Thursday, August 24, 2023

Last Call: Van Gogh's Cypresses, MAD's Paper Dresses and Funky Art, MCNY "Home" - closing August 27

 

Vincent van Gogh, Cypresses, late June 1889
Metropolitan Museum of Art


Dear Friends,

Summer is coming to an end  - at least our sense of "summer" when schools are closed and the days are long. Although Labor Day is over a week away, many museums will close their spectacular Summer Season exhibitions this Sunday, August 27th.

Here are 5 shows you don't want to miss:

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night,  June 1889
Museum of Modern Art


    Vincent van Gogh, The Little Stream, October 1889
Star Insurance Companies


Van Gogh's Cypresses at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, closing Sunday. Hours on Friday and Saturday from 10-9; Sunday 10-5. You must sign up for the virtual wait line when you arrive. So, don't forget to scan the QR code on the sign next to the Admission Desk. You will use your cell phone. Then you fill in the form online and check your texts for notification. If all this sounds confusing and complication, don't worry.  Ask the Admissions cashier or a MMA guard for help. Also, please brush up on your VVG using Smarthistory and read this wonderful article "The Dark Side of van Gogh's Cypress Trees," on the meaning of cypresses, which Daniel Larkin noted was missing on the text panels - great catch, Mr. Larkin.











(Photos taken by BGN.)

Generation Paper: A Fashion Phenom of the 1960s, Museum of Art and Design, Columbus Circle, NYC. closing on Sunday. A welcome trip down Memory Lane of the 1960s, when clothes designer Mary Quant, hair stylist Vidal Sassoon, and models Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy were all the rage in the fashion world. An absolutely fab exhibition that should have received more publicity. You'll escape into your recollection of Beatles songs, while Swifties groove on Taylor Swift music playing throughout an exhibition of her clothes on the second floor (closing March 24, 2024). Learn about the history of the paper dress and its demise with this video.



Gallery Installations of Funk You Too!  (Photos taken by BGN)

Also at MAD - Funk You Too!  Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture, closing on Sunday. Not as exciting as Generation Paper or Craft Front and Center, but worth a giggle or two when you walk through the show. Let me know what you think of it, if you decide to visit.



Gallery Installation of Craft Front and Center  (Photo courtesy of MAD)

Craft Front and Center: Exploring the Permanent Collection, continues through January 14, 2024, and I am so glad it does. I can't wait to return for a longer, more intensely focused visit with these extraordinary artworks. You will find enormous imagination here. I could not select my favorite - I loved each and every piece. A must!


New York Now: Home, The Photography Triennial at the Museum of the City of New York, Fifth Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets, NYC.  Great photos of our great city that celebrate our diversity and particular aesthetics.


Best wishes for the Labor Day Weekend Holiday,

Beth


Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, PhD

Director and owner, New York Arts Exchange, LLC