Fortunately I was in good company because 'they' didn't accepted David Lang's wonderful piece either (their loss). So last Friday David and I once again drove down the Merrick Parkway, and honestly we were not the happiest of campers. But we figured we'd make the best of the day and on the way home we stopped at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT and we were BLOWN AWAY!!!!
The museum is full of many wonders!!! but here are a few highlights ~ first is the museum's newest acquisition : Georgia O'Keeffe's Slightly Open Clam Shell. This piece took my breathe away!!! it is exquisite. It is exhibited in a room all by itself and I could have camped out there all day and let myself fall into the depths of this amazing pastel. But there were more treats to be found...
There were some wonderful paintings in the show, Director's Choice: Abstract Expressionism to Color Field Painting. In the second room of the show there were two particularly striking paintings - a Robert Motherwell which consisted of 5 paintings of the most beautiful blues and De Kooning's Montauk I 1969. These paintings just slayed me, the De Kooning physically moved me. It reminded me about how Elizabeth Murray talks about learning about painting by studying De Kooning's painting, "Excavation" when she was studying at the school of the Art institute of Chicago. I love to learn about how artists work....
"I would go up everyday and I would look at this particular DeKooning painting called "Excavation" And I would do a dance with it. Like, oh, he went this way and oh he went that way, and oh he smudged this. Feeling the depth of that painting. When you look at it from a distance it looks like this roiling boiling pot of paint. Except the order is within it, is in that paint. And when you go up to it you begin to see the layers of it, how the yellow goes over this white and blue. And I realized he scraped that on, and then he did this over it. And I deconstructed the painting and I would go back down to my painting and I would try to do it. And eventually—I never got that good—but it made me start to feel my body and my mind. My mind letting my arm make the decision, like intentionally, like control. "
Another exciting find at the Wadsworth was a wall drawing by Sol LeWitt - there, in this 'classic architectural' hallway you see the brightly colored, swirling magic of Sol LeWitt. It was dazzling, especially to move around and view the work through the railings of the banister. These were just some of my personal favorites - but there were many exhibits to enjoy - the Ballet Russe, Folkert de Jong's installation, and so much more!!! And it was an extra joy to share this experience with a fellow creative mind. It was a terrific day - rejection and all! peace
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