Homage to Fantin Latour

Frieze, NYC

Over the weekend, I visited the Frieze Art Fair in New York on Randall's Island. The ferry ride and the venue were fabulous and the view of New York from Randall's Island was new to me all together.  Hats off to whoever conceived of the idea to have an art fair there. There were a few select booths that brought top drawer work (Anish Kapoor at Lisson Gallery and Damien Hirst at White Cube being two) but this Cranky Gallery Girl was fairly cranky about most of the artwork.  The trend in "recycled" materials is not exactly my cup of tea.  No need to belabor the point.  On a positive note, the food stands were fabulous!

Ciao Maurizio

After reading many reviews (pro and con), I went to see the Maurizio Cattelan exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum to form my own opinion about this controversial exhibition.  Titled "All" the exhibition was designed to include 130 works dating from the late 1980s through the present serving as the artist's first comprehensive retrospective and his last.  Now for the controversial part; all 130 works were hung from the skylight of the Guggenheim.  It was designed as a farewell to the artworld and was one of the most unique uses of the architecture of the Guggenheim ever.  I'll admit that I wasn't exactly a maven or fan of his work before I saw the show but I went with an open mind and came out of the museum not only a fan but sad that I didn't discover him so much earlier.

If you are hungry for more (as Anthony Bourdain would say), go to iTunes and download the fantastic, award-winning app about the exhibition, narrated by John Waters.

Once a Year Miracle - Christmas in New York

You can't help but experience an inspiring outpouring of creativity when you are in New York during the Christmas holiday. Here are some shots of the amazing store windows on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Seems like the animal kingdom was the theme for 2011.

The Future was Now

Today I visited the PST exhibition at LACMA, "California Design, 1930-1965, Living in a Modern Way." I thought it was a terrific show and one of my favorites from the entire PST initiative. It had very interesting objects, beautifully installed and reminded me of my childhood. We moved to California in 1965 and we truly felt that the future was just waiting for us, quite the contrast to the show at the Hammer focusing on the African-American artists of the day.  Personal note: seeing the Barbie doll and house really took me back as I had the same exact house.


          

Stormin' Storm King

Finally made it to Storm King Art Center, the outdoor sculpture museum located 50 miles north of New York City.  It includes over 100 monumental, outdoor sculptures on over 80 acres of land.  It was just as beautiful and vast as I had been hearing over the years.  With multiple sculptures by diSuvero, David Smith, Alexander Calder, and so many others, here are some highlights.

Calder and  Lieberman

Andy Goldsworthy. This  wall travels under the lake and continues
 on the other side

and winds through the trees.

Richard Serra,so beautiful in a natural setting.

Zhang Huan

View of the great lawn with a Calder in the foreground.

Greek Ionic Columns

If you want more information on Storm King Art Center, go to their website:
http://www.stormking.org/

Niki de Saint Phalle in Escondido - Who Knew?

As part of my "stay-cation" this summer, I picked up the parents and drove south to Escondido to find the only garden in the United States by internationally-known artist Niki de Saint Phalle.  Titled "Queen Califia's Magical Garden," it takes it's inspiration from California's mythic and cultural roots. It consists of an exterior snake wall, a maze entry, nine large totemic sculptures with integrated seating all made of intricate ceramic mosaic and is very much about girl power!  Go Niki!

For more information and directions to this garden click here: http://www.queencalifia.org/index.html