Richard Serra – Reverse Curve

Richard Serra – Reverse Curve

Reverse Curve, 2005/19 is on view at Gagosian – 522 West 21st Street, NYC through February 1, 2020. It is a unique  opportunity to see this magnificient work in an interior space. Reverse Curve is comprised of two 2″ thick steel plates, measuring approximately 13 feet high by 99 feet in length.

Forged Rounds, is a grouping of forged steel cylindrical forms of varied height and diameter, each weighing 50 tons. They are on view at the 555 West 24th Street gallery, through January 11, 2020. This link will take you to the Gagosian website which features Forged Rounds.

 

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, Words, 4 comments
Kehinde Wiley – Rumors of War

Kehinde Wiley – Rumors of War

We were in NYC this past September; The Whitney Biennial was in its final days, Greta Thunberg spoke at the Global Climate Conference at the UN, and as expected, there was a wealth of exhibitions and cultural events to see and experience. There were several shows we had specifically planned to see, Amy Sherald, Vija Celmins, Sarah Sze, Richard Serra, the Biennial, as well as several visits to The Met. We stopped in to see a show at the Ford Foundation, as well as several shows in galleries in Chelsea, including the inaugural exhibitions at Pace Gallery’s new building, one of which was a survey of works by Alexander Calder.

This post features Kehinde Wiley’s Rumors of War on the day it was unveiled in Times Square. Much has been written about this artwork, its beauty and significance. I’m including links to articles, from among many, about this powerful artwork: Hyperallergic and My Modern Met

Rumors of War was on view in New York through early December and has just been installed at its permanent location at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia. See Washington Post article.

 

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, Words, 1 comment
The Art of Seeing The Seeing of Art

The Art of Seeing The Seeing of Art

You may recall from some of my other posts, I’m a creature of habit, revisiting places and locations, sometimes just to see familiar works or new exhibitions in favorite galleries. On more than one occasion I’ve had that sense of déjà vu, when in a specific location, coming to the realization that, oh yes, I’ve been in this place, seeing a different exhibition, sometimes in a reconfigured gallery, usually leading to an enhanced or new appreciation/understanding. Then there are intentional visits to search out specific works of art, to see how they look, sometimes with years between viewings, with layers of experience between visits added to the mix.

During our walks in Chicago, we made several visits to see specific outdoor works, especially Magma by Mark di Suvero and Flamingo by Alexander Calder. Even Continue reading →

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Chicago Exhibitions – spring/summer 2019

Chicago Exhibitions – spring/summer 2019

Among the exceptional exhibitions that I saw in Chicago, here are several that continue till July 7th and August 25th:

I’ve written about Theaster Gates’ Stony Island Arts Bank in a previous post, and this time the current exhibition is Rob Pruitt: The Obama Paintings. This series, a painting each day that the President was in office, make for a moving tribute and a reminder of the dignity of the presidency and the many truly great advances that occurred during Obama’s time in office. Each painting is a 24” square canvas Continue reading →

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Art Institute of Chicago – Exhibitions Spring 2019

Art Institute of Chicago – Exhibitions Spring 2019

We were in Chicago recently (late April-early May) during the change of seasons; several warm sunny days, ideal for walking and exploring, one day of wet snow and another of spring rain; the snow took everyone by surprise, confirming Chicago’s bi-polar weather, and another example of climate change – snow in late April. Nonetheless, they were good days for walking in the city and exploring exhibitions. And now, as of this posting, spring is in full bloom and people are out and about. This post is the first of three in which I’ll share thoughts on some of the art we encountered.

On one of our walks we went to Millennium Park to see Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate and Frank Gehry’s band shell Continue reading →

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