Labor Day Weekend - Last Call for September/October Closings

Milton Avery (American, 1885-1965). Swimmers and Sunbathers, 1945. 

Oil on canvas, 28 x 48 1/4 in.

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roy R. Neuberger, 1951 (51.97). 

© 2019 The Milton Avery Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), 

New York. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

Labor Day is nigh and the end of summer is here!  I sincerely hope you all had wonderful summers with friends and family, whether here in New York or far, far away.  

Now is the time to catch the last days of the New York Summer Season's best exhibitions, each closing very soon. Here is the list:

James McNeill Whistler, Fumette, 1858.

 Etching and drypoint, black ink on cream French laid paper, 6 3/8 × 4 1/4 inches. 

Gertrude Kosovsky Collection; © The Frick Collection

Labor Day Weekend:

Whistler as Printmaker: Highlights from the Gertrude Kosovsky Collection, Frick Museum, through Sunday, September 1.

Summer with the Averys: Milton, Sally and March, and Sharks! Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT, September 1.  (This one venue is perfect for the family as both exhibitions are suitable for children of all ages.)

Ragnar Kjartansson:  Death is Elsewhere, Metropolitan Museum of Art, through September 2.

Blue Man Group: Ready . . . Go!, Museum of the City of New York, through September 2

Anne Samat, Che Yah (The Greatest Love),2019

Next weekend:

Camp: Notes on Fashion, Metropolitan Museum of Art, through September 8.

Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, The Jewish Museum, through September 8.

Anne Samat: Greatest Love, Hudson Valley Museum of Modern Art, Peekskill, NY, through September 8

Two weeks from now:

Summer Revolution, New York Historical Society, through September 15.

Walt Whitman, Bard of Democracy, Morgan Library and Museum, September 15.

Three weeks from now:

Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum, through September 22.

Hogarth: Cruel and Humor, Morgan Library and Museum, through September 22.

Mrinalini Mukherjee, Aranyani, 1996

Last weekend in September/October 1:

Phenomenal Nature: Mrinalini Mukherjee, Met Breuer, through September 29.

Free Lecture on Thursday, September 5th, 6:30 and Gallery Talk on Tuesday, September 10th, 12:30.

From Manet to Picasso: The Thannhauser Colllection, Guggenheim Museum, through September 29.

Best wishes for the Labor Day Weekend and the Fall Season ahead - 

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Toni Morrison (1931-2019) - A Tribute to An American Treasure

Toni Morrison by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

A tremendous sadness has descended on Toni Morrison fans now that she has left this mortal world. She was and still is beloved by her readers.

Here is an essay in Opah Magazine by McKenzie Jean-Philippe: "20 Timeless Toni Morrison Quotes That Will Always Stay With You" 

Recollections in The Paris Review by Fran Lebowitz, Danez Smith and Pam Houston. 

One of many interviews

. . . to savor as you re-read her great books and essays.

Novels

• The Bluest Eye. 1970. 
• Sula. 1973. 
• Song of Solomon. 1977. 
• Tar Baby. 1981. 
• Beloved. 1987.
• Jazz. 1992. 
• Paradise. 1997. 
• Love. 2003. 
• A Mercy. 2008. 
• Home. 2012. 
• God Help the Child. 2015. 

Children's literature (with Slade Morrison)

• The Big Box (1999). 
• The Book of Mean People (2002). 
• Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?, The Lion or the Mouse?, Poppy or the Snake? (2007). 
• Peeny Butter Fudge (2009). 
• Please, Louise (2014). 

Short fiction

• "Recitatif" (1983)
• "Sweetness" (2015)

Plays

• Dreaming Emmett (performed 1986)
• Desdemona (first performed May 15, 2011, in Vienna)

Libretto:

• Margaret Garner (first performed May 2005)

Essays:

• The Origin of Others (2017). Harvard University Press. 
• The Source of Self-Regard: Essays, Speeches, Meditations (2019). Random House. 

Please  reply to this post on FB or in your email with the title of your favorite Toni Morrison book.  Thank you.

Best wishes for the weekend,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Staycation 2019: August Exhibitions that Spark Joy!

"Camp: Notes on Fashion," 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, through September 8th

Franco Moschino (Italian, 1950–1994) for House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983). 

Dress, fall/winter 1989. Courtesy of Moschino. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2018

Dear friends,

There are times when writing this blog seems so trivial in the midst of tragedy here in the US or abroad.  Whether the circumstances are natural disasters or human actions that bring loss and pain, the notion that this blog shouts out "go see art" often feels inappropriate these days.

And yet - speaking only for myself - I need to go to museums and galleries to escape the gloomy thoughts about our current global mess.  For we still have so much to be thankful for,  especially the good fortune of living in or near New York, which this summer is brimming with exceptional opportunities in museums, theaters, concerts, performances, and lectures. 

"Camp: Notes on Fashion," 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, through September 8th

Jun Takahashi (Japanese, born 1969) for Undercover (Japanese, founded 1990). Ensemble, fall/winter 2017–18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2017 (2017.399a–d). Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019

Here are a few museum exhibitions for those of you in search of art that "sparks joy":

Camp: Notes on Fashion,  Met Museum, through September 8th

Play It Loud, Met Museum, through October 1st.

Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, Jewish Museum, through September 8th

"Play it Loud," Metropolitan Museum of Art, through October 1st

Ludwig Drum Company, Four Drum set with cymbals, 1963

Formerly in the Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Jay Irsay and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything,"

Jewish Museum, through September 8th 

 Installation photograph, courtesy of the Jewish Museum

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

--Leonard Cohen

May a day with art bring you joy and peace -

With warm wishes from the Big Apple,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange, LLC

www.nyarts-exchange.com