Detail Open Air Market by Donalee Nelson
Summertime
Summertime means fresh fruits
and vegetables. In California we have a plethora of locally grown fruits and
vegetables year round even though we do actually have seasons. My step-dad
owned several open air markets. Do they even exist anymore? I see Farmer’s Markets
proliferating and wherever there are strawberries there are stands selling them.
When Jim was between opening markets he took his truck full of the freshest
produce around to local restaurants to supply them. On weekends he sold fruit
off of his truck at the edge of Orange County Park. It was my weekend job to
help him. I still remember one July 4th weekend when there were so
many cars going into the park that we had no customers. Everyone was afraid to
stop and lose their place in line. In all of his markets and even when he sold from
the truck he managed to set up wonderful displays of colorful produce. He was a
genius when it came to designing appealing displays and hand painting beautiful
signs. I have always painted but this is where I first began to understand
color theory, the way different colors interacted, how they complimented one another
or changed the way each looked. Thank you James L!
Highlights
Frank Lloyd Wright: Architecture of the Interior is at
the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA through August 20, 2017. Although Mr. Wright
is one of the best known architects of the twentieth century, this exhibit focuses
on some of his lesser known designs. He not only designed buildings but
everything that went into them. The furnishings and ornaments contribute to his
overall concept and are at the center of this exhibit. I guess that for Wright
the devil was truly in the details. Bowers website is at www.bowers.org where you will find more
details about this exhibit. Mr. Wright is also being celebrated with Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the
Archive which is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York through
October 1. This is a comprehensive exhibit which includes about 450 pieces that
cover Wright’s career from the 1890s through the 1950s and includes drawings,
models, paintings, photos, textiles, furniture, tableware and films. Many of
these pieces have never been on display for the public. This list is just an
overview and there is so much more to this exhibit. Be sure and go to www.moma.org for more information.
Where
you can see my artwork
My artwork
is available at Rons. For
further information call the shop at 805.489.4747. Rons
is located at 850 W Grand in Grover Beach a few blocks from the train station,
a golf course and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. For more information go to Rons
website at www.ronsingroverbeach.com
or find him on facebook.
Not To
Be Missed –Museum Exhibits
Featured now at the Palm
Springs Museum of Art through June 18, 2018 is Grass Roots: Native American Basketry of the West. The exhibit
showcases the wonderful weaving of these Native American artists who used
native plants and roots as their medium. The museum also has a subsidiary
museum in Palm Desert known as the Galen. It is surrounded by the four acre Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden
that features over ten significant sculptures surrounded by landscaped gardens.
A visit to these two venues make it worth the drive. Google the museum or go to
www.psmuseum.org for current information.
Highlights of the
Permanent Collection celebrates the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s 75th
anniversary. The exhibit features some of the museums most well-known pieces. The
Armand Hammer Foundation has loaned some amazing Impressionist and
Post-Impressionist paintings to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Of course, Portrait of Mexico Today, painted by David Alfaro Siquerios while
living in political exile in Los Angeles in 1932, has a home in the front
façade of the museum. It is intact and is in a protected spot. We are so lucky
to have it. Ongoing at the museum is Rodin
and His Legacy. Rodin was the most influential sculptor of the 19th
Century. The installation examines the artist’s innovative spirit. Check on
line at www.sbmuseart.org/ for more
details.
Wow! Upcoming at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art is an exhibition of Chagall’s designs for four
stage productions. Chagall: Fantasies
For The Stage opens July 31 of this year and goes through January 7,
2018. Much of the artist’s work was inspired by music and dance. He
collaborated with the Ballet Russes on set design in 1911 and created murals
and theatrical productions for the Moscow State Jewish Theater in the 1920s. He
continued to design sets and costumes for ballets in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.
Showcased at LACMA are four productions for the stage including the 1942
production of Aleko with music by
Tchaikovsky, The Firebird by Stravinsky
in 1945, Daphne and Chloe by Ravel in
1958 and Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute
in 1967. Included in this show are the artist’s costume and set designs on
paper, documentary footage of original performances as well as many of
Chagall’s paintings. Also coming to LACMA is Found In Translation: Design In California And Mexico, 1915–1985.
The exhibit covers Spanish Colonial Inspiration, Pre-Hispanic Revivals, Folk
Art and Craft Traditions and Modernism as design parameters. It also attempts
to place such design icons as Neutra, Barragan and Charles and Ray Eames in
context and show how California and Mexico influenced each other in design and
architecture. More information is at www.lacma.org
about these exhibits.
Currently at Getty Center in
Los Angeles is Happy Birthday, Mr.
Hockney which ends November 28, 2017. In celebration of the artist’s 80th
birthday the museum has put together a collection of Hockney’s self-portraits
spanning 65 years. Also included are several of his photo collages and
featuring the iconic Pearblossom Hwy,
11–18thApril 1988, #2. What a treat for Hockney fans and those just
discovering this artist. Meanwhile, the wonderful Getty Villa on Pacific Coast
Highway is undergoing some changes. It is still open but some galleries will be
closed. Information at www.getty.edu will
fill you in on what is going and as well as with dates and times.
The Broad Art Foundation houses
the collection of Eli and Edythe Broad and has an amazing number of modern
masterpieces. It also hosts special exhibits. Upcoming is Something Resembling Truth from February through May 2018,
which features more than 100 works by Jasper Johns. The show explores the
artist’s sixty year career and includes many of his most iconic works and several
that have never been seen in Los Angeles. This is an interesting venue and the
Johns exhibit will be important. In anticipation, check out www.thebroad.org to get an early view.
The Summer of Love Experience:
Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll came to the de Young Museum in San Francisco on April 8
and will be there until August 20. The exhibit features rock posters,
photographs, interactive music and light shows as well as avant-garde films.
Also at the museum find Stuart Davis:
In Full Swing through August 6, 2017. One of my earliest inspirations,
Davis was a lifelong jazz lover and it shows in his work. An American
Modernist, this central figure has not been featured in an exhibition in 20
years. This exhibit contains about 75 pieces and is sure to be a treat for the
eye. Check www.deyoung.famsf.org
which will have all you need to know. The de Young prides itself in making its
exhibits accessible and has instituted a plan for people who are unable to come
to the museum whether for medical reasons, distance or finances. They have two robots that will take visitors
on a tour via the internet. Rebecca Bradley is the Accessibility Curator. You
can email her office at access@famsf.org
if this great idea is of interest.
The San Francisco Legion of Honor acts as host to the
traveling exhibit Degas,
Impressionism and the Paris Millenary Trade. It will be housed there until
September 24, 2017. Over 100 pieces are included in this show and features the
work of Manet, Morisot and Renoir as well as Degas. The website provides an excellent
overview of the show so check www.legionofhonor.famsf.org
and get more information.
San Francisco seems to be the happening place at the
moment with several incredible exhibitions. Currently at the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art is a ground breaking show of Norwegian master, Edvard
Munch. Between the Clock and the Bed
is on display until October 9, 2017.Munch became well known as an artist from
the age of thirty felt that his creative breakthrough came late in life. This
exhibit starts with one of his last self-portraits and works backward to
reassess his paintings. Significantly, many of the paintings come from the
artist’s own collection and six of them have never been displayed in the United
States. Go to www.sfmoma.org for more on
this exciting show.
Ongoing
at the Seattle Museum of Art is Big
Picture: Art after 1945.The exhibit includes some amazing works by
Rothko, Motherwell, Newman, Hoffman, etc. Coming up in October is a
retrospective of Andrew Wyeth’s work. Go to www.seattleartmuseum.org to obtain
more information.
Now at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver is a
collaborative effort with the Denver Museum of Art. Shade features the work of Clyfford Still at his namesake
museum and the work of contemporary artist Mark Bradford at the Denver Museum
of Art. The exhibit examines the use of the color black in the work of both
artists. This collaborative exhibit runs through July 16,2017. Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the details
and a great video of Bradford talking about his work.
There are also two other intriguing exhibits at the Denver
Art Museum that seem to be at two opposite ends of the spectrum. Abstract Expressionism From The Denver
Art Museum is right in line with the Still/Bradford exhibit. Running
through August 6, 2017 it includes works by Motherwell, Parsons, Mitchell and
Krasner. At the other extreme the museum brings on The Western: An Epic in Art and Film which is showing
concurrently. It covers the genre from the middle of the 19th
century through today and examines the western as fine art, in film and in
popular culture. All of these exhibits are featured at www.denverartmuseum.org so you can
find specifics or just enjoy finding out what is upcoming.
Make Room for
Color Field
is a continuing exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri through
December 31, 2018. The installation consists of 4 works by the most prominent
painters of this genre, Helen Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski and Morris Louis. The
museum’s website at www.nelson-atkins.org will
provide more information.
It’s all about fashion at the
Saint Louis Art Museum. Currently ensconced at the museum, Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015 continues
through September 17, 2017. The exhibit covers the history of men’s attire and
highlights the connection between high fashion and history juxtaposing men’s
and women’s clothing that were worn concurrently. Included are over 150 “looks”
drawn primarily from the Los Angeles County Museum’s vast collection. Also on
display is The Hats of Stephen Jones
which highlights the work of the contemporary British milliner. The
installation is scattered throughout the museum allowing a dialogue between art
and the designers work. Check out the museum’s website at www.slam.org for information on this show that
runs through September 4, 2017 as well as the menswear exhibit.
The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting Gauguin: Artist as
Alchemist
which began June 22, 2017 and ends in September. The show looks past his iconic
paintings and highlights other aspects of his art including his work as a
ceramist, sculptor, printmaker and decorator. It will surely be a wonderful
show. More details are at www.artic.edu for
these fascinating exhibits.
The recent opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African
American History and Culture in Washington D.C. is the culmination of
over a century of work. Founding Director Lonnie Bunch said that “The African
American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an
American.” The website welcomes us with its opening words: A People’s Journey,
A Nation’s Story. It is part of our national history. The museum contains much
memorabilia including both negative and positive. Of course, there is much
history here including examples of slave ships. However, there are more current
examples, including Carl Lewis’ journey, clothes from James Brown and Pearl
Bailey, a trumpet owned by Louis Armstrong and Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac.
Items also includes some owned by Harriet Tubman, the dress Rosa Parks was
sewing when she refused to leave her seat, and clothes designed by Geoffrey
Holder for the award winning Broadway play The
Wiz. Areas include a sports museum and a visual arts museum among others.
The galleries will also feature changing exhibits so check out www.nmaahc.si.edu for information.
At the other end of the spectrum and also in
Washington D.C is Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, the final home of
Marjorie Merriweather Post. She was a collector and in this case it is her
jewelry collection that is on display. Spectacular
Gems and Jewelry will be exhibited through the end of 2017. It includes
jewelry from Cartier, Verdura and Harry Winston among others. It is truly one
of the most comprehensive collections of fine jewelry of the 20th
century. If you are a lover of jewelry www.hillwoodmuseum.org
will give you information and show some of her amazing pieces of eye candy.
The New York Historical Society
has a beautiful website and running through October 9 it also has Eloise at the Museum. Eloise
continues to charm even 60 years after her creation. The exhibit features more
than 75 object from the collaboration of MGM vocal arranger and performer Kay
Thompson and illustrator Hilary Knight. Included are original manuscripts,
drawings, photographs and vintage dolls. This has to be so much fun. The
society also has Picasso’s Le Tricorne
on display. The painted theater curtain from the ballet was produced in 1919. Visitors
can also have a look at Ed Ruscha’s Fanned
Book from 2013. There is much to see at this great venue so check out www.nyhistory.org and prepare to be
surprised by all the wonderful historical pieces on view.
The New York Botanical Garden
is showcasing the work of glass artist Dale Chihuly through October 29, 2017. Chihuly features about 20
installations of his gorgeous glass sculptures and includes early works as well
as drawings. The artist’s amazing work can be seen at www.nybg.org with photos and details.
Open at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York is Robert
Rauschenberg: Among Friends. This retrospective is open until September
17, 2017 and includes many facets of his work and those of friends like Jasper
Johns, Merce Cunningham and John Cage. It features over 250 works in various mediums
which cover over six decades. Meanwhile the museum has pulled together a great
exhibit from its vaults featuring women artists. Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction continues
through August 13. Concentrating on the
work of female artists from about 1945 to 1968, it runs the gamut of what was
happening the art world and contains works by Frankenthaler, Mitchell, Nevelson
and many others so go to www.moma.org for
more information.
Up to date in Brooklyn at the
Brooklyn Museum of Art is Georgia
O’Keefe: Living Modern. The show will be at the museum until July 23.
The Brooklyn Museum is where the artist had her first solo show 90 years ago.
For more about the artist go to www.brooklynmuseum.org
and learn more about this exhibit. In fact, there are exhibits featuring the
artists in two other countries as well. Georgia
O’Keefe is at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto now through July
30, 2017. It features over 80 works by this modernist painter who felt that it
takes courage to be an artist. If you plan to be in Toronto go to http://www.ago.net/georgia-okeeffe
to get information on this show. O’Keefe,
Preston and Cossington Smith: Making Modernism features the work of
American painter Georgia O’Keefe and two Australian painters, all of which had
a profound effect on modernism in art. The Queensland Art Gallery plays host to
the ground breaking exhibit which will make its way across Australia. Find all
the information you need at http://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/
which also has its schedule.
Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim runs
through September 6, 2017 and is at, where else, the Guggenheim Museum in New
York. The exhibit looks at the collection of six patrons including sculptures
by Brancusi and Exploring Alchemy by
Jackson Pollock. Feel free to check www.guggenheim.org
for information and make sure to listen to various curators talk about the
challenges of restoring Red Lilly Pads,
an Alexander Calder mobile. Also learn more about the upcoming Albers In Mexico exhibit.
The Metropolitan Museum of
Art’s exhibition, Irving Penn
Centennial, celebrates the work of the famous American photographer on
his 100th birthday. The exhibit covers Penn’s 70 year career and features
over 200 photographs, 150 of which were a gift to New York’s Metropolitan
Museum. Included are portraits of Picasso, Capote, Colette and Ingmar Bergman.
The Met’s website will have info at www.metmuseum.org
as well as dates and times.
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts
will play host to Matisse in the
Studio from April 9-July 9. It is the first exhibit to examine the
artist’s personal collection of objects and their importance in his art.
Included are 36 paintings and 26 drawings as well as bronzes, cut-outs, prints
and an illustrated book by the artist. Many rare works are included and many
come from personal collections. It is a wonderful show and moves on to the
Royal Academy of Arts in London where it will be on view from August 5–November
12, 2017. Opening on July 6-October 22, 2017 catch The Summer of Love: Photography and Graphic Design which,
you guessed it, features over 120 posters, album covers and photos from 50
years ago and focuses on San Francisco’s Haight-Asbury district. Also coming to
the MFA in Boston is Alfred Stieglitz
and Modern America. This museum was one of the first to collect
photography and has an extensive collection of the photographer’s work. Running
from July 22 – November 5, 2017, the exhibit includes his New York views as
well as portraits of his wife, artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Look at www.mfa.org. to find more information.
Although the exhibit has
closed, there is a wonderful video that came out of this show, Monet and the Post Impressionists.
So many artists found inspiration in their gardens. Now there is a video
available, Painting the Modern Garden:
Monet to Matisse. Find out more by visiting www.royalacademy.org.uk and get the
whole scoop.
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion is currently at the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London until February 18, 2017. The Spanish designer was
known for his architectural approach to fashion. The show features over 100
pieces. The museum has schedules many special events around this exhibit;
including some on pattern making and one on how to make a Balenciaga broach so
check these out at www.vam.ac.uk if these
are of interest.
Currently at the Tate Modern, Giacometti is on view until September
10, 2017. Known primarily as a sculptor, he was also a painter. The museum
brings together over 250 pieces including plasters and drawings that have
rarely been seen and show the arc of his creativity. For more information on these
exhibits www.tate.org.uk will have
everything you need to know.
Helen Frankenthaler After Abstract Expressionism, 1959-1962 will
be on display at the Gagosian Gallery in Paris from June 9-September 16, 2017.
She had spent time developing a soak-stain technique similar to that of
contemporary Morris Louis but returned to an improvised and gestural technique.
The exhibit focuses on just three years in her sixty year career with fourteen
paintings and two works on paper. I am partial to her work and suggest you go
see this exhibit if in Paris. Of course, more information is available at www.gagosian.com, the gallery’s website.
Portraits by Cezanne is at the Musee d’Orsay in
Paris until September 24, 2017. This exhibit explores the changes in the
artist’s style over time using his portraiture as examples. He painted over 200
portraits, many of which are shown in this exhibit. It is a must see for art
lovers since Cezanne influenced so many painters. Check out www.musee-orsay.fr if you will be in Paris
for this show.
Manolo Blahnik:The Art Of Shoes opened earlier this
year in Milan and is a touring exhibit of the designer’s work. The State
Museum Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Museum Kampa in Prague, and the Museo
Nacional de Artes Decorative in Madrid are all on the schedule. The final stop
is in Toronto at the BATA shoe museum in 2017.The exhibit includes over 200
pairs of shoes and 80 sketches. Available at http://www.wheremilan.com/events/exhibition-manolo-blahnik-art-shoes/
find the whole scoop.
Simply the Best:
The best place to find books on
the arts, Arcana is a very
special bookstore located in the Helms Bakery complex in Los Angeles…it’s
wonderful! I have known owner Lee Kaplan for decades and his selection of books
is as superb as his taste is impeccable. Arcana: Books on the Arts is at 8675
Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232. For information go
to http://www.arcanabooks.com or call 310.458.1499.
Michiko Jewelry Design is an
incredible jewelry store in downtown Seal Beach, CA, featuring excellent one-of-a-kind
gifts. The shop owner and artist, Carol Matsumoto, custom designs beautiful
pieces. Michiko is at 228
Main Street. Call 563.431.3237 for more information or check www.michikojewelrydesign.com
Places
to Go, People to See
Did you know that a trip to
Catalina Island and back is free if you go on your birthday? …
if you are willing to wear a
ribbon declaring you to be the birthday person many freebies are available.
Also, throughout the summer, the Catalina Museum hosts Movies at the Museum on Wednesday nights. Upcoming on July
12 is Neptune’s Daughter starring
Esther Williams and Red Skelton and on July 25th the museum will
show Romancing the Stone with Michael
Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Movies start at dusk. Currently the
museum hosts Chihuly at the Catalina
Island Museum, a show of the glass master’s works, and on Thursdays
from 6:00 to 9:00 pm the museum illuminates his glass sculptures for Chihuly at Sunset. To check out
this amazing venue www.catalinamuseum.org
will supply the answers.
Gustave Baumann was a master of
the woodcut print. Currently, and open until August 6, 2017, the Pasadena
Museum of Art is hosting Gustave
Baumann in California. The artist came to the United States from
Germany at an early age and travelled throughout the country. This exhibit
focuses on his time in California. Find more information at www.pmcaonline.org about this amazing
artist.
Marking its 85th
anniversary this year and always a treat, The
Festival of Arts Laguna Beach opens July 5 and is in full swing through
August 31, 2017. The festival includes local art, jewelry, crafts, tours,
workshops and concerts so check our www.lagunafestivalofarts.org for
specific information.
Addendum:
Summer at the Beach
The Life Guard Shack by Donalee Nelson
Since I grew up near the beach
I don’t just think about it during the summer season. I remember walking along
the shore in the sand in winter and swimming with friends during the warm
summer months. My Dad was born and raised in Northern California and we often
visited my grandfather. I grew up in Long Beach. The beaches along the coast of
California are all very different. Long Beach has a breakwater so it was, as I
remember, a gentle beach compared to the intensity of the waves up north. I
understand that there is a move to get rid of the breakwater. It will be interesting
to see the changes to come if that happens. In the meantime, enjoy summer at
the beach in California. The state has some of the most wonderful beaches in
the world.
Continue to check back as we will be posting upcoming shows here and on the exhibits page of my website…and again, there is always Facebook.
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