Last art exhibition you visited?

[mjazzg]

Giulio Paolini 'To Be or Not to Be' at Whitechapel

made it on the last day - phew. Often playful investigation of the relationship of the artist to the work. Pieces not overburdened by the concepts. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Further reading allies him to Arte Povera but I'm not sure this was apparent to me today. Just the sort of show the Whitechapel excels at. It seemed a shame it was so quiet but at the same time it was nice to have the space practically to myself

[paul secor]

Last Saturday at the Milt Hinton and Lee Friedlander exhibition at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven.

Some wonderful images - just not enough of them.

[medjuck]

Jeff Koons at Whitney. Not my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed a couple of other smaller exhibits they had on other floors.

[clifford_thornton]

I liked the Koons a lot, very well organized and paced. His stuff is ridiculous and cynical but sometimes I appreciate the audacity of it.

PS1 had really nice shows of German painter Maria Lessnig and American performance/fluxus-related artist James Lee Byars up recently, as well as a Persian Gulf collective of artists aptly/ironically called the GCC, which was very odd.

[ejp626]

I saw the Rene Magritte exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, it closed this weekend (or perhaps technically today), so if you missed it, it's gone.

Not surprisingly, it was quite crowded, though I was fortunate enough to slip in during a slight lull, so the wait to get in was only 15 minutes. Had we waited another half an hour, it looked like a 45+ minute wait and the lines kept stretching out all day. I had my children with me, and my daughter basically said she wasn't going in until I picked her up to see the paintings, so I had to do that, while dodging the crowds. I really think that they didn't think crowd control through or they decided it just didn't matter to have some really uncomfortable small rooms that would be nearly unbearable when it got crowded. From a pure layout perspective, the first half of the show is probably the worst I have experienced at the Art Institute. It got a little better by the midway point, and they did have a kind of nice layout where they had perhaps 6 or 7 dividers with a single painting on each and the crowds could flow past on both sides. It's a little hard to describe in words. After that point it wasn't bad.

By far the most amusing moment was when I held my daughter up to the famous Cici n'est pas une pipe and told her it said This is not a pipe. "But it is a pipe" she piped up. And everyone in hearing distance laughed. It was a pretty solid show. Surprisingly, I think they actually left out one piece that is in their collection (The Banquet) and left it up in the Modern Wing.

Not quite sure they would do that, although I guess this exhibit supposed to focus on his early career through 1938. I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could have justified including it (or at least reminded people to go off and look for it with a little informational plaque on the wall).

[ejp626]

A much more self-contained exhibit at the McMichael Collection (in Kleinburg, just north of Toronto).

It is called J.W. Morrice and John Lyman in the Company of Matisse, and it runs through Jan. 4. The focus really is heavily on Morrice and Lyman. There are perhaps 5 Matisse oil paintings and another 3 or 4 works in pencil. I wouldn't really consider either Morrice or Lyman particularly important artists, but they had a few nice pieces here and there. I was hoping to see a bit more Matisse honestly. One painting towards the end of the exhibit stood out (Rainy Day Paris - I believe this was by Morrice), but I just couldn't justify spending $40 on the catalog.

The McMichael is always worth a visit if you like the Group of Seven, and this is a decent but hardly life-changing exhibit.

Edited October 19, 2014 by ejp626

[jlhoots]

The Plains Indians: Artists Of Earth & Sky

Now at the Nelson - Atkins Museum in Kansas City.

Goes to the Metropolitan in New York in the spring.

Not to be missed!!

[mjazzg]

Anselm Kiefer at Royal Academy.

Extraordinary work throughout

[Larry Kart]

Neo Rauch in NYC at the Zwirner Gallery in early November. Great stuff. Also went to a lot of other gallery shows that day, but Rauch's was the best.

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/06/at-the-well-four-paintings-by-neo-rauch/

[BillF]

Anselm Kiefer at Royal Academy.

Extraordinary work throughout

Would like to see that, but London is a bit far ... :-(

[mjazzg]

Anselm Kiefer at Royal Academy.

Extraordinary work throughout

Would like to see that, but London is a bit far ... :-(

well worth the trip I'd say.....as a consolation there's a fascinating documentary on iplayer (maybe still there) which really gives an insight into the mind that created theses powerful works

Edited December 8, 2014 by mjazzg

[Leeway]

Enjoyed viewing this exhibition when up in NYC last week, at the Met.

Got a good insight into the BFF/ Frenemies relationship betwen Braque and Picasso, and clearer insights into Leger's relationship to Cubism.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Leeway

[BillF]

Enjoyed viewing this exhibition when up in NYC last week, at the Met.

Got a good insight in tho the BBB/ Frenemies relationship betwen Braque and Picasso, and clearer insights into Leger's relationship to Cubism.

I'd certainly be along to that if it were within reach. That Léger pic whets my appetite!

[Leeway]

Enjoyed viewing this exhibition when up in NYC last week, at the Met.

Got a good insight in tho the BBB/ Frenemies relationship betwen Braque and Picasso, and clearer insights into Leger's relationship to Cubism.

I'd certainly be along to that if it were within reach. That Léger pic whets my appetite!

Here a link to Lauder's collection:

http://www.metmuseum.org/research/leonard-lauder-research-center/cubist-collection/the-collection

The Legers are striking. I've not yet come across a Leger exhibition that did the artist justice, but I did learn from this one. The Lauder collection is still owned by Lauder, and "promised" to the Met. I suspect the exhibition, besides whatever altruistic, public motives it has, might also serve valuation and authentication purposes as well, prior to donation.

There were some pictures of the collection in situ at Lauder's apartment, which, from the photographs appeared to be on Central Park, I would guess on 5th Avenue, hardly a stone's throw from the Met. I felt a bit sorrowful that these experiments in radicalism were hanging above the Louis Quinze chairs and plush Turkish carpets, having risen from the bottom 99% to the 1% through the operations of the marketplace.

BTW, I corrected a typo in my original post : BBB should be BFF= Best Friends Forever (intended ironically).

I saw that when we were in NYC, too. Interesting and very "dense" with information.

Yes, a pretty fair amount of wall reading. The curators definitely gave close readings of the works. Typically, I try to do a circuit of an exhibition then return to read the wall on those that have gained my attention. or at least view the painting then read the wall. Not a huge exhibition, but like you said, packed with information.

[BillF]

Enjoyed viewing this exhibition when up in NYC last week, at the Met.

Got a good insight in tho the BBB/ Frenemies relationship betwen Braque and Picasso, and clearer insights into Leger's relationship to Cubism.

I'd certainly be along to that if it were within reach. That Léger pic whets my appetite!

Here a link to Lauder's collection:

http://www.metmuseum.org/research/leonard-lauder-research-center/cubist-collection/the-collection

What a treasure house! Thanks for the link.

[Leeway]

Thanks for the suggestions. When I go back for Winter Jazz Fest, I might be able to squeeze in some museum-going. We had actually intended to go to the MOMA on this last trip, but the logistics defeated us. Maybe this next trip.

[Leeway]

Thanks for the suggestions. When I go back for Winter Jazz Fest, I might be able to squeeze in some museum-going. We had actually intended to go to the MOMA on this last trip, but the logistics defeated us. Maybe this next trip.

You should definitely try to see the Matisse cut-outs. It will probably be the only chance to ever see them together in one exhibit. FYI - get there early, because it's VERY popular.

Good advice. I might go up a couple of days in advance so I can do the museums on a weekday. BTW, I picked up a folio edition of the cut-outs some years ago at a library sale!

[ArtSalt]

I went to the Rothko exhibition here in the Hague last weekend:

http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/en/exhibitions/mark-rothko

Sadly, I wasn't sucked into his spiritual world and despite signs informing the visitor to remain in silence to ensure we all had a wonderful spiritual experience, I was left feeling quite empty, with the exception of one or two canvases. The two grey charcoal coloured ones left particularly cold and vacuous impression.

[mjazzg]

If the Matisse show is the one that was at Tate Modern earlier this year (as I suspect) then do try and see it - it is sensational. Busy? absolutely. But well worth some artistic jostling

[ejp626]

It doesn't look like I will be able to make this show, but I am fairly sure that all the cut-outs were at the MOMA Matisse blockbuster show in 1992. They even constructed this smallish room with the proper dimensions to display them. Pretty amazing.

If anyone is coming to Toronto in the winter or early spring, there is a decent Art Spiegelman retrospective at the AGO. It's pretty much the same show that was in New York and later Vancouver. In Feb., AGO also opens up a Basquiat exhibit, which I am quite interested in. Obviously I haven't seen this yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what is coming.

What is more surprising is that the Douglas Coupland exhibit is going to be coming to Toronto in Feb-April, but it is being split up between ROM and MOCCA. I'm still trying to figure out which pieces will be going where. Here is my blog post covering the Vancouver version of the exhibition: http://erics-hangout.blogspot.ca/2014/08/douglas-coupland-exhibit-in-vancouver.html

It's actually pretty thought-provoking, so I'll certainly swing by MOCCA at least to see what they have up.

Edited December 24, 2014 by ejp626

[sidewinder]

The McMichael is always worth a visit if you like the Group of Seven, and this is a decent but hardly life-changing exhibit.

Really enjoyed the visits there years ago - in particular the Lawren Harris's. Nice location too..

[ejp626]

The McMichael is always worth a visit if you like the Group of Seven, and this is a decent but hardly life-changing exhibit.

Really enjoyed the visits there years ago - in particular the Lawren Harris's. Nice location too..

Actually, I saw a show dedicated to Lawren Harris in Vancouver last year. He's my favorite of the Group of 7, so it was nice to see, though the really great paintings from AGO and the McMichael didn't make it out there. What was quite interesting is that in the last 1/3 or so of his career Harris started moving into abstraction. He also did an awful lot to promote younger artists in BC. Sounds like a really great guy, in addition to being a good artist.

In addition to the other Toronto shows I listed, there is a pretty interesting show at a brand new museum of Islamic Art here in Toronto. The show is called The Lost Dhow and features many artifacts brought up from a recently discovered ship that was wrecked roughly 1000 years ago off the coast of Indonesia. It was pretty good, as these shows go. More info here: https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/exhibitions/lost-dhow-discovery-maritime-silk-route

[medjuck]

If anyone is coming to Toronto in the winter or early spring, there is a decent Art Spiegelman retrospective at the AGO. It's pretty much the same show that was in New York and later Vancouver. In Feb., AGO also opens up a Basquiat exhibit, which I am quite interested in. Obviously I haven't seen this yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what is coming.

Saw the Spiegleman show at the AGO today. I was very interested after having seen his great lecture with music entitled "Wordless" in Santa Barbara. Problem was that I went to the Alex Colville show at the AGO first and that knocked me out so much it was hard to look at anything else after. (I skipped a Michelangelo exhibit they had in favour of the Colville and the

Spiegleman.)

[ejp626]

I saw a compact but quite nice exhibit of 19 still lifes by Cezanne at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (Ontario). It was on display in Philadelphia at the Barnes Foundation last year. There are three weeks left. It's probably worth trying to see if you are in Toronto, Buffalo or Detroit. Not sure how much beyond that I'd travel to see it.

I have blogged about the exhibit and have images of a few of the pieces and some that probably should have been in the show (had insurance and such not been prohibitive): http://erics-hangout.blogspot.ca/2015/01/cezanne-in-hamilton.html

[BillF]

Cézanne still lives? Wonderful!