Fall into Fall 2016 - Part 1 - The Met

Jean Honore Fragonard, Island of Love, 1770-80, 

in Fragonard Drawing Triumphant

The Fall 2016 Art Season is in full swing with so many exhibitions and so little time in our busy holiday schedules.  So, feeling overwhelmed myself, I decided to roll out my recommendations in a series of short blog posts, beginning with our favorite museum: the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And a review by one of my favorite art lovers, Natasha Nesic.  Here is her video live from the Met on the Fragonard drawing exhibition, on view through January 8, 2017.

Lantern, Syrian origin, 13th Century

Jerusalem: 1000-1400 tells the story of this multicultural destination through rarely-seen sacred and secular art.  A feast for the eyes through January 8, 2017.

Cornelia Parker, PsychoBarn, 2016

Cornelia Parker's installation on the roof will close on October 31 - so hurry to see this surprising construction.  No spoilers here for those who haven't experienced the full Parker concept.   And even if you have already visited this "fun house" over the summer, you want to see the fall foliage from atop the Met before it blows away.

Valentin de Boulogne, Judith with Head of Holofernes, 1626-27

Valentin de Boulogne's name may not be on your list of "must-sees" this fall. Perish the thought: this guy can really paint well and his subjects tell the stories you may already know - a great combination for those who prefer Old Master paintings.  De Boulogne was born in France in 1591 and died in Rome in 1632. He was a follower of Caravaggio, hence the title: Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Carravaggio, on view through January 18, 2017.

And finally, Beckmann! as in Max Beckmann in New York, featuring 25 works from a short period in our fair city, 1949-50. Not quite your suave Valentin de B., but probably a good chaser for Cornelia Parker's Halloween-ish treat. Consider Beckmann an artistically angst-y fellow, curtsy of the New Objectivity movement in Germany (Neu Sachlichkeit).   It just opened on Wednesday, closing February 20, 2017.

That's it for now - back soon with another installment of "Fall into Fall 2016"

Beth New York

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

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Jay Milder: White Lines, Tuesday, October 18th, Bogardus Mansion, 6 - 8 pm

Please join us to celebrate the opening of

 Jay Milder: White Lines

Curated by Beth S. Gersh-Nešić. Ph.D.

Director, New York Arts Exchange

at 

The Bogardus Mansion

75 Murray Street

on 

Tuesday, October 18th

6 - 8 pm

(subsequent viewing by appointment)

Hosted by Esterhazy Art Sylvie Esterhazy Kovacs, Director

RSVP

Please join us to celebrate the opening of

 Jay Milder: White Lines

Curated by Beth S. Gersh-Nešić. Ph.D.

Director, New York Arts Exchange

at 

The Bogardus Mansion

75 Murray Street

on 

Tuesday, October 18th

6 - 8 pm

(subsequent viewing by appointment)

Hosted by Esterhazy Art Sylvie Esterhazy Kovacs, Director

RSVP

Last Call: Ruby Silvious "363 Days of Tea" through October 1; "OnSite" at Katonah Museum of Art through October 2; Affordable Art Fair this weekend

Ruby Silvious's paintings used tea bags

from 363 Days of Tea (2016)

Ruby Silvious woke up on January 3, 2015 and began a year-long ritual: she painted on used tea bag every day.  Silvious denies that there is any special meaning for such an exercise, but these breathtakingly poignant paintings seem to speak for the artist's subconscious intentions. Here we find the everyday qualities of life that connect us to our humanity: humor, sadness, longing, alienation, the beauty of nature, and the nature of beauty.  Has there ever been a moment in our history of humankind when these meditations have not been considered?  Even during periods of war, tragic accidents and privations, art has uplifted the spirit when all is lost.  Silvious' delicate paintings have lifted my spirits tremendously as I contemplate the future of the world (rather disturbing since the debate on Monday).

I was tempted to buy one work (the prices are excellent), but settled for her book instead, starting my own morning ritual of pouring over the pages with a cup of my favorite brew: coffee.

363 Days of Tea is open through Saturday, October 1st at Atlantic Gallery, 548 West 28th Street, 10 - 6 pm.

363 Days of Tea: A Visual Journal of Used Tea Bags is available on Ruby Silvious' website and through Amazon.  A great idea for holiday gifts!

Victoria Fu, Egg, 2016

Victoria Fu's Egg greets us as we approach Katonah Museum of Art, the "site" for ten installations scattered throughout the inside and outside of the building.  Hence the title of the exhibition is Onsite - a intriguing array of various 3-D creations. (Can we call them "sculpture"?  Some - but not all.)   

With map and brochure in hand, the visitor embarks on a treasure hunt to find each one.  It's great fun and worth the trip up north to investigate in person.  I have selected only four works that relate successfully to the museum's environment.

 MaDora Frey, #6250, 2016

MaDora Frey, #6250, 2016

MaDora Frey's #6250 sits aloft a hill of stones, just opposite the main entrance.  Each side of this one work is completely different.  So walking around this sculpture several times is highly recommended.

Caleb Nussear, Luncheon on the Grass,(a suite of 5 sculptures) 2016

Caleb Nussear's Luncheon on the Grass requires hiking up to it on the grass.  A thoroughly unfamiliar experience at KMA, where the lawn seems to be off limits.  Apparently, not this time.  I greatly appreciated the reflection of the mirrored surfaces, continuing and integrating the shapes with the green grass.

Rachel Mica Weiss, Provisional Structures (After Edward Larrabee Barnes), 2016

 Rachel Mica Weiss, Provisional Structures (After Edward Larrabee Barnes), 2016

Rachel Mica Weiss, Provisional Structures (After Edward Larrabee Barnes), 2016

Rachel Mica Weiss brings the outlines of the KMA to our attention, inspired by the architect Edward Larrabee Barnes' spare structure.  The three works seem quite at home in the garden, much more impressive in person than in photos.

OnSite closes on Sunday, October 2nd.  Katonah Museum of Art is located on Route 22 at Jay Street in Katonah, New York.

Also the Affordable Art Fair runs from September 28th - October 2nd, located on West 18th, on the eastern side of Chelsea.  This is my favorite fair.  Don't miss it!

Best wishes for the weekend,
Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.
Director
New York Arts Exchange
www.nyarts-exchange.com

Last Call: Manus X Machina at the Met and Electric Paris at the Bruce Museum

Chanel Wedding ensemble by Karl Lagerfeld for House of Chanel. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Nicholas Alan Cope


The Met Museum's annual Costume Institute exhibition will close on Labor Day 2016: Monday September 5th. This year's Manus x Machina features machine- and handmade fashion that dazzles the eye with its opulence. Here is a fun blog with great photos to whet the appetite.   Go. See. And revel in this delicious bouquet of fashion fantasy!  

N. B. Extended hours on Saturday, through midnight.

John Singer Sargent, In the Luxembourg Gardens, 1879

Electric Paris at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut is a magnificent exhibition that highlights 19th century art from the City of Light. Here we see the artists' attempts to emulate gaslight and electric light surrounding the everyday life of modern France. The works of art are excellent, selected by Margarita Karasoulas, who expanded the original show curated by S. Hollis Clayson for the Clark Art Institite in 2013.  A small interactive show on the science of electricity provides a wonderful way to share art and education with friends and family. A perfect idea today, before Hurricane Hermine comes our way.  Electric Paris closes on Sunday, September 4th.

Come join us today at Saunders Farm, 853 Old Albany Post Road, Garrison, New York for exhibitions and Performance Art, 2 - 6 pm.  Beth New York will perform Word Exchange - with you.

Look for me on Field iii.

Happy Labor Day Weekend - and take care,

Beth New York

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

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Beth New York Joins Collaborative Concepts at Saunders Farm September 3rd - Come Join Us on the Farm

Word Exchange –

A PerFormance

With

Beth New York and YOU

At Saunders Farm

853 Old Albany Post Raod, Garrison, NY 10523

Saturday, Sept 3, 2 – 6 pm

(Rain date: Sunday, Sept. 4)

Organized by

Collaborative Concepts

Curated by Marcy B. Freedman

Map of Saunders Farm for performances and parking:

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Happy Labor Day Weekend,

Beth New York

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

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com

Last Call: Harold Weston at Keene Arts in the Adirondacks, through August 21.

Four years ago Alexandra and Malcolm MacDougall transformed a picturesque Methodist church into the Keene Arts Center, an exhibition space and theater, in Upstate New York.  It is gorgeous!  One of the jewels of the Adirondacks.

This weekend, their glorious Harold Weston: Beyond the Known, a retrospective of 60 paintings, drawings, etchings and watercolors, will close. Organized with the Harold Weston Foundation, the exhibition provides one of the few opportunities to view this excellent American modernist's work in a comprehensive format - enhanced by the beautiful installation.  

The artist's daughter, Nina Weston Foster, and gallerist Atea Ring (who has specialized in Weston's work for the last 20 years) curated the show.  The title comes from Weston' talk at Phillips Memorial Gallery in 1932, which described the artistic personality as "a seeker striving to do what has not been done before."   This concept explains the Modernist movement of the late 19th and 20th century, for Modernism looks forward - toward the future, rather than backwards -  toward the past, tradition, and established moral imperatives. Within the global Modernist initiative, Weston belongs to a distinctly American Modernist aesthetic, shared by Georgia O'Keeffe, Marsden Hartley and Arthur Dove, among so many others, which transformed the moralizing grand manner of the Hudson River School into an earthy vision.  Weston chose a firm Expressionist direction that tames energetic gestures with warm, rustic colors.

Harold Weston was born on Valentine's Day 1894 in Merion, PA, to a comfortable family.  As a teenager, he attended school in Switzerland and Germany.  In 1910, he was stricken with polio that paralyzed his left leg. Unable to accept the limitations pronounced by his doctors, he worked hard to regain movement and ended up with only a limp. This fortitude characterized all his endeavors.  He graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude  in 1916.  During World War I he created the Baghdad Art Club for soldiers stationed there.  Along with an illustrious and adventurous career, Weston founded the National Council on the Arts and Government that lobbied for the formation of the National Endowment for the Arts.  He died on April 10, 1972.

Keene Arts is open from Thursday through Sunday, and by appointment. 914-309-7095. 

Gallery Hours: 1 - 5 pm.

Please write to me when you see the show
and enjoy! 

Beth New York

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

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com
nyarts.exchange@verizon.net