There’s truly no excuse to stay curled up at home anymore- it’s warm outside and it’s time to get out and enjoy New York City. We have some painting, photography, and sculpture this week. (You know me- I always like to mix it up!) So take the afternoon off and explore this great art happening in the city NOW:
Image via Gagosian Gallery
Painted on 21st Street: Helen Frankenthaler from 1950-1959
This exhibit ends today so make sure you see it!
Frankenthaler is known as one of the great American painters of the 20th century. To honor her work, the Gagosian Gallery is showing nearly 30 paintings from her collection. It is the first Frankenthaler exhibit in 30 years.
Frankenthaler was part of the second-generation Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1950s- she is often compared to Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky. Loaded with color, abstract shapes, and paint splotches, it’s easy to see the comparison.
I think the color and the abstraction in this art really makes it stand out. You can imagine the paintings just popping off the wall and walking around the gallery. I love how they overwhelm you as you stand next to them, and examine every detail in their shape and curve. If only these pieces were affordable, I would buy one for my living room.
Gagosian Gallery
522 W. 21st St.
New York, NY 10011
(212) 741-1717
Exhibit until April 13
Image via Bill Brandt Archive Ltd.
Bill Brandt is another acclaimed modern artist, working in a different medium: photography. His work comes from World War II-era London, covering the years before and after the war as well. The MOMA exhibit features nearly 160 vintage prints in total, as well as the magazines where some of these images were printed.
Brandt’s work was expansive- he created social documentaries, landscapes, nudes, and portraits. Shadow and Light explores each of these categories separately. The photos are all a fascinating sociological glimpse at London life in these decades- of the different people inhabiting this metropolis, and how the war affected so much. The social documentary photos are by far my favorite, although they are all beautiful in their own way. Brandt knew how to frame black and white photographs based on their shades and lighting, and he knew it really well.
Museum of Modern Art
11 W. 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 708-9400
Exhibit until August 12
Image via Paula Cooper Galery
Justin Matherly: All Industrious People
The main piece in this exhibit, located at the Paula Cooper Gallery, is a recreation of ancient stelae from an archeology site in Turkey. The site, Nemrud Dagi, is a temple-tomb dedicated to Hellenistic king Antiochus I. Matherly used poured and cast concrete to recreate these stelae as artistic sculpture.
The stelae are placed together in the center of the exhibit room. I love archeological treasures like this, so standing next to recreations of such ancient artwork is really exciting. They stand tall above you, and from afar you can see the shapes they once formed.
While the exhibit is pretty monotonal–it’s all white and gray– the shapes in the images are more than enough to keep you interested. On the walls around this sculpture are also unique monoprints inspired by the site- made by transferring wet ink from transparencies onto paper. It’s a nice complementary addition.
Paula Cooper Gallery
534 W. 21st St.
New York, NY 10011
(212) 255-1105
Exhibit until April 27
