Louise Bourgeois Retrospective

After the Tate Britain, I headed over to the Tate Modern for the Louise Bourgeois retrospective. This exhibition was highly anticipated as Louise Bourgeois is one of my sheroes!

Louise Bourgeois is one of the world’s most respected sculptors. Over a long career she has worked through most of the twentieth century’s avant-garde artistic movements from abstraction to realism, yet has always remained uniquely individual, powerfully inventive, and often at the forefront of contemporary art.

This major survey, in the artist’s 95th year, provides an unprecedented opportunity to reassess her work, which is characterised by its obsessive subject matter and experimental approach to materials and techniques.

Beginning with her earliest drawings, prints and paintings, the show features over 200 works in materials as diverse as latex, bronze, marble, and mirrors, as well as her most recent works using fabric. It’s also another chance to see Bourgeois’s monumental spider sculpture Maman 1999, which was shown in the Turbine Hall when the gallery opened in 2000.

This exhibition explores Bourgeois’s core themes of femininity,
sexuality and isolation, and demonstrates that even in her 90s
she continues to defy convention.

Turner Prize: A Retrospective 1984-2006

First stop on my London arts tour was the Tate Britain: the definitive Turner Prize exhibition, featuring works by all the winning artists since it began in 1984. From Anish Kapoor to Damien Hirst, and Gilbert & George to Grayson Perry, it presents a snapshot of British art from the last 24 years.

"Created to draw greater public attention to contemporary art, the Turner Prize has played a significant role in the growing interest in British art and since the mid 1980s the visual arts scene in Britain has changed beyond recognition. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to reflect upon some of the most significant moments in the recent history of British art and the reception of the prize by the press, by artists and by the public."

Here is a photo of Damien Hirst's 'Mother and Child Divided'. I actually walked between the two cases - this piece, among many others in the exhibition challenged me on a personal level and provoked questions regarding my own definitions of art.

back from London

My recent trip to London was amazing - I especiallly enjoyed visiting some wonderful art exhibitions including: the Louise Bourgeois Retrospective at the Tate Modern, the Turner Prize Retrospective at the Tate Britain, Renaissance Siena: Art for A City at the National Gallery, Seduced: Art & Sex from Antiquity to Now at the Barbican, and Walter Sickert: The Camden Town Nudes at the Courtauld. (more about the arts in later posts!)

My mother and I also enjoyed an evening at the theatre - we saw 39 Steps at the Criterion in Piccadilly Circus. Best known as Hitchcock’s 1935 classic move thriller, the new version was performed by four actors playing multiple roles and contained every single legendary scene from the award-winning movie.

We also indulged in a traditional english dinner at the Sherlock Holmes Pub, a split level establishment with a bar on the ground floor and an intimate restaurant on the second level with authentic Victorian decor. 'The Study' of Sherlock Holmes, complete with props from the films (my personal favorites being the ones starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce), can be viewed from the restaurant.

Here is my mom pleasantly pleased by the portion of fish 'n chips and mushy peas (a.k.a. 'The Retired Colourman's'). I couldn't resist ordering dessert - I've always been curious about the "Spotted Dick", which I now understand is a steamed pudding containing dried fruits - delicious served with custard!

All Hallows Eve

Last night Bob and I exploited the pumpkin - we carved Jack-O-Lanterns, baked a pumpkin pie, seasoned some seeds and drank pumpkin ale - in celebration of this glorious holiday.

Portsmouth's festivities come to a climax this evening with the ever grande Portsmouth Halloween Parade (which begins around 8:00pm).


Happy Halloween - revel in the fantasy and fright!

Leaving for London...

I am traveling to London with me mum. In my absense I will be entrusting the gallery to three intelligent, talented and beautiful ladies: pastel artist Terry McCue and photographing femme fatales Erin Molloy and Ashley Shoukimas; and a Bob (also adept and aesthetically pleasing) will be sitting in on Saturday.

I will be back Monday, the 29th bearing photos and a fresh perspective! Cheers.

Laura Weed

Laura Weed stopped in yesterday and dropped of two paintings. (She recently sold out of the Teeny Tiny Art Show!) Laura and I both graduated from the B.F.A. program at UNH (Laura in 2003 and myself in 2002). I admired her exquisitely detailed paintings then and it is serendipidous to be working with her now. Below are 'Indian Vogue' and 'Parade'...and Laura will most definitely be participating in the upcoming 'Teeny Tiny Art Show II' in February!

Black and White with Color

Last night I attended a benefit for the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, featuring CABINET OF DOCTOR CALIGARI, "one of the first and eeriest movies ever committed to film, a 1919 classic that paved the way for fright films for years to come. Traveling sideshows, suspicious hypnotists, creepy fortune-telling sleepwalkers and, yes, murder abound - all tied together with some of the pointiest, most insanely surreal sets ever designed." The film was accompanied by an original score written and performed live by three time “Best Jazz Band of the Seacoast” award winning ensemble “Color”. A harmonious balance of visual and auditory stimuli, the sets were painterly and the improvisation was impressive.

The show was presented by the Portsmouth Halloween Parade. Sponsored by The Wire and River Run Bookstore, with special thanks to The New Hampshire Gazette.

Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum

Our journey continued to the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum. I am embarassed to admit this was my first visit to this magical place - first opened in 1903, the museum consists of three floors of galleries (filled with paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture and decorative arts from cultures spanning thirty centuries) surrounding a luscious garden courtyard. Never before have I seen works by Raphael, Botticelli and Sargeant (to name a few) in such an intimate setting. Words cannot descibe how much I love this museum...

Isabella Stewart Gardner, known also as "Mrs. Jack" in reference to her husband, John L. ("Jack") Gardner, was one of the foremost female patrons of the arts. She was a patron and friend of leading artists and writers of her time, including John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler and Henry James. She was a supporter of community social services and cultural enrichment. She was an ardent fan of the Boston Symphony, the Red Sox and Harvard College football. Isabella Stewart Gardner was also the visionary creator of what remains one of the most remarkable and intimate collections of art in the world today and a dynamic supporter of artists of her time, encouraging music, literature, dance and creative thinking across artistic disciplines.

Over three decades, Isabella Stewart Gardner traveled the world and worked with important art patrons and advisors Bernard Berenson and Okakura Kakuzo to amass a remarkable collection of master and decorative arts. In 1903, she completed the construction of Fenway Court in Boston to house her collection and provide a vital place for Americans to access and enjoy important works of art. Mrs. Gardner installed her collection of works in a way to evoke intimate responses to the art, mixing paintings, furniture, textiles and objects from different cultures and periods among well-known
European paintings and sculpture.

I greatly admire Mrs. Gardner for her vision and passion for exposing the public to the amazing collection she worked to acquire. Stepping into her world, one cannot deny, the arts are an integral part of a sustainable world.

p.s. the images above have been taken from the ISGM website. Camera's were not allowed for security reasons.

On the night of March 18, 1990, a pair of thieves disguised as Boston police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and roamed the galleries, stealing thirteen works of art, including: Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633), A Lady and Gentleman in Black (1633) and a Self-Portrait (1634); Vermeer's The Concert (1658-1660); Govaert Flinck's Landscape with an Obelisk (1638); five drawings by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas; and Edouard Manet's Chez Tortoni (1878-1880). The works have not yet been recovered. The $5 million dollar reward leading to the return of the art works is, as yet, unclaimed.

It was eerie to see the empty frames throughout the Museum, ghosts of the missing paintings. I knew there had been a robbery, but I had no idea that so many pieces had been stolen - unsettling to be in the midst of so much beauty while at the same time being reminded of such ugliness.

enchanted (and educational) forest

Finding ourselves in Jamaica Plain we decided to take advantage of the glorious weather and stroll thru the Arboretum. The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the "oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world's leading centers for the study of plants. A unique blend of beloved public landscape and respected research institution, they provide and support world-class research, horticulture and education programs that foster the understanding, appreciation and preservation of trees."

The Arboretum also hosts art exhibitions - "Woody Plants: Contemporary Botanical Arts Exhibition" opens this weekend. The show features meticulously detailed flora and fauna by the New England Society of Botanical Artists. more info

Rachel Paxton

Yesterday, opened with an exceedingly stressful excursion into Boston. Following two wrong turns and one near collision we found our destination - the studio of Rachel Paxton in Jamaica Plain.

It was a pleasure to finally meet Rachel in person. (She had been kind enough to express ship some paintings to the gallery in late August for 'Things With Wings'. )

Rachel gave me a wonderful selection of new paintings to take with me back to the gallery...some more 'winged things' and a few still life paintings!

I love Rachel's work - beautiful and powerful in their juxtaposition of delicate imagery with rich patterns and texture.

Conflict & Harmony

Last night was the opening reception of 'Conflict & Harmony: Recent Works by Nicole McCormick'. The gallery was pleasantly packed with friends, family and art 'round towners alike (much to my dismay - I forgot to take pictures, again). I did manage to take some photos of the final installation this morning for those of you who could not make the opening. Images of paintings from the exhibition can bee seen here. (And the show will be up thru November 5th.)

drop off - new paintings by Nicole McCormick

The gallery has been graced by the highly anticipated new paintings of Nicole McCormick. Two and a half years have passed since McCormick's last showing at Three Graces, her "Private Stories" was well received in May 2005. Since then, she has exhibited her work in highly regarded intitutions and acquired a position as an Assistant Professor at William and Mary College.

Nikki arrived this morning to drop off her work for her upcoming solo, 'Conflict & Harmony'. The show opens next friday, October 12th, with an opening reception from 5-8pm. Here is a sneak preview!

I do not intend for the viewer to completely decipher the
work. My intention is rather that the viewer deposits his own narrative onto the images giving way to new storylines and interpretations.