Month: December 2014

Textile Exhibition: The Consequences of Hate Speech (Lashon Hara)
Chofetz Chaim, Robin Atlas, 2012

Chofetz Chaim, Robin Atlas, 2012

Lashon Hara: On the Consequences of Hate Speech is an unusual art exhibition at the Anne Frank Center in lower Manhattan. Hebrew for “evil speech,” Lashon Hara focuses on how words can be used to destroy and are at the root of intolerance, anti-semitism, racism and discrimination.

 

At the "Lashon Hara" exhibit, Anne Frank Center

At the “Lashon Hara” exhibit, Anne Frank Center

Set within a permanent exhibit on Anne Frank, Lashon Hara features a collection of mixed media works, by textile artist Robin Atlas . “It is intended to stimulate awareness of the impact of our words. It is my hope that from that, diverse factions become the whole and a common good evolves,” says Atlas. Each piece references an aspect of Jewish law about “evil speech,” or a tale from Jewish folklore. I wish the lighting had been better because the pieces were each very beautiful but they were hard to see. The exhibition, presented in conjunction with the Jewish Art Salon, will be on view through February 27th.

Chelsea Galleries, Instead of Museums, Christmas Week

If you live in New York, then I’d recommend avoiding the major museums during Christmas week. They will be very crowded with holiday visitors, making art viewing a real challenge. Instead, use the week to go visit some Chelsea galleries. There are some great shows on and these spaces won’t be jam-packed. Here are some suggestions:

“Jacqueline with flowers,” Pablo Picasso

Picasso & Jacqueline: The Evolution of Style – featuring nearly 140 works by Pablo Picasso. These were created during the last two decades of his life while living with Jacqueline Roque; first his “muse,” and eventually his wife.  Pace  Gallery 534 West 25th Street, through January 10, 2015.

Picasso & the Camera - Curated by John Richardson

“Picasso & the Camera”

Picasso & The Camera  – explores Picasso’s  use of photography as both an inspiration and as an integral part of his studio practice. Spanning sixty years, the show includes many photographs taken by Picasso but never before seen or published. The Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st through January 3, 2015.

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Maira Kalman

Maira Kalman, My Favorite Things – selected gouache paintings in conjunction with her curated show Maira Selects, an inaugural exhibition at the newly renovated Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Julie Saul Gallery 535 West 22nd Street., through February 7, 2015.

Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper 1951- 1991 – exploring four decades of the artist’s work in collages, drawings, and paintings.  Paul Kasmin Gallery, 515 West 27th Street through January 3, 2015.

Chameleon_Camoflage

Diana Copperwhite

“Shadowland,” Diana Copperwhite – abstract paintings by this Irish painter on view at 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, 532 West 25th Street, through January 10, 2015.

Mikkel Carl, untitled

“On the Benefits of Delayed Gratification” –  group exhibition with artists Mikkel Carl, Steven Cox, and Russell Tyler. At the Ana Cristea Gallery, 521 West 26th Street through January 31, 2015.

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Julio Alan Lepez

Portraits Kit –  Colorful portraits and self-portraits in different mediums, by Argentinian artist Julio Alan Lepez. At the Artemisa Gallery, 530 West 25th, through January 27, 2015.

Gallery List

Gagosian Gallery 522 West 21st

Julie Saul Gallery 535 West 22nd

Artemisa Gallery 530 West 25th

532 Gallery 532 West 25th

Pace Gallery 534 West 25th

Ana Cristea Gallery 521 West 26th

Paul Kasmin Gallery 515 West 27th

Art Galleries of the Crown Building

crown buildingBuilt in 1921, The Crown Building at 730 Fifth Avenue was originally called the Hecksher Building after its developer August Hecksher, a German immigrant who made his wealth from mining operations. Famous for its golden top, the Art Deco tower was once owned by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Today, it’s back on the market for an estimated $1.5-2 billion dollars. Well-known tenants in the building include jewelers Bulgari and Mikimoto; the Spitzer family, headed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer; talent and literary agency ICM; private-equity giants KKR and Apollo Global Management; and men’s designer Ermenegildo Zegna.

I think what makes this building interesting is the number of art galleries one can find throughout its floors. In some ways this isn’t surprising because it’s in this building that the Museum of Modern Art got its start in 1929.

Stoop Day, Andrew Wyeth. 1975
Adelson Galleries Wyeth Show

I went to 730 Fifth to see Andrew Wyeth: Seven Decades at the Adelson Galleries (7th floor) and Still Lifes: Reflections of American Culture at D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc. (6th floor)

I was drawn to the Wyeth show after seeing Andrew Wyeth: Looking Out, Looking In, which recently closed, at the National Gallery of Art in DC. While the NGA exhibition focused on Wyeth’s window executions, primarily in watercolor and pencil; the ones here represent a range of subject matter for which Wyeth became internationally known: the male and female figure, landscape in all weather conditions, local architecture, and the flora and fauna that inhabited his two favorite places: Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and the coast of Maine. I enjoyed the DC exhibit more for Wyeth’s ability to catch hauntingly beautiful moments in time. But the Adelson exhibit provided a compelling counterpoint. The show will be there until December 20th.

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Still Lifes: Reflections of American Culture uses still life painting to demonstrate “the evolution of modernism in America after the 1913 Armory Show,” according to the gallery. Significantly, it was through the 1913 Armory Show that many American painters were first exposed to Cubism, and you can see that influence in many of the paintings on display. I was familiar with some of the artists, like  Max Weber, but there were many others whose work I had not seen before. The paintings are organized thematically — fruit, flowers, abstract objects —  and underscore how simple things can be so widely interpreted. There’s a wonderful essay about the exhibition on the gallery’s website, and available at the show, which is on view until January 31st.

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Other galleries worth visiting in the Crown Building are: The Benrimon Gallery (7th floor) which has an exhibition of works by Roy Lichtenstein; the Forum Gallery (2nd floor) which has a new exhibit opening December 12th of watercolors by David Levine; and the Nohra Haime gallery (7th floor) showing works by Julie Hedrick that are focused on “Alchemy,” and it’s relation to gold.

Check at the lobby desk for a complete list of the galleries found in the building and uncover your own New York art find.

Wearable Art From Multiple Cultures

 

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Exhibits at three different museums showcase wearable art from diverse cultures and demonstrate that there’s more to jewelry than simply adornment.

 

"Holocaust" neck piece, Joyce J. Scott (2013)

“Holocaust” neck piece, Joyce J. Scott (2013)

Neckpieces and blown glass sculptures by Joyce J. Scott is the focus of a thought-provoking exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design (MAD). Entitled “Maryland to Murano,” the exhibition is the first “to examine the relationship between Scott’s beaded and constructed neck pieces created in her Baltimore, Maryland studio and her more recent blown glass sculptures crafted in the Brenego Studio on Murano Island in Venice, Italy,” according to MAD. The exhibit is on view through March 15, 2015.

Bracelet, Raymond C. Yazzie, 2005. Silver inlaid with coral, turquoise, lapis lazuli, 14-karat gold accents.

Glittering World: Navajo Jewlery of the Yazzie Family features almost 300 examples of contemporary jewelry made by members of one Gallup, New Mexico family.  The works on view at the National Museum of the American Indian are silver, gold, and stone inlay work,  combining bead and stonework as well as silver and gold.  The exhibition, states the museum, “places Navajo jewelry making within its historical context of art and commerce, illustrates its development as a form of cultural expression, and explores the meanings behind its symbolism.” The exhibit is on view through January 2016.

Pair of Anklets, Gold, set with white sapphires, with attached pearls and hanging glass beads; enamel on reverse (1800–50), Al-Thani collection

Pair of Gold Anklets (1800–50), Al-Thani collection

Finally, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is  Treasures from India: Jewels from the Al-Thani Collection. Though a smaller exhibit, the sixty items on display here showcase the intricate and colorful styles of the jeweled arts in India from the Mughal period until the present day. They all come from the private collection formed by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani. The exhibit will be open until January 25, 2015.