal and pastel on tracing paper

Here is the monotype – the first print .

And the ghost print enhanced with pastels.

Three Ballet Dancers, c. 1878

At the Theater: The Duet – 1877-79 – Pastel over monotype on paper

The Café-Concert Singer, c. 1876 – Pastel over monotype on paper

I was fascinated by Degas’ way of seeing the monotypes as a process opening up so many more possibilities – what a great exhibition to explore his process and his grab for the shiny object. If you are near NYC – go and visit it- it is still open until July 24th, 2016 and I will for sure stroll through it again before it closes.

Nat

Comments (6)

CarolynB

May 6, 2016 at 8:25 pm | #

Fascinating! Thanks for the exhibit tour and insights into the artist’s processes.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 7, 2016 at 10:23 am | #
  
  So glad you enjoyed it Carolyn! have a wonderful weekend!
  
  Reply
JoAnn

May 5, 2016 at 8:41 am | #

Thank you for sharing – love being able to visit a museum through your eyes.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 5, 2016 at 9:49 am | #
  
  Hi JoAnn, happy you liked the art stroll :)
  
  Reply
Gayle

May 5, 2016 at 8:20 am | #

Thank you Nathalie for this informative museum tour – I didn’t know the extent to which Degas produced and modified his monotype prints. Whenever I saw the black and white works in articles about this artist, I presumed they were simply charcoal studies for his paintings. I’ve learned so much art history from reading your blogs and of course, can’t say enough about all your mixed media tutorials and info.- such a wonderful resource!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 5, 2016 at 8:57 am | #
  
  so glad you liked it Gayle! Thanks for coming by :)
  
  Reply

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Art Stroll – Lucy Dodd at Whitney, NYC

Art Lucy Dodd New York City Whitney Museum

A couple weeks ago I went to the Whitney for it’s open plan exhibition featuring Lucy Dodd. I stumbled across this exhibition through the Whitney’s Instagram feed and decided to take a short trip to the museum and have a late work start.

It was located on the fifth floor which stretches out without any walls in between and offers some amazing views.

I loved the shapes of the canvases, reminding of sails.

Lucy used fermented walnuts, kombucha scoby, hematite, yerba mate, and pigments which she all collected while traveling to paint on raw canvas.

The big canvases were painted on the terrace of the Whitney and the progress photo of this work was what I had seen on Instagram and made me investigate what was going on :) You can spot and see the grid of the underlaying tiles of the terrace on the canvases. Dodd seems to use this method of creating a grid this way a lot.

I loved the scale of the work and the movement visible in it.

It makes me want to work big.

Her use of different natural materials and the texture and marks they leave is also very intriguing. I enjoyed this exhibition and learning about Lucy Dodd’s work- she is now definitely on my radar. A well worth trip to the museum, I am so glad I discovered this on social media.

What is the most uncommon material you painted with? It would be branches and leaves for me but more as mark making tools.

Nat

Comments (2)

Sue Clarke

April 21, 2016 at 8:38 am | #

That 7th photo down from the top really catches my eye!!!
Most unusual item used was a dog marrow bone (with the marrow eaten out already and washed of course).

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  April 21, 2016 at 8:57 am | #
  
  Hi Sue – a dog marrow bone- wow :) I wanna know what you did with it :) Thanks for visiting – hope you have a wonderful day! Nat
  
  Reply

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Studio Stroll – Adam Cvijanovic in Brooklyn, New York

Adam Cvijanovic Art Stroll Artist Brooklyn New York City

A couple weeks ago my friends and I took a day off to visit our friend Adam Cvijanovic in his studio in Brooklyn, New York.

Adam is a noted painter working mostly large-scale, often on tyvek with flashe paint (vinyl-based professional grade of matte permanent colors). He calls these tyvek paintings wallpapers or portable murals. Adam dropped out of high school when he was 17 because he wanted to be an artist and cut himself off a Plan B or the possibility to do anything else but art. His work has been on view amongst many other places at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, MI, Blindarte Contemporary in Naples, Italy , Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China; Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, England. He has been an adjunct professor of the Rhode Island School of Design. Adam is represented by Postmasters Gallery in New York.

Pretty impressive and something to tell someone who says to you “you have to go to art school to be an artist”.

I have seen Adam’s work at galleries and I couldn’t wait to see his working space and spend some time with him while he was working. His studio is located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard offering quite some cool views from different spots of the building.

Adam is telling stories with his fascinating, fractured, layered and detailed work. He often adds 3-D elements like painted wood panels and oil painted acrylic panels on top. The perspective in his artwork changes constantly making the viewer linger for a long time to get a grab of the subject matter and the narrative behind it.

He often cuts up his artwork, fracturing it or using elements of it as collage objects in other work.

He also works small – like here – in oil on canvas.

Here is an acrylic panel painted with oil paint.

I loved Adam’s studio – the light was amazing and it was like a treasure box – full of creative chaos but only to us visitors, he pretty much knows where everything is located in his studio.

He was working on a new piece, auditioning fragments and adhering it to differently painted backgrounds. The detail work of his paintings is just insane, and he sources images for his ideas from photographs and movies and puts them together in his paintings into new images- reflecting something known but also non existing.

It was such a great experience to see him work and change things, audition those changes and then start over again, with sometimes just tiny little adjustments. I hope I will get to see the finished piece soon!

This visit also made me interested in trying out to paint on tyvek – I can see the advantages AND – canvas is super expensive here in the States- so large scale has just become a bit more into reach for me …unless…I put my small studio into account ;)

This was a super inspiring studio stroll, I hope you enjoyed it too and I hope this is the beginning of a new series. Thank you Adam for letting us peek into your studio!!!

Nat

Comments (8)

Ann Arnold

February 14, 2021 at 3:10 am | #

Thank you so much for the tour of Adam’s studio.He is a masterful painter. I knew him as a child when he roamed about Boston painting old brick buildings and used his tee shirt as a paint rag.
Please give him my best wishes. He knew me as Arno.

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Branko Miokovic

November 19, 2020 at 11:26 am | #

Hi, I like your review of Adam’s work process and his studio. If you have a chance self my regards to Adam. I am his uncle from Canada.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  November 20, 2020 at 6:05 am | #
  
  Hi Branko – how fun! i just passed it on to him and Julia!!!
  
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Joi@RR

April 11, 2016 at 12:07 pm | #

I have looked at these photos three time Nat…. thank you so much for sharing. Sooooooooooooooooo interesting. I HOPE you DO go BIG with the tyvek – for sure. What a wonderful experience it must have been to be there in his studio – wow. Even hubby was totally awed by your photos. What a HUGE TREAT. XXj.

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Sandy

April 10, 2016 at 10:41 am | #

Natalie
I hear about tyvek all the time but not how to locate it or prep it for painting. The stuff I see builders use has the name boldly printed on it so it would need to be coated so the word tyvek does not bleed through. A subject for your next video hummmmm.

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Carolyn

April 9, 2016 at 10:46 pm | #

So interesting! Thanks for the tour and insight into his work.

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Jane LaFazio

April 9, 2016 at 10:50 am | #

This was great! Thanks Nat for the tour. Looking forward to more in this new series.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  April 9, 2016 at 4:34 pm | #
  
  So glad you enjoyed it Jane!
  
  Reply

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Art Stroll – Garcia Torres at MoMA

Art Art Stroll Artist Garcia Torres MoMA

A couple months ago I went to MoMA with my friend Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and I was excited to see the Joaquin Torres-Garcia exhibition since I fell in love with his work a couple months before in Argentina at Malba. Torres-Garcia was an Uruguayan painter and sculptor. He lived in Barcelona with his family in 1891, traveled a lot in his life and was friends with Picasso, Duchamp and other important artists. What I love about his work is how versatile and symbolic it is.

Fourteenth Street, 1920 – Oil on board

I love his New York City Scenes- they are so lively and I love that he put more detail on signs and writing than on faces – yet you totally get the vibe of the city.

Aren’t those the coolest? I want them all!

I love his very limited color palette.

Construction with triangle, 1929 – Oil on canvas

Structure with struck forms, 1933 – Tempera on board.

His use of wood pieces – It makes me want to find old pieces of wood and paint on them.

And working in black, white and grey…even though I am such a bright color nerd, this makes me want to do it.

Constructive composition,1931 -Oil on canvas

Composition, 1932 – oil on canvas

Oh looksie…there is Julie :) I miss her and our MoMA strolls.

The one below is one of my favorite. The collage elements, the flags, the ephemera, symbols- I just love it!

It was a great art stroll and I really enjoyed seeing more of Garcia Torres after my visit to Malba. I am sure I will refer to his artwork in one of my future works – stay tuned :)

Do you find his work inspiring?

Nat

Comments (8)

Joi@RR

February 21, 2016 at 1:14 pm | #

I’m like Gayle – love traveling with you Nat. And yes – this was definitely inspiring. I am really thankful to learn about these different artists and I enjoyed seeing all of these very much. You know… you already do his type of city art… it reminds me of you a lot. Thanks bunches for such a great post. XX j.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 24, 2016 at 10:06 am | #
  
  So glad you like traveling with me Joi :)
  
  Reply
Gayle

February 20, 2016 at 10:54 am | #

Again, thank you SO MUCH for expanding my art-appreciation horizons. These works have a neolithic flavor mixed in with primitive hieroglyphics and brings one back to the universality of images and symbols — before language started creating barriers. I can definitely see how this style can be incorporated into mixed media and am anxious to experiment with this concept. I love travelling with you via your blogs!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 24, 2016 at 10:09 am | #
  
  Gayle, So glad you like the work and inspiration by Torres. And yes – I agree- images and symbols- what a wonderful way to communicate in art. Thank you for traveling along!
  
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Sue Clarke

February 19, 2016 at 5:06 pm | #

I like the wooden sculptures but not much inspiration for me sorry to say.
You and Julie give me plenty of inspiration (especially with all your new products)!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 24, 2016 at 10:08 am | #
  
  sorry to hear you didn’t find inspiration in his work but so happy you are here :) hugs, nat
  
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Joyce

February 19, 2016 at 10:06 am | #

I enjoyed this presentation of the artist. Food for thought.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 19, 2016 at 3:14 pm | #
  
  Glad you like the stroll Joyce!
  
  Reply

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Art Stroll: Malba – The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires

Argentina Art Art Stroll Buenos Aires Inspiration Malba Traveling Artist

It’s been a couple months after coming back from Buenos Aires, but I still would love to show you one the highlights of my trip, which was my Art Stroll through Malba the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires.

The Malba is actually a really funky building…and someone laid an egg in the basement too ;) It is a beautiful museum – the permanent collection is small but wonderful – the running exhibitions were amazing, but are not part of this post. Let’s stroll through the permanent collection:

Emilio Pettoruti, La cancion del Pueblo (The Song of the People), 1927 – Oil on wood

I love this one – it reminds me a lot of Picasso’s Three Musicians which is from 1921- and I wonder if he saw Picasso’s painting while he was in Europe. I love the patterns and the colors -it makes me want to create my own version :)

Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Calle de Nueva York (Street of New York) , 1920

MoMA has an exhibition with Torres-Garcia right now- which I will post about later – but I was happy to see more of his work after seeing these pieces in Buenos Aires.

Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Compositon symetrique universelle en blanc et noir (Universal Symmetric Composition in Black and White), 1931

Isn’t this gorgeous? I love it – and it would be so much fun to do an art journal page in this style.

Luis Ortiz Monasterio, El espiritu de la rey, 1933 – this bronze sculpture reminds me a bit of Fernand Leger’s Paintings – I love it!

Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey and Parrot, 1942

Maria Martins, O Impossivel (The Impossible9, 1945 “It is nearly impossible to make people understand each other,”

I found this one a bit disturbing and yes aggressive but also faszinating and for some reason it made me think of Magritte’s “The Lovers” – just evoking different feelings.

Antonio Berni, Manifestacion (Public Demonstration), 1934 – Egg Tempera on Burlap

In the thirties art and politics were often a topic by artists. Artists engaged in collective work, political activism and debates. Images of rural and urban workers, as well as figures protesting or engaged in traditional celebrations, began to appear in often monumental pictorial works. The artwork made use of materials that gave artistic expression a social dimension. Burlap from a potato sack or tempera paint of the sort used murals were often chosen by politicized artist.

Maria Freire, Sudamerica N10, 1958

I love those polygonal forms – pretty amazing pattern.

Lidy Prati, Serial Composition, 1948 (1946)

Franz Krajcberg, Sin Titulo (Untitled), 1961 – burnt colored paper pulp on canvas

I could not stop looking at this- I wanted to touch it..but I didn’t ;) – the texture – swoon!!!

Kenneth Kemble, Suburban Landscape in Memoriam B.N., 1958 – Rusty metal sheet, oil and misc. on hardboard.

I loved seeing all the artwork with supplies that were around and on hand.

Luis Felipe Noe, Dos mujeres (Two Women) 1963 – Oil and Collage on Canvas

Jorge De La Vega, Pruebe de nuevo (Try Again), 1963 – Oil, paper, glued fabric, and glass on canvas

this is a rub off from the face on the right – so fascinating.

Jorge De La Vega, El dia ilustrisimo (The Illustrious Day), 1965 – Oil, glued canvases, frottage with charcoal on cut-out canvas, synthetic plaster, jewelry, mirrors, glass and plastic on canvas.

Nicolas Garcia Uriburu, Pastel on 4 Photographs, 1970

Beautiful Photo Alteration – I love to alter photos and of course the urban theme is dear to my heart.

And now- I had to include this although it wasn’t in the permanent collection. Hello giant rubber stamp!!!!!

Eduardo Navarro, The Mechanics of the Alphabet, 2015

It was a great museums visit- and if you ever go to Buenos Aires, definitely put Malba on your list.

What caught my attention was that there was actually quite some artwork by women- making it yet the more prominent how very few women are present in a lot of Museums throughout the world- naming MoMA for example – and it is not as if women in the 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s of the last century didn’t do wonderful and unique artwork.

The other fact that caught my eye was the variety of supplies that were used – my Mixed Media heart was beating a couple beats faster …in a happy way.

I hope you enjoyed this little art stroll! Which of the pieces I showed did you find most inspiring?

Nat

Comments (8)

Laura

February 8, 2016 at 1:38 pm | #

Love it Nat, thanks for sharing!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 11, 2016 at 3:55 pm | #
  
  thank you Laura, happy you enjoyed it!
  
  Reply
Susan Schultheis

February 8, 2016 at 12:24 pm | #

Wow, what fantastic art!! Thank you for sharing your visit to the museum. Since I wll probably never get there, this is the next best thing. I truly enjoyed.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 11, 2016 at 3:54 pm | #
  
  so glad you liked it Susan!
  
  Reply
Angie Winkler

February 7, 2016 at 10:36 am | #

Hey Nat- thank you for sharing!!! I loved so many styles you captured, but Emilio Pettoruti’s was fab to me today! (I also thought of Picasso due to CJS16!!! -I am still in progress – maybe done when I see you in a few weeks!?!????) Buenos Aires is on my list of destinations now!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 11, 2016 at 3:53 pm | #
  
  Yeah that one is amazing, isn’t it? I cannot wait to see you in Oklahoma, it is going to be super fun!!!
  
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cheryltoo

February 7, 2016 at 9:52 am | #

Hi Nat,
Thank you for this. I am so loving the two pieces by Joaquin Torres-Garcia. I want to do one for my city Toronto.
Thanks again,
Cheryl

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  February 11, 2016 at 3:53 pm | #
  
  that sounds wonderful cheryl – I hope you share when you are done!
  
  Reply

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Art Stroll: Picasso Sculpture at MoMA

Art Art Stroll MoMA New York City Pablo Picasso Picasso Sculpture

Disclaimer: This post includes artwork with abstract or not so abstract nudity – it is not called Sodom and Gomorrah – it is called ART . If you have a problem with art, all I can say ” so sorry for you!” . Don’t email me to complain, don’t visit my blog anymore because I might post things like this again and, farewell!

For a couple weeks now Picasso Sculpture is on view at MoMA (until February 7th, 2016). It is AMAZING! I have been there four times and I really hope I can sneak in a fifth time. The work shown was created between 1902 and 1964. Every time I go, I am entranced by something else. The scope of Picasso’s work and the range of materials he used in his sculptures is just mind-blowing.

– Guitar, Paris, 1924. Painted sheet metal, painted tin box, and iron wire. –

– Violin and Bottle on a Table, Paris 1915 –

– Violin Paris 1915 – Painted sheet metal and iron wire.

All those sculptures make me feel as if Picasso Paintings came alive in a 3D installation – so brilliant!

Bust of a Woman, Boisgeloup 1931 . Plaster.

Head of a Woman, Boisgeloup 1932. Plaster

Head of a Warrior, Boisgeloup 1933 . Plaster, metal and wood.

This somehow made me think of a cartoon and smile- there is so much fun and joy and many puns in Picasso’s sculptures.

The Orator, 1933-34, Plaster, stone, and metal dowel

Head of a Woman. Paris 1929-30. Iron, sheet metal, spring and metal colanders.

Again this and the one below made me think of a Bugs Bunny Cartoon . Loving it!

Woman in the Garden, Paris 1929-30. Welded and pained iron.

left: Woman Carrying a Vessel, 1935. Painted pieces of wood, objects, and nails in a cement and wood base.

right: Figure, Mougins, 1938. Painted wood, nails, and screws with string, wire, paintbrush fragments, and push bell hardware on an unfired clay and wood base.

These were probably my favorites in the exhibition. I love the colors, and the materials and how they were put together – and look at the back of the figure!

Again these made me smile. You can almost see how someone who is so creative can never stop playing and transforming anything close by.

Goat. Paris, 1943 – Torn Paper

Death’s Head, Paris, 1943 . Torn and scratched paper.

Head of a Dog, Paris 1943, Torn and burnt napkin

Pregnant Woman, Vallauris, 1950. Plaster with metal armature, wood, ceramic vessel, and pottery jars.

Little Owl, Vallauris, 1951-52. Painted Bronze

Crane, Vallauris, 1951-52. Painted Bronze

Goat Skull and Bottle, Vallauris, 1951. Painted Bronze

Cock, Boisgeloup, 1932, Bronze

She-Goat, Vallauris, 1950, Bronze

Woman with a Baby Carriage, Vallauris, 1950-54 . Bronze

The Bathers – two times I was there, I saw a group of kids. They loved loved loved this – they recognized the faces and arms right away and they were totally entranced by the installation.

The Bathers: Man with Folded Hands ; Fountain Man; Woman with Outstretched Arms – Cannes 1956 – Wood

Baboon and Young, Vallauris, 1951, Bronze

Come on …this makes me laugh – this is awesome!!!! a car as the monkey head? I will never be able to look at a toy car again and not think of this!

Bull, Cannes 1958 – Block board, palm frond, and various other tree branches, eyebolt, nails and screws, with drips of alkyd and pencil markings.

Maquette for Richard J. Daley Center Sculpture, 1964. Simulated and oxidized welded steel

Woman with Hat,Cannes 1961. Painted sheet metal

Head of a Woman, Mougins, 1962. Painted sheet metal and iron wire.

Little Horse, Vallauris, 1961. Painted metal with wheels.

Sylvette, Vallauris 1954. Painted sheet metal.

What struck me the most was really how Picasso constantly changed his medium, his style and just totally indulged into the next and explored it, made it new and exciting! Looking at all the different work I felt super inspired and couldn’t wait to go home into my studio. Furthermore, I told people I took to the exhibition that this is exhibition feels like a therapy – it makes you happy and smile and just leaving in a very good mood. Yes- not the most art criticy en vogue thing to say, but you know…I think Pablo would have approved ;)

If you are anywhere near NYC and can make it before February 7th, 2016 to MoMA – RUN! Do it – don’t wait!

Hope you enjoyed the little art stroll!

Nat

Comments (14)

michelleward

January 18, 2016 at 4:52 pm | #

Wow! What a great show! Thanks for sharing all the details. I feel like I’ve been there. Love those first few….1915. Amazing. What a visionary. Love your enthusiasm for Picasso – thanks for taking us along.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 18, 2016 at 8:38 pm | #
  
  Michelle, you would love to go- come and go with me before it closes :)
  I take you in! My treat!
  
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Mary W

January 17, 2016 at 10:35 am | #

Thank you for the guided tour. It was fun to walk through with you and your ideas! That is the best part of art – sharing and evolving. Also, I won’t be able to look at my grandson’s cars without laughing now. Fun stroll.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 18, 2016 at 8:38 pm | #
  
  I am glad you enjoyed it Mary! I agree sharing and evolving is the best part- how fortunate we are to live in a time like this where the internet can bring us all together and make it possible to share.
  
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Jane LaFazio

January 17, 2016 at 10:30 am | #

Thank you for the fascinating visit to the exhibition. I recently saw an exhibit of Picassco’s lithographs and block prints that was also fabulous. What a rich original imaginative body of work. I feel I have much more to learn about his work. Thanks Nat!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 18, 2016 at 8:36 pm | #
  
  thank you Jane, glad you liked it. I wish I could have seen the exhibition you saw, that sounds so interesting!
  
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sunmoongal

January 16, 2016 at 3:49 pm | #

I love love love this post. Your descriptions, photos, discussion right on spot. I could not agree more. I love the car face too. I kept looking at it before I read your comments. Just like your walks through the hood. I love reading your thoughts. Also loved your disclaimers! So glad to follow you and attend jump start. I am always smiling, learning and inspired. I am leaving this post with a big smile.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 17, 2016 at 9:55 am | #
  
  so glad to have you Denise! Happy I made you smile! huge hugs,Nat
  
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Marsha

January 16, 2016 at 2:24 pm | #

❤️????

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 17, 2016 at 9:54 am | #
  
  right back at you, Marsha!
  
  Reply
Sue Clarke

January 16, 2016 at 1:26 pm | #

Pregnant Woman and Woman with a Carriage jumped out at me for some reason and NO I am not planning to have another baby.
Thanks for posting these delightful photos!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 17, 2016 at 9:54 am | #
  
  fun, right? I love those too. Thanks for coming by Sue!
  
  Reply
roncasw002

January 16, 2016 at 10:28 am | #

Thank you for sharing. Very fun and interesting.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  January 17, 2016 at 9:53 am | #
  
  Glad you enjoyed it Mary!
  
  Reply

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Art Stroll: The Art Institute of Chicago

Art Art Stroll Chicago Museum Traveling Artist

A couple of weeks ago I met two of my old friends in Chicago for a girl’s weekend. It was wonderful and a long due time together. And not only did I get to spend time with good friends …we also sneaked an Art Stroll in and went to the Art Institute of Chicago. I had visited the Art Institute a couple years ago but somehow forgot that the museum is mooohasive. So here is just a couple of the things that I was able to see and that caught my eyes :)

Roy Lichtenstein, George Washington- 1962 – an early Lichtenstein – I love seeing how he developed from there.

Jasper Johns, Numbers – 2005 – the texture makes me swoon – and I love that Jasper Johns repeated his known design in white bronze. He says “I like to repeat an image in another medium to observe the play between the two”

Another Jasper Johns – False Start – 1959 – which I have only seen in books so far – stunning!

Joan Miró, The Kerosine Lamp – 1924 – love the lines and the little clues and marks

This Miró – Two Personages in Love with a Woman – 1936 – made me smile !

And another Miró – Portrait of Juanita Obrador – 1918 – all three paintings not in chronological order here- are so different and it is interesting to see how Miró changed his style throughout the years.

Ohhh Jean Dubuffet – you make me happy! It is as if his visual idea of “Supervielle, Large Banner Portrait” – 1945 – was processed through his body and then came unrefined through his hands onto this canvas !

Georges Braque, Ajax – 1949-1954 – I love the int of color, the line work and the figure. It is a painting I would have not associated with him.

I am always excited when I see a Max Ernst Painting- his texture work is just unreal ! This appears 3 dimensional but is all painted – The Blue Forest , 1925.

And this painting by Max Ernst made me smile – well more the title actually – Human Figure with Two Birds – 1925 and 1929 .

Max Beckmann – Self Portrait – 1937 – I am always fascinated by Max Beckmann’s hands.

Pablo Picasso – The Red Armchair – 1931 – Love the colors and it totally reminded me of his “Girl before a Mirror” painting at MoMA – alas – no wonder – it is the same mistress Marie Therese in both paintings.

I also took a peak at the Hiratsuka Un’ichi Print Exhibition

Girl with Calico Patterned Background -1948 – Woodblock Print. The details-the patterns – swoon!

Angel Dreaming Room – 1971 – Woodblock Print.

Kingfisher – 1928 – Woodcut Print

I did not take note of the name of this one -but I love it so much – I had to include it.

Mount Aso in Kyushu, 1935 – Color woodblock print – amazing – look a the cloud- it has texture and all those different colors – beautiful!

That was it from the Art Institute in Chicago Art Stroll. I really enjoyed being there – I saw so much more but it was such an overload – I hope to come back soon and revisit some areas more leisurely. Hope you enjoyed the stroll! More coming soon :)

Nat

Comments (4)

Barb J

October 19, 2015 at 3:49 pm | #

Thanks for sharing these priceless pieces of art.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  October 20, 2015 at 12:35 pm | #
  
  So glad you enjoyed them Barb!
  
  Reply
Gayle

October 19, 2015 at 9:38 am | #

I absolutely love your disclaimer!

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  October 20, 2015 at 12:34 pm | #
  
  :) Thanks Gayle- unfortunately it has become necessary due to emails or comments regarding showing art containing nudity or swear words
  
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Art Stroll: The Whitney Museum, NYC

Art Stroll New York City Whitney Museum

Finally, months after the Whitney Museum reopened, my friend Karen and I went to see the permanent collection and kind of breezed through the whole building to get an overview. The good thing is when you live so close you can do that as you can come back again :)

One of the things that I noticed right away was the framing of the artwork at Whitney.

(Florine Stettheimer, Sun, 1931)

I have taken several classes with Corey d’Augustine at MoMA and as an art conservator one of the things that are very dear to Corey’s heart is the topic of the frames of artworks. He made me aware of the fact that museums in the past often times have just discarded or destroyed the frames that artist had made or picked. The reason was that museums wanted to fit the frames to the museum’s aesthetics or whatever was hip at the time of the exhibition. The frame above on the painting by Florine Stettheimer was designed by herself and she had it specially fabricated.

(Marsden Hartley, Forms Abstracted, 1913 – Frame painted by artist)

With lot’s of passion Corey would elaborate in his classes, why he thinks this was and is such a sin and while I kind of understood what he meant, I fully became appreciative of the frame “problem” when I went to the Whitney museum. It just dawned on me when I was looking at the first couple paintings in the collection. I was totally AWARE that the frames were not overpowering the artwork, they were part of the artwork or made the artwork WHOLE. And there I tipped my imaginative hat to Corey thinking “thanks man, – I got it!”

Paul Cadmus created the frame for his painting Sailors and Floosies (1938) and continued the graffiti depicted in the painting onto the frame. What a shame it would be if that frame would have gotten destroyed!

Apparently the Whitney Museum wasn’t happy with the wrong frames that some paintings lived in and they had a framer built 20 new frames for paintings that were ill-fitted in their frames. In the linked article, the framer talks about the detective work on how to find out how the frames have looked like back in the days. What an interesting work and topic.

Of course there was other work that highly inspired my at this visit at the Whitney Museum:

Alfonso Ossorio, Number 14 – 1953 . Ossorio developed a wax resist technique in the late 1940s to create layered abstract paintings. He would first draw using melted wax and then use water-pigments or ink on top which would be resisted by the waxed parts. He then scraped away pats of the hardened wax and repeat the process multiple time. While I have used different resist techniques- I never thought of repeating the process over and over …on my “play-list” now :)

Al Held – Untitled – Oil, ink and printed paper collage on Life magazine . Can you tell why this intrigued me? I almost ran to the case and I might have elbowed my way through as it looked so much like an art journal to me. Love this!

This is an gigantic piece by Mark Bradford – Bread and Circuses, 2007- Found paper, metal foil, acrylic, and string on canvas. It looks like a map – amazing. Bradford builds up a composition with layers of paper—often fragments of posters or ephemera salvaged from the street—that he soaks in water and combines with string, tape, and scraps of copy and magazine paper. He then sands down the collaged strata, and repeats the process in several layers.

Of course there was way more inspiring art work – but this is for a different visit – there is only so much input you can handle when you visit a museum. I leave you with some wonderful views that are revealed when stepping onto each of the floors’ balconies of the Whitney Museum:

Waving over to Jersey City!

Watertower and roof gardens – <3

Around the Highline.

That was a fine visit – totally enjoyed the time there with Karen and cannot wait to come back many more times.

What do you think about the frames? Does this make you see frames in a new light?

Hope you enjoyed this art stroll too!

Nat

Comments (6)

Sue Clarke

September 15, 2015 at 8:51 am | #

I see what you’re saying about the frames and it is especially evident on Sailors and Floosies! I must say that I’ve often thought that the ornate gold frames take away from the paintings that I’ve seen in political offices.

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  September 15, 2015 at 9:21 am | #
  
  I know- those super crazy ornate gold frames that have nothing to do with the painting itself either
  
  Reply
Cindy L

September 14, 2015 at 3:37 pm | #

Thanks so much for sharing this Nathalie! I am definitely going to put The Whitney on my ‘To Do’ list the next time I’m in NYC. I had no idea about the history behind the frames but I find it fascinating and will always look at them in a different way in the future. As always, love the photos you share of the beautiful views too!

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  September 15, 2015 at 9:20 am | #
  
  Thank you Cindy, happy you enjoyed it!
  
  Reply
Maura

September 13, 2015 at 1:24 pm | #

Totally get the frame thing through your observations. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  September 15, 2015 at 9:20 am | #
  
  Glad you liked it Maura!
  
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Art Stroll

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What is the most uncommon material you painted with? It would be branches and leaves for me but more as mark making tools.

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Do you find his work inspiring?

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I hope you enjoyed this little art stroll! Which of the pieces I showed did you find most inspiring?

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