Sunday, June 20, 2021

Happy Father's Day 2021

 Fathers in Art in Honor of Father's Day 2021  ("an oldie, but goldie" repost from 2014)

Edgar Degas, Place de la Concorde (Vicomte Ludovic Lepic and his daughters), 1875
oil on canvas, The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg


oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, NY


Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Ugolino and his Sons, 1865-67
marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art


Hellenistic, Laocoön and His Sons, 27 BC-67 AD
marble, Vatican Museum, Vatican City


oil on canvas, Musée Marmottan Monet



Paul Cézanne, The Artist's Father Reading “LÉvénement, 1866
oil on canvas, National Gallery, Washington, DC




 Norman Rockwell, Father and Son: Homework, 1962
Four Seasons Calendar, oil on canvas, 
Collection of George Lucas, © Brown and Bigelow


Max Ferguson, Father on Fifth Avenue, 2011
oil on panel, Courtesy of Max Ferguson



Best wishes to fathers, grandfathers, god-fathers and uncles everywhere - (Click on the titles for more information about the works.)

Beth and the New York Arts Exchange

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.
Director and owner
New York Arts Exchange

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Celebrating Juneteenth 2021




Dear friends,

Last year we celebrated Juneteenth in the midst of the #BlackLivesMatters demonstrations.
Today we celebrate Juneteenth as a new National Holiday!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and healthy 





With love,

Beth and the New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com


 

Monday, June 14, 2021

Bold, Beautiful, and Poignant: Wan-Ting Chiu's Exhibition in Taiwan

 

Wan-Ting Chiu, Chengde Hall, Golden Car Literary Center, March 2021
materials: wool and glue



An artist's work comes into your life, out of the blue, and it feels like kismet - right in the gut.   Immediately, you love the art. Period. It just sends shockwaves of delight and desire right through your body.  No mediating and no hesitating.  You want to become a fan, a follower.  You want to know more.  

Thanks to my email correspondence with the tarot specialist Ronan Farrell of Traditional Tarot fame, who shares an interest in André Salmon's foray into the tarot readings as a journalist, I discovered Wan-Ting Chiu and her beautiful art, recently exhibited in Taiwan, where Ronan studies Buddhism. One day he sent me an email about a wonderful exhibition that he visited in Taipei City.  I asked to see photographs, and thankfully, Ronan facilitated meeting the artist through emails.  




Wan-Ting Chiu (in English style order: first name and last name) graciously sent me images and gave me permission to post her work and  Artist's Statement (translated into English) on my New York Arts Exchange blog.  Thank you so much, Wan-Ting, for the honor of introducing your work to American audiences.

Wan-ting Chiu's work strikes me as a magical experience: something ethereal and hopeful in the midst of our collective pandemic trauma.  I had no inkling her work comes from anxiety.




Wan-ting Chiu, He Guan, 2017, diameter: 150 cm, wool, acrylic paint, iron wire



The artist explains:

"Drawing on prior experience, suppression has become my preferred method of coping with life’s variables. This could either be a product of my upbringing or simply part of my original disposition. Nonetheless, it has resulted in the accumulation of anxiety.
 
As I transition from fashion design to mixed media art, I have finally begun tracing my personal relationship with fiber as a material. What was once external image-making through the way I dress has developed into an internalized practice that speaks to the way I camouflage myself within an inherent and pre-existing anxiety. Consequentially, my artworks frequently exhibit a dense yet fluidic state. Often times they are bright and colorful;
 other times they appear dull and pallid. An anxious state of mind has many faces, be it hostile or fearful, yet it may also manifest as something conformal or compliant. With that said, my current art practice not only allows me to achieve mental equilibrium, but also acts as a consoler of emotions.  
 
Perhaps, to some extent, my artworks are an exploration or innervation of my own sentiment. However, anxiety is a shared human nature, which can lead to a sense of exclusion as I objectively and habitually suppress my emotions. As I turn my attention to art, which may include still life objects, films, music or other medium, I wonder If could somehow become empathetic, and be relieved from anxiety. As human nature seems to be the one factor influencing many things, I hope my artworks can help the viewers establish an inner-dialogue with themselves, which in turn helps them to experience their lived-experiences and other multi-dimensional occurrences."

  


I am heartened by Ms. Chiu's quest for an empathic expression through art.  I certainly responded to her work, albeit in a virtual state as digital slides. Hopefully, her artwork will come to New York and the pleasure of viewing her soft textures on rigid shapes in person will yield an even greater appreciation for her artwork and skill. 

Wan-Ting Chiu graduated with a Bachelors degree from the Department of Fashion Design  of Management of Tainen University of Technology in 2013 and received her Masters degree from the Fine Arts of Tainan University of Technology in 2015.  In 2018, she received the NANYING AWARDS of the Judges' List Award.  She has exhibited numerous times. This latest exhibition at Chengde Hall took place earlier this year.

To view more of her work, please visit her website, Instagram and her Facebook page.  Links provided below


The Land of Situation
Chiu Wan Ting Solo Exhibition: In Situ / Anxiety
Exhibition Dates: March 2021
Venue: Chengde Hall, Golden Car Literary Center
Address: Taipei City, Datong District, Taipei City
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, Closed Monday
Organizers: Golden Car Culture Foundation / Golden Car Literature Center

Wan-Ting Chiu's website
Wan-Ting Chiu's Facebook Page
Wan-Ting Chiu's Instagram










For more information about the artist, please contact her through her website or write to me at nyarts.exchange@verizon.net.

Best wishes for the week,
Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.
Director and owner
New York Arts Exchange








Friday, June 4, 2021

June 2021 Happenings - Studio visits and a request to respond to the Met Museum's Documentary

 

Lord Frederic Leighton, Flaming June, 1895
Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico


Dear Friends,

June 2021 - how can that be?  Time seems to be speeding up since New York started to relax its Covid-19 restrictions and now, it's full speed ahead into summer. Yes, the weather hasn't been quite so summery this past week, but just wait: "flaming June" is on the way this weekend.

How will you stay cool?  Why not spend time with art?  Studio visits with social distancing and a Zoom lecture are listed below.  Plus - write to me about your memories of the Met.


Studio Visits:
Here are two opportunities coming up this Saturday and next Saturday:






Saturday, June 5, from 10 am - 3 pm:
Clay Art Center Spring Fest!

Clay Art Center, 40 Beech Street,  Port Chester, NY.
(914)937-2047

Pottery for sale, outdoors.  
Raindate: June 12
100% of the revenues will support the Clay Art Center.  
Also on view: raku firings and pottery wheel demonstrations.







Saturday, June 12, 1 - 5 PM
Wilhelmina Obatola Grant-Cooper
Sistaah Open Studio 
part of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Annual Uptown Arts Stroll

Masks and reservations required for social distancing.
Click on this link here to reserve your time slot

Award-winning artist and director of SISTAAH Wilhelmina Obatola Grant-Cooper invites you to her studio for a rare opportunity to see her artworks and meet the artist at the same time. (New York Arts Exchange members may remember Wilhelmina's work in the exhibitions Art Above the Sofa and Bosom Bodies)

Reservations are free and open to the public.

* * *

Zoom Lecture on Art:

Gerard Sekoto, The Proud Father, Manakedi Naky on Bernard Sekoto’s Knee, 1947


Thursday, June 17, 7 PM
"Fathers in Art," a slide lecture on Zoom
hosted by Byram Shubert Library, Greenwich, CT
Please register here

Beth Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D., lectures on the images of fathers in art history from Ancient Egypt to contemporary times.  One hour.  Free and open to the public, anywhere.



Memories of the Met:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1889, seen from
the Weston Wing

Metropolitan Museum of Art today
A bird's-eye view of the sculpture galleries

If you had been interviewed for this Met documentary, what would you say? 

PBS produced a three-part series "Inside the Met," which aired on May 21 and May 28. You can watch the documentary at this website address: Inside the Met

I would love to know what you thought of this series. 

Please share your reviews and your favorite memories of the Met through my email address: nyarts.exchange@verizon.net

Or post comments on our Facebook page (look for this blog post)

Or respond directly to this email newsletter.

Thank you so much for any thoughts and memories you would like to share.


I'll be back soon with more info about artists and art, near and far.

Happy June!

Hugs,

Beth

Beth Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange