Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed

The Storm, 1893, Edvard Munch

Madonna, 1895-97, Edvard Munch

Despair, 1894, Edvard Munch

I was lucky to notice The Met Breuer was showing works of Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch (1863–1944). The title of the show is Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed which was the title of his one of his self-portrait.

Munch’s works are well known for his depictions of human anxiety. Because in modern society, everyone seems living with depression, I think his works reveal one aspect of our modern society. Thus his works are very contemporary.

His most famous work is The Scream, which was not there. It was very disappointing. However, I enjoyed the show. Munch is one of my favorite artists but I didn’t have a chance to see his works at the same time.

Michelangelo at Met

Art, drawing, Museum, show and exhibition

I went to “the must-see” show, Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer at Metropolitan Museum. It was very successful show. So many people! Met announced that the 10th most visited exhibition in the museum’s history. It’s brought more than 700,000 visitors for three months. I was one of them. It was so many (but not too many) works. They show not only his works but also other artists who worked with him. I’ve never get tired of seeing those masterpieces! Just beautiful.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Bacchanal of Children. Red chalk. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Studies for Christ in the Pietà of Úbeda for Sebastiano del Piombo. Black chalk. Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, Paris (716)

Kathe Burkhart show at Mary Boone gallery

Art, New York Art, protest, show and exhibition

I went to see Kathe Burkhart show at Mary Boone gallery. Though I missed Women’s march, I could make this feminist artist’s show.

In one word, I would say her work is bold. I love that straightforwardness. I also love the way she uses collage. I think the materials of the collage connects between visual image and reality of our life.

Blueballs: from the Liz Taylor Series, 2007

Get the Fuck Out: from the Liz Taylor Series, 2017

Wangechi Mutu show

Art, show and exhibition

screen-shot-2017-01-27-at-10-02-32-pm

I went to an exhibition of new work by Wangechi Mutu at Gladstone Gallery. The title for this exhibition comes from the Gikuyu words for mud and trees, the prima materia for this body of work. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Wangechi Mutu received her MFA from Yale University. There were so many people at the opening night.

On Kawara at Guggenheim Museum

Art, Guggenheim Museum, Museum, New York Art, show and exhibition

I went to a very interesting show, On Kawara – Silence at Guggenheim Museum. Since On Kawara is a well-known Japanese artist, I know his work quite while. But I had never seen this volume of his work. This is the first full representation of Kawara’s output, beginning in 1964 and including every category of work, much of it produced during his travels across the globe: date paintings (the Today series); postcards (the I Got Up series); telegrams (the I Am Still Alive series); maps (the I Went series); lists of names (the I Met series); newspaper cuttings (the I Read series); the inventory of paintings (Journals); and calendars (One Hundred Years and One Million Years).
I think his work is performance art in funny way. We are not seeing when he is performing but seeing the record of his performance.

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at MOMA

Art, MoMA, Museum, New York Art, show and exhibition

What a pleasure to see Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at a day of middle of winter. I easily forgot we were still in winter. This show brought me spring to my eyes. Simple shapes and colors were blooming at MOMA.
This is a rare occasion to see Motisse’s cut-out pieces extensively. The last time New York audiences were treated to an in-depth look at the cut-outs was in 1961!

DUMBO Arts Festival

Art, New York Art, show and exhibition

DUMBO Arts Festival

I went to DUMBO art festival few weeks ago. My first impression was tens, thousands of people. So many families, kids, young people, old people.

There are outdoor and indoor visual art installations and exhibitions, digital art and projections, visiting artists in their studios or making murals on the street, dancers, poets as well as performers throughout the neighborhood, on street corners, and in the park.

Many people and many events. It was like an art Disneyland! Here are some photos I took.

Jeff Koons: A Retrospective

show and exhibition

After I saw Jeff Koons Split-Rocker at Rockefeller Center, I went to see Jeff Koons: A Retrospective at Whitney Museum of American Art. Because of the show’s popularity, museum announced to extend hours. I went on Friday after 7pm. Visitors were still making a line to enter.
I felt very funny. People showed great appreciation to his works at museum. On the other hand, at Rockefeller Center, tourists were busy to take pictures with his giant Split-Rocker. They are not interested in examining it as a piece of art work.
Anyway, I now know Jeff koons is very popular. Well done Whitney Museum!
There was a small incident. When I went to there, everything seemed normal. I didn’t know that until I read the article.

Jeff Koons Split-Rocker

show and exhibition

I went to Rockefeller Center to see Jeff Koons Split-Rocker. Presented by Gagosian Gallery and organized by Public Art Fund and Tishman Speyer, Split-Rocker is a spectacular planted form that towers over 37 feet high and features over 50,000 flowering plants. It was first exhibited at Palais des Papes, Avignon in 2000; and subsequently at Château de Versailles (2008) and Fondation Beyeler (2012). It is also in the collection of the Glenstone private museum in Potomac, Maryland, where it has been on view since June of 2013.

It was really fun to see his work at Rockefeller Center. Not only art followers but also people from all over the world who are not interested in contemporary art were enjoying seeing and taking picture with it. Watching at Split-Rocker at Rockefeller Center was a kind of experience. Jeff Koons’ dichotomy and the in-between turned out so fuzzy. I thought it was very interesting.

Ai Weiwei: According to What? at Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum, show and exhibition

Finally I went to Brooklyn Museum to see the show, Ai Weiwei: According to What? Just 2days before the show ended!
Ai Weiwei is one of China’s most prolific and provocative contemporary artists. The works at the show spotlight issues of freedom of expression, as well as individual and human rights both in China and globally. There were videos wich he had been answering the visitors’ questions.
After he was arrested by Chinese authority, he became a super star in West. I was very curious to see his work. Is he famous because of his political activity or his work? I wanted to know. The conclusion is both. He is very bold and his works are provocative. But for my surprise, he has great sense of humor. I love his works which I can see his sense of humor like this piece of the photo.