This happened last fall but none the less I was inspired and it was fun walking through the ArtFair, so I wanted to share some of the art. The Artfair took place in the Armory here in Jersey CityThese Mixed Media pieces by Andrea McKenna caught my eye – no pun intended
One of my very favorite pieces were these ones by Deborah L. Morris- the idea of embroidering clay, porcelain or metal – love the juxtaposition of something so fine and delicate with a hard material!
Another local artist I always love to see is Pam Cooper – her paper assemblages and books are just so delicate and beautiful!
Thought provoking art
And fun art about cats
Art by local artist Distort depicting local artist Sam Another favorite booth of mine was Robert Lach’s, who used those delicate bird’s nests for assemblage piecesThere was a lot of art -and I really enjoyed it – Art Fairs are a great way to see art and I especially enjoyed seeing local artists there.
I am signing off with a picture of the cool wooden seats of the Armory- because rest was needed after walking to see all the little booths and stands. I will def. go back this year – hoping it will happen again and can only recommend this one if you are in the NYC metropolitan area.
This October we spent some time in the Catskills and one of the fun discoveries was the Assembly in Monticello, NY. The space originally a Buick dealership has been transformed to an art gallery by artist Bosco Sodi.
For the first exhibition Bosco asked a group of artists from mostly Mexico to “give us your retired, your stashed-away masses yearning to be seen”
Paula Cortazar work on different stone was fascinating! Inviting to stay a bit longer and follow the intricate designs.
Eduardo Sarabia – loved his work which reminded in it’s usage of political statements on ceramics of Grayson Perry‘s work.
The little statue is by Gonzalo Lebrija – basically showing how I feel every day :)
inviting you to try the bellows out to make those birds sing.
Ugo Rondinone showed a couple of those stone faces – the instagram page makes me want to see even more of the work!
Downstairs was another room with some work by Izumi Kato as well as by Boso. I loved the Izumi Kato chairns- sometimes hidden in the niches. I enjoyed this exhibition that will be still at the Assembly until May 1, 2023. If you are in the area of Monticello in NY definitely put this gallery on your list!
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s family curates and organizes this exhibition of his work with about 200 pieces to celebrate his life. And while many seem to find this odd ..I actually truly enjoyed the exhibition and yes I also think it is cool that the family can gain from this exhibition…why not?
I loved seeing his children drawings- which are so reminiscent of his later style but when you see his later work you know it is not a child anymore drawing.
Little views of the Zeitgeist and big happenings
As well as the living room and kitchen of his childhood reassembled- I though it was neat.
I always loved the stream of thoughts – crossed out words and connections in his work
What I truly enjoyed in this exhibition were the works of art he made on different surfaces, stretched with different materials as well.
Molding, baseboards, trims, twine, sisal, canvas
Painted on a moving blanket (or so I think because I have one of those unpainted in my basement from the move still)
And what a great pattern to paint on !
The fridge doo
Humor …I loved this one LOL
And I even got a kick out of the studio replication
including the paint marks on the floor from previous canvases.
His love for music and jazz musicians – like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis
especially delighted
But then again – all kinds of surfaces – work that seemed to belong together- loved how it was put together by his family
And of course …topics that have been prominent back then and still are – like police brutality
The painting below made me think of De Kooning’s painting Woman – if it was the inspiration for it, I do not know but that is what my brain made me think of.
and the crown
poetic art – I loved this one as well!
The exhibition was very well visited but we went on at the earliest slot at 10am on a Sunday and things spread out.
And probably as a nod to the music I grew up with which came out of the speakers, I appreciated the Palladium night club they recreated with the two paintings he had done for the VIP area of the club .
It is kind of crazy to think that these really were part of a nightclub- but I guess as crazy as to think that there are murals of Marc Chagall in the Met Opera.
And how fitting that both places are/were also about connections and “see and be seen”.
There is not closing date for the exhibition yet, so if you have a chance, go and get there- it is well worth it, hop on the Highline afterwards and enjoy a great day in the city- art, and sightseeing combined.
Always love to stroll through MoMA and see what catches my eye in the collection.
Giacomo Balla “Lampada” Street Light 1909 – Oil on Canvas
Wow- this was so vibrant and what a cool way to depict a street light!
Pablo Picasso “Green Still Life” 1914
I love the texture, the little different dots and circles- it is a beautiful painting!
Pablo Picasso “Fruit Dish” 1908-1909
what a great perspective …and also …the green again…I wouldn’t mind having those two in my living room …how about you?
given that we went to MoMA on a Saturday afternoon it was pretty surprising that the museum was not as crowded as pre-pandemic levels. I am not sure if that can be also attributed to the fact that MoMA is now also way way bigger. In any event, it was a pleasant browsing through the galleries with a lot of possibility to park oneself in front of the paintings.
Kees van Dongen …I didn’t note the title so I am going to make one up “Lady who received unexpected visitors” …1908
What title would you give this one? And yes of course I could search for it on google but hey… little fun is ok ;)
August Macke “Lady in a park” 1914 – Oil on Canvas. Another gorgeous painting- I love the shapes and colors and it is even though not realistic exactly what one sees …a lady in a park. Fantastic
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff – Woodcut 1916 . So beautiful. And also …you see there is a German Artist theme going on …
Ludwig Kirchner “Street Dresden” 1908 . I always imagine the little girl in the middle shouting ” WHATSSSS HAPPENING???”
Paula Modersohn-Becker “Self Portrait with Two Flowers in her left hand” 1907
In this self portrait the pregnant artist looks at us and one of her hands rests protectively on her belly. Modersohn-Becker is believed to be the first woman to paint herself while pregnant.
This is so beautiful!
The next room was dedicated to Ukrainian Artists
Vasyl Yermilov (from Kharkiv) “Composition Number 3” 1923 – Wood , brass, varnish and paint
Kazimir Malevich (born in Kyiv – died in St. Petersburgh) “Reservist of the First Division” 1914 – Oil on canvas with collage of printed paper, postage stamp , and a thermometer
Alexander Archipenko (born in Kyiv) “Figure in Moment” 1913 – Cut-and-pasted painted paper, conte crayon, and colored pencil on colored paper
Janet Sobel (born in Katerynoslav, died in Plainfield, NJ) “Milky Way” 1945 Enamel on Canvas
Next up was a wonderful room with those pieces:
this is the cast of a frieze- stunning – from the Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois – 1902-1904
Stunning shadows …I would take some of those as well, please!!!
I hope you enjoyed this little art stroll- until the next one!
“Milky Way” is definitely my favourite and I like the woodcut too – very strong face.
NAT, thanks very much for this stroll, and all your others too. It’s a wonderful resource to gain some inspiration from.
“Milky Way” is one that I would hang up in my family room!
I can’t really share my first impression of the “untitled” here…sorry, my mind goes to the gutter. LOL
I always love your art strolls as I do not go to museums often.
Thanks for sharing Nat.
It has been a while since Mana Contemporary in Jersey City had an open house…or let me say…since I felt comfortable attending one :) It is always such a treat to visit this local museum and see exhibitions, open studios and resident artists.
Sculptures by John Chamberlain. They are made of auto parts and they are petty impressive.
One thing that is amazing about Mana is that the space is just huge and seeing a huge white room with just two sculptures is definitely a treat.
Another exhibition is dedicated to Andy Warhol’s original screen prints.
Again the size of the rooms allow to have the artwork grouped next to each other and that is pretty neat.
Lot’s of time to take them all in and check out the differences.
The downside may be that by the time you finished this exhibition your step ticker is way up and as it is on the first floor, you have only glanced the tip of the iceberg of the museum.
My husband pointed out that the Chicken Noodle Soup text is straight and not curved like on the others…mhhh interesting!
This is such an amazing piece!
Next up were Sculptures by Fred Sandback. The sculptures are made with either elastic rods or stretched yarn.
They really mess with you …making you think you look at a mirror or the room is divided. I had also a little “Severance” moment here.
We then made it to the Richard Meier Model Museum…I had seen it before and was reluctant to go in ..but alas the husband hadn’t seen it yet and has a lot of interest for architecture so we stepped in.
It is an impressive collection for sure.
Below Meier’s entry to the World Trade Center Memorial Square Competition.
It is interesting to see it now that the Memorial is built – and as we know someone else won.
Shelves and shelves with models- amazing.
Then we finally made it to the floor I was most interested in …the artists in residence.
Probably not a surprise that I was especially drawn to Fabio Esteban’s work. Fabio was talking to another person – who hopefully bought some of his artwork – and I overheard that this piece with the A-Train was made on an old school desk plate
A lot of the other residents were not in the studio and when I tried to see more of the work I was blocked by one person who just stood in the narrow walkthrough to the studio chewing someone’s ear off …you can tell I was starting to get fatigued. And so…I guess I have to come back :)
There will be another open studio event in July and I hope I can be back then and we can start on the third floor ;) All in all I still enjoyed this a lot – even though I didn’t get to see what I wanted to see.
On a side note- there was a shuttle bus from Manhattan to the open studio- and it was pretty full. I know people from the City are all snobby that they never have to leave the city as they have a lot of amazing art there…but hey …maybe you wanna make it over the river one day – LOL- we got some stuff here ;)
I enjoyed seeing your art stroll and the Andy Warhol items especially.
I’ve never been a big fan of his art, but I have a new appreciation for it after watching Andy Warhol Diaries on Netflix.
Thanks for sharing art that I wouldn’t usually see in NH.
I hope you have a fantastic summer enjoying your new yard.
Two weeks ago I had a lovely day in the city and it was the perfect day to visit the new Matisse Red Studio exhibition at MoMA. What a treat!!! The exhibition is small-ish – which is good – and has kind of two big rooms. We decided to keep the one with the main treasure namely the Red Studio for last and that was a perfect decision.
“Studio under the Eaves” 1903 – Matisse painted his studio and parts of it several times and that makes so much sense given that an artist studio is also an artist’s world. In this work the studio looks a little sad – while the look out of the window provides a look at a much more vibrant and fun world. Maybe this is in part because Matisse in his early career had soem personal and financial troubles and as we see…the artist world def. improved to a more vivid space later.
“Still Life with Geraniums” 1910 – in this painting we see some of the paintings – in his studio – but just peaks of it.
“The Blue Window” 1913 is actually a view out of his bedroom window onto his studio.
Nasturtiums with the Painting “Dance” I , 1912 – The flowers in the vase are the same as in the Painting of Red Studio – the leg of the table on which the vase stands seem to be connected with his painting in the background.
“Studio, Quai Saint-Michel” 1916
So brilliant ..the depiction of the model in his studio…as a painting.
“Large Red Interior” 1948
This connects to the Red Studio – the star of this exhibition to which we go next- from 1911 . This painting is actually his last finished oil painting.
OK- moving to the main star(s)
“The Red Studio” 1911
Matisse is said to have made his studio subject of his paintings whenever he wanted to explore about where he was in that particular moment of time with his art and life. The red studio didn’t start out as a red studio. The floor was pink, the wall was blue and the furniture was yellow. But after a month he made the decision and coated the surface excluding his artwork and objects of inspiration with Venetian Red. He said about his painting that he likes it but that he doesn’t understand his painting.
Gathered in the room are the artworks as far as they could be retrieved that are in the painting.
“Le Luxe II” 1907 –
I loved this painting which hasn’t been on display since the 60s.
“Upright Nude with Arched Back,” 1906-1907
“Female Nude” 1907 – Matisse worked for a year with a ceramicist and he loved the work. He was very interested in decorative art.
“Young Sailor II” 1906 –
“Nude with White Scarf” 1909
“Corsica, The Old Mill” 1898 – This painting was made when he was first married and he and his wife spend about six months in Corsica. Matisse would talk about the time in Corsica as being really transformative.
One painting that couldn’t be borrowed for the exhibition was the Large Nude because Matisse had asked that it would be destroyed after his death. Why we do not know. This is one of several studies of the painting.
It was a wonderful exhibition – what a beautiful idea to gather all those works, to also show other works with his studio as the subject – it was a great glimpse into his world. Makes me want to paint my studio as well :) Hope you liked this art stroll. If you have a chance to see this exhibition in person- go!!!
A couple weeks ago we took a day off and went to New Canaan in Connecticut to see Philip Johnson’s Glass House.
The Glass House was built in 1949 and Philip Johnson actually lived in it until his death in 2005.
It is an incredible building – it feels like you are part of the surrounding and it felt surprisingly cosy and livable in there.
It is amazing to think that this design is from 1949 and yet it feels just timeless. I would also not say no to those Barcelona Chairs of course ..but they weren’t offered to me :)
Apparently you can kind of donate your way into spending a night in the house …for only 30K Dollars it is yours for a couple hours …but I think you can skip that experience and just visit the grounds
A round bathroom – how cool is that!
I liked the spot of the desk.
And the ingenuity of the kitchen – the counter top can be put down and up above the sink and stove !
Apparently many famous people climbed this sculpture, the Monument to Kirstein Lincoln, and signed it on the top. There is also an inscription on the top – which is not revealed, you have to climb it, but that is actually forbidden. Probably a good idea as it is not a very safe structure. As many aren’t on the property – Philip Johnson apparently liked to play with “Safe Danger”
At the lake down a hill you can find a pavillion which upon approach reveals to be a trick of perspective and scale: It is much smaller when you would think when you are up the hill and in fact – if you were allowed to go in even my 5.3ft self would have to crouch.
I thought that was fun and playful .
Can you guess what this is? It is a dog house …we had to ask. When I showed this photo to my friend Bill, who is also an architect, he knew right away it is a dog house …I guess that is how architects envision one LOL.
The painting gallery looked almost like a bunker from the outside – very interesting inside- three circular display rooms- with rotating racks – so like a rolodex system you can display art or prepare new exhibitions without long closing times. Genius!
Johnson’s collection of Frank Stella’s Art through the years was on display
It was interesting to see how Stella’s art changed to more 3dimensional art over the course of the years.
And also to more colorful art.
The piece above is the oldest piece in the collection.
Another building on the ground is the Sculpture Gallery – it was mostly closed off but you could still see most of the pieces.
Loved this one – I am not sure whose this is – I guess I can do some more research but maybe one of you knows :)
It was an interesting building but again- you were not allowed to walk it – apparently it is a bit of a safety concern with the very low walls on the sides and the perspective being a bit off.
I do love Johnson’s use of brick!
The swimming pool in front of the Glass House- another token to “Safe Danger” – being the pool is shaped like a cone and there is only one small spot you can get out easily. The lore has it that teenagers used to jump the wall to the property and do some diving and then be a bit surprised LOL.
I really enjoyed the trip – full disclosure- upon doing some more research later into you Philip Johnson, I found out he had some profound crazy political views- he was a Hitler admirer during World War II and his inspiration for the Glass House came from a burned house in Poland during World War II . That was a total damper for me after a great day there. It is always an interesting discussion how art should be viewed distanced from the artist’s life or not …hard if the inspiration as usual comes from your own life and views. In a way I am glad I experienced the day without this knowledge – I think I would have looked at it through a different lens. Nonetheless I find it important to see these places and acknowledge that while the art or architecture itself may be good, interesting, important- we also need to acknowledge and know about the circumstances, history, inspiration that lead up to them.
Yeah we made it back to Storm King and this time we knew we wanted to rent bikes to be able to see more of the vast area. You cannot bring your own bikes but it was ok to rent the bikes.
I loved being able to just leave the bikes at the side of a sculpture and then walk up to it – given that it was a pretty hot day once again (last time it was even hotter we were there) the bike ride also created some nice breeze LOL.
I think this one was called the frog …
I loved this stone wall weaving in and out along the tree line
Three Legged Buddah by Zhang Huan, 2007 – gorgeous
This little scene was charming …It is so fun to walk or bike around and look out for the artwork. I think sculpture gardens might be one of my favorite things!
Last time we didn’t make it up close to this one – It almost invites you to climb- I wonder how many kids are tempted.
Helixikos Number 3, 1969 – I wonder where Number 1 and 2 are ;) I loved this sculpture – it wants to be touched but I was a good lady :)
Almost missed this one…
because this Dude is riding too fast ….slow down man- you miss the artwork!
Doesn’t this just look as if it belongs into the landscape?
I love the different layers and textures on this one.
Reclining Man by Josef Pillhofer from 1964 made me smile – hard to photograph but I think you get the picture.
Most of the Gallery was closed – I think because of covid- but the outside art was more than enough to spend hours there. We saw way more art but I didn’t want to be repetitive with what I showed in my post a while ago – even though seeing things again was amazing. Definitely a great place to visit and I am sure we will be a back in a couple years and maybe in a different season again.
I can’t imagine a kid not trying to climb that white piece that looks like a crazy slide with rings. LOL
Helixikos Number 3 I would love to have in my yard!
Thanks for sharing your stroll Nat.
It felt so good to be back at MoMA last month – since I haven’t been there for 18 months. On our anniversary we went for a nice day in the city and a fantastic dinner – and so MoMA was a big part of the nice day.
I am not obsessed with cars, in fact most of you probably do not even know that I never had a driver’s license- yep …true city kid here – but …if you would give me this car..I would def. get one LOL. What a beauty!
Love this painted car hood by Judy Chicago. Judy Chicago actually enrolled at an auto body school in order to learn spray painting after she completed her masters of arts.
I did love this mobile – I forgot the name but it was something with snow …which makes sense. If it wasn’t something with snow..well, I am sticking to it …it should be ;)
I have never seen his pieces made out of steel wire- they were so cool – the movement and shadows!
So fun!
I would take this little marquette- it makes me so happy and it would fit perfectly into my studio ;)
The other big exhibition at this time was Cézanne’s Drawings – a gazillion sketches and studies by him. I have to admit I wasn’t really taken by this exhibition. Although I do love to see sketches and studies and where they are going, it felt just so repetitive to me and it felt more like a sketch dump to me than really a curated exhibition. But then …what do I know …I also didn’t do the work to read anything about the show to see if that then would make more sense. But I loved the Study of Trees above.
As well as this sketch and the drawings below
because they were so different and I would have loved to actually see if they resulted in something else
Love how Cèzanne painted the pattern on the curtain!
In the permanent collection some changes- loved to see this piece by Roberto Matta “Here, Sir Fire, Eat!” from 1942 . There is a lot to see in this painting and I am still not sure what alludes to this title!
This painting by Sonja Sekula “The Town of the Poor” 1951 – oil on canvas- was just stunning. the blue and yellow washes – the lines depicting the view from her downtown NYC studio which she sahred with John Cage and Merce Cunningham.
Now to pieces by William H. Johnson – Jitterbuggs II above and below Blind Singer.
Both pieces are Screenprints with hand additions.
Norman Lewis, Untitled 1949 …it is funny sometimes I am cool with no title and sometimes I think “lazy Dude” LOL.
And then you have titles like this “Five Feet of Colorful Tools” by Jim Dine …stating the obvious but nonetheless pretty cool :)
The Family by Marisol Escobar – paint and graphite on wood, sneakers, tinted plaster, door knob and plate. Marisols sculptures made primarily with blocks of wood combine painting and figurative drawing with found objects. “In the beginning, I drew on a piece of wood because I was going to carve it, and then I noticed that I didn’t have to carve it, because it looked as if it was carved already”
Tom Wesselmann – Still LIfe #57 – speaking of lazy titles LOL.
And in this potpourri of artwork – my favorite of that stroll – Noah Purifoy – Unknown 1967 – painted wood with parasol armature and handle, found wood, pasted papers, backgammon and poker chips, fishing pole, wire, birdcage parts and other materials.
“As a young artist in Los Angeles, Purifoy was profoundly influenced by the 1965 Watts Rebellion, six days of civil unrest by residents of Watts and other predominantly African American neighborhoods of the city in response to decades of racial injustice. In the event’s aftermath, the artist collected charred debris form the streets and assembled it into a series of sculptures, a technique that would define his practice for years to come. Unknown, though more joyful and playful than other of his works, is a rare surviving example of his early assemblages. With its easily identifiable castoff objects, it suggests a question central to Purifoy’s practice “How …you tie the art process in with existence.” (MoMA wall plaque)
Comments (3)
Evelyn Kurz
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Just an aside. I remember waving a flag outside our grammar school in fall 1959 as JFK was on his way to the Armory for a speech.
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nathalie-kalbach
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Oh wow! That is fun – I did not know he spoke there! Thank you Evelyn!
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Sue Clarke
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I really like the pieces by Andrea McKenna!
Were the couches for sale or for resting?
The big silver one looks fun.
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