Christmas in Art from Around the World

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Annunciation. 1898

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary to announce that she will bear the Holy Child.

Dirk Bouts, The Visitation, c. 1445

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The pregnant Virgin Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, already pregnant with St. John the Baptist.

Byzantine, Journey to Bethlehem, 11th century, mosaic

 Church of Chora, Istanbul,

Joseph leads his wife Mary to Bethlehem for the census to pay taxes.

Woonbo Kim Ki-Chang (1914-2001), The Nativity, 1952-53

Seoul Museum, South Korea

The birth of Jesus outside the inn where Mary and Joseph could not find lodging in Bethlehem.

Jacopo Bassano, Adoration of the Shepherds (detail), c. 1590-91

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

And a star appeared in the heavens that brought all from far and near to the manger where the Baby Jesus lay.

Ethiopian artist, Adoration of the Magi, n.d., 

Courtesy of Patrick Comerford

The Three Wise Men or Three Kings brought gold, frankincense and myrrh (celebrated on the feast of the Epiphany is on January 6th).

Merry Christmas!

Bon Natale!

Feliz Navidad!

Joyeux Noël!

May you enjoy the blessings of the season -
The New York Arts Exchange.

Last Call: Diane Green at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art through December 24

Diane Green, Yellow Lit, 2010

Diane Green: The Space Between features 18 paintings that capture a sense of the momentary and the timeless.  It is in this unnameable "inbetweenness" that the spirit dwells. And it is there too, where the artist gives herself to her audience without imposing definitions.

Diane Green, OK, 2010-11

Herein lies what Raphael Rubenstein identified as "intimacy," which binds human beings to each other and to the world they inhabit. In Green's paintings, we witness intimacy and its mysterious pull - evident in the figures' relationships to each other and in the shapes that frame their fragile presence. Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Villard understood this sense of the corporal woven into the ephemeral, which characterizes their Intimist movement. Here we find an impressionistic emerging and submerging simultaneously, all in splendiferous colors melting into one another from a distance and then more specific up close.  As we exam the surface of each canvas, we succumb to an intimacy with the work itself, as if we too participate in these implied conversations. 

Diane Green, 4 PM, 2013

Diane Green, Green, 2015

Diane Green received her BA from  Bennington College and her MFA from Yale University.  Early in her career, Green exhibited mainly abstract works in several galleries. Then she took a break from the hub-bub of the art scene to reassess her work and her direction, choosing to embrace the figure which had lost its primacy among aspiring artists intoxicated with the then dominant Abstract Expressionism. The decision was courageous and fruitful, yielding an admirable body of work mid-career. 

Diane Green also runs The Green Studio School in Manhattan. Founded in 1994, the artist develops each "individual's approach to life, using art process to reveal personal patterns that empower."  In this exhibition, we see Green's method in action.

Diane Green, Between, 2015

Diane Green: The Space Between has been extended through December 24 at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, 37 Popham Road, Scarsdale, NY.  The catalog is available online.

Merry Yuletide - and please remember that purchasing your gifts in the museums supports their efforts and is a gift to us all.

Beth New York

aka Beth Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyart-exchange.com 

Happy Hanukah 2015/5776

Happy Hanukah!

Hanukah greetings to all who celebrate and to all who love to eat latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts) regardless of faith or dietary restrictions (warning to vegans: both contain eggs).

May we all heed the story that tells of resilience against a mighty oppressor and the desire to have the right to worship without fear of persecution.

May this Festival of Lights called Hanukah ("dedication") inspire peace, hope and harmony.  And may all the radiance of the holiday season illuminate our world with goodness.

Hanukah in Paris

Despite news that all public celebrations of Hanukah in Paris were cancelled, there was in fact a tremendous celebration hosted by Chabad last night. Click on the label under the photograph to watch the 1 1/2 hour speeches, concert, etc.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and her Maidservant, 1612-3

And, once again, the retelling of Judith and Holofernes in art.  Judith is celebrated on the fifth night of Hanukah, because she too saved the Jews from mass murder without a miracle or supernatural intervention. 

Best wishes/Chag Sameach,

Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com