California Spring by Donalee Nelson
Happy
Holidays:
We enjoy wishing you all ‘Happy
Holidays’. It is so inclusive so all the better. We love to continually learn…new
ideas, more in depth knowledge of old ideas, different ways to do
things…anything that makes life more meaningful and more fulfilling.
Our family celebrated on Christmas Eve…getting
a tree, decorating it, preparing a meal and sharing gifts. That didn’t mean
that Santa didn’t fill our stockings on Christmas Day. Our grandfather always
put an apple or an orange in along with a can of Campbell’s Tomato soup. He
recognized that icon long before Andy Warhol did. Our friend, Allene’s
grandmother, Donna, always left a brown paper bag with fruit, a drawing and a
thoughtful note at the door on holidays and birthdays. We were so lucky. We had
incredible role models. I loved these gifts and believed that others would
respond similarly. Right now the world is tense which is why we shared this
painting of spring in California. It is a message of hope so we are sending
wishes of Peace, Love, Joy, Compassion, Happiness, Good Will, Empathy,
Humanity, Strength, Health, and a planet that flourishes. Happy dreams and love
to all.
Highlights
For the first time the National
Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. is featuring a fashion exhibit. Rodarte is a comprehensive show
of the work of its designers and founders, sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy.
Their innovative work can be seen November 10, 2018 through February 10, 2019.
For more, go to www.nmwa.org to see
information on one of my favorite fashion houses and their work.
Special Events
At the Clyfford Still Museum in
Denver there are two special events coming up. As a special free event on November 3, 2018
visitors will enjoy a visit to exhibits and be able to make their own keepsake
in the Making Space area. Two days later on November 5, 2018 on Facebook Live - Unrolling History: The
Final Paintings will be unrolled after thirty years. Look for it on
Facebook and sign up to witness the event. Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the details.
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
When Sugar Loaf Stood is now on view at The Catalina
Island Museum until January 27, 2019. It is the first exhibit on the island to
feature California Impressionist paintings that focus on the island itself. Not
only are the paintings fine representatives of the impressionist movement in
California, they tell the history of the island. Many excellent painters
including the Wachtels, William Wendt and Franz Bischoff can be found in this
show. Find out more about these exhibits and the Catalina Island Museum at www.catalinamuseum.org and take a
tour.
If you love Laguna Beach you
will be interested in Art Colony: The
Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935 at the Laguna Museum. The show
runs through January 13, 2019. Coming to the museum is Thomas Hunt: California Modernist. Mr. Hunt was the son of a preeminent Canadian painter. He moved to Laguna where he painted many
seascapes and helped found the Laguna Museum. A supreme colorist, Mr. Hunt’s
work will be on view next year. My mother and I spent many wonderful times in
Laguna wandering through the various art galleries. Many were off the beaten
track. Celebrating the centennial of the beginning of the art association in
this beautiful beach town, the current exhibit features paintings by many of
its founders. If you are as anxious as I am to see it, take the time to get a
preliminary look at www.lagunaartmuseum.org
and learn more about this exhibit.
African Twilight: Vanishing Rituals & Ceremonies is
currently at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. The exhibit, which runs through
January 6, 2019, includes the work of Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. The
photographs and films were taken over the last 15 years as they traveled to
over 45 countries. Take a look at www.bowers.org
for more facts and interesting information.
Highlights of the
Permanent Collection celebrates the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s 75th
anniversary. The exhibit features some of the museum’s most well-known pieces. The
Armand Hammer Foundation has loaned some amazing Impressionist and Post-Impressionist
paintings to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Also on view until November 11,
2018 is Fauvism to Fascism
featuring the work of artists Derain and Vlaminck. Fauvism was expressionism on
steroids…with the use of bright colors and very gestural strokes. Many artists
were considered Fauves for a period of time and left to pursue other types of
art. Vlaminck and Derain also took other paths, and ultimately were supported
by the arts administration under the Third Reich, which politicized their work
to advance the agenda of the Nazis. This should be an interesting and revealing
show. Of course, Portrait of Mexico
Today, painted by
David Alfaro Siqueiros 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. Check on line at www.sbmuseart.org/ for more details.
The Norton Simon Museum in
Pasadena will present Titian’s
‘Portrait of a Lady in White,’c. 1561 beginning December 19, 2018 –
March 25, 2019. No one knows for certain who the subject was but Titian
referred to her in letters as someone very dear to him and, in fact, called her
the mistress of his soul. To learn more about the charming portrait go to the
museum website at www.nortonsimon.org
and also get information on upcoming exhibits.
Rauschenberg: In and About L.A. is now at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art through February 10, 2019. Although he lived in
New York and Florida for the most part, Rauschenberg was stationed at Camp
Pendleton in 1944 - 1945 and visited his first museum in Los Angeles. In the
1960s and 1970s he worked in the L.A. area and the exhibit features works the
artist created in the southland. More information is at www.lacma.org about this exhibit.
Monumentality is coming to the Getty Center in Los
Angeles. The exhibition runs December 4, 2018 –April 21, 2019 and explores
various monuments and why some are still viable while some are not. The center
also has many Online Exhibitions as well as Traveling Exhibitions. Information
at www.getty.edu will fill you in on what is
going on as well as with dates and times.
Fans of the Eighteenth Century is ensconced at the de Young
Museum in San Francisco. The exhibit is culled from the museum’s own collection
and is on view until April of next year. 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.
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., and there are interesting videos on
the museum website. Go to www.seattleartmuseum.org
to obtain more information. All are wonderful and the interactive videos online
are great!
The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver continues to present
intriguing shows. Currently on view is a special exhibit curated by the younger
of his two daughters, Sandra Still Campbell. A Daughter’s Eye/A Daughter’s Voice is at the museum
September 14, 2018-January 13, 2019. Many of these works on view were unrolled
and stretched for the first time just for this show. Campbell’s recollections
about her father and his art occur in a podcast and wall texts. She is able to
make connections between paintings that are unexpected and elaborate on his
process. She recounts the idea of recapitulation he used in reference to his
process. The term, used in musical theory, refers to repetition with slight
changes. She recounts how her father was “all about the fire of the human
spirit” and fought against sterility. I’m expecting this to be an incredible
exhibit. Also on view is A Light of
His Own: Clyfford Still at Yaddo. Yaddo is an artists’ retreat in
Saratoga Springs, New York. Still was a young graduate student at this time. During
this period in his artistic journey he began to move toward painting from inner
comprehension, as opposed to reacting to what he saw on the outside. The
exhibit features 19 small paintings that he created at the retreat. Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the details.
Make Room for
Color Field
continues at The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri until December
30, 2018. The exhibit highlights three of the leading exponents of color field
painting. It includes four works by Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis and Jules
Olitski. The technique consists of merging thinned paint with unprimed canvas.
These are some of my favorite artists. The museum’s website at www.nelson-atkins.org
will provide more information.
This may be a bit premature but I was pleased to learn
that The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting the first exhibition of the work
of Edouard Manet at the museum in more than fifty years. Manet and Modern Beauty opens May 26, 2019 – September 8,
2019. This show focuses on his later work, specifically the paintings he did of
actresses, models, and female friends. During this period in his life he also
did a beautiful series of floral still lives. He was quite ill at this point
and in a great deal of pain and was having trouble walking. He is perhaps most
well-known for the paintings Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, Olympia, and Un Bar aux Folies Bergère. My favorites
are, however, these later works so it will be wonderful to see this show. More
details are at www.artic.edu for this and
other fascinating exhibits.
The Detroit Institute of Arts has expanded its Asian Galleries
and they open November 4, 2018. Upcoming is Detroit Collects: Selections of African American Art from Private
Collections which will be on view November 3, 2018 – March 1, 2020. Featuring
the work of Romare Bearden, Al Loving, Charles McGee and Gilda Snowden, this
exhibit is culled from local collectors. The museum website is at www.dia.org and has information on this show and
its collections.
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 include 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 only permanent art exhibit on the
mall will be Visual Art and the
American Experience, which focuses on the contribution Americans of
African descent made to the history of American Art. The galleries will also
feature changing exhibits so check out www.nmaahc.si.edu
for information.
Corot:
Women is at The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. until
December 31, 2018. The French artist is most known for his pastoral scenes.
This show concentrates on his lesser known portraits and features many of his
later works. Corot’s paintings of women inspired many great artists including Cézanne, Picasso and Braque. Find out more about this wonderful show at www.nga.gov with more examples for you to enjoy.
While you are in Washington D.C you might
also want to take a look at the Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, the final
home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. She was a collector and her home is open
with special exhibits. Currently, the museum hosts Fabergé Rediscovered. The exhibit continues until January
2019. Mrs. Post collected over 90 pieces of Fabergé. If you are a lover of the
decorative arts this is a good place to go and www.hillwoodmuseum.org will give you
information and reveal some of her amazing pieces of eye candy.
Fabulous Fashion: From Dior’s New Look to Now should
be on every fashionista’s list. In fact, the exhibit, which is at The Philadelphia
Museum of Art through March 3, 2019, should be a draw for any art lover. The
show is from the museum’s own collection so visit the museum’s website for
descriptions of this exhibit at www.philamuseum.org
and see more information about other shows as well.
Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s is currently at one of
my favorite venues. The Albright-Knox Museum in Buffalo, New York hosts this
show through January 6, 2019. It was an explosive era with many radical changes
that affected the art world significantly. Movements such as Op Art, Pop Art
and Minimalism flourished at the time. The exhibit features work by Andy
Warhol, Frank Stella and Bridget Riley among others. The museum’s website at www.albrightknox.org has some interesting
insights on the show.
The New York Historical Society
has a beautiful website that you must see. The fourth floor of the museum has
been turned into a Gallery of Tiffany
Lamps from the museum’s extensive collection. This ongoing exhibit
features 100 lamps, many designed by women. Starting in November and ongoing is
Audubon’s Birds of America Focus
Gallery which will display watercolor models for the artist’s work, The Birds of America. 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. Coming up in October, Harry
Potter: A History of Magic comes to the museum from a collaboration
with a British Library exhibition. Many of the objects on display are from the
publisher’s, author’s and illustrator’s own archives. 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.
Delacroix is a comprehensive exhibit of the artist’s work
currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The work of the
influential artist is on display through January 6, 2019. The nineteenth
century French painter produced a large body of work and with over 150 pieces
of work this retrospective is the first comprehensive show of Delacroix’s work
held in North America. More information on this special show is at www.metmuseum.org so look for highlights there.
The
Museum of Modern Art in New York is hosting Constantin Brâncuși Sculpture from the museum’s collection
of his work. The show runs until February 24, 2019 and features 11 of his works
as well as photos and other archival material. His use of wood, metals and
stone in his pieces set them apart so go to www.moma.org
for more information.
Several ongoing shows are at
the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Since the museum has an extensive collection
it is featuring the work of Constantin Brâncuși, one of the most important sculptors of the 20th
century. The Guggenheim started collecting his work in the 1950s and it is
their impressive collection that is on display. Also ongoing at the museum is
the Thannhauser Collection
which features many French masterpieces by such artists as Degas and Picasso.
Don’t forget to check out other museum locations such as Bilbao and Venice.
Bilbao has a great Giacometti show as well as one from van Gogh to Picasso. Feel
free to go to 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.
The Boston Museum of Fine Art
has a rare exhibit of fragile pastels. French
Pastels: Treasures from the Vault showcases a collection of many of
these works that have rarely come together for public viewing. The exhibit,
which includes works by Monet, Millet and, of course, Degas among others will
be up until January 6 of next year. Ongoing, the museum explores its own roots
in Collecting Stories: Native
American Art by reflecting on some of its early acquisitions. Continue
to check so you don’t miss anything because coming up soon is Casanova’s Europe: Art, Pleasure, and
Power in the 18th Century. Please be sure and look at www.mfa.org to find more information.
The Peabody Essex Museum in
Salem, Massachusetts has a plethora of interesting exhibits ending December 30,
2018. Raven’s Many Gifts: Native Art
of the Northwest Coast focuses on the museum's own collection of this
art covering the past 200 years. Double
Happiness: Celebration in Chinese Art and its companion exhibit, Importing Splendor: Luxuries from China
have titles that are self-explanatory. MegaCity:
India’s Culture of the Street examines the changes in art that happened
as India obtained independence. Japanomania!
Japanese Art Goes Global focuses on the museum’s vast collection of
Japanese export art. The place to find more information is www.pem.org and get a view of these engaging
exhibits.
There are wonderful exhibits
currently at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. On view through January
2019 is Fashioned from Nature,
which explores the relationship between fashionable dress with natural history
specimens and the development of innovative fabrics and dyes. For more
information check these out at www.vam.ac.uk
if they are of interest.
The Tate Britain is showing works
by Edward Burne-Jones, one of
the last of the Pre-Raphaelites. The show runs through February 24, 2019 and
features more than 150 0bjects including paintings, tapestries and stained
glass. Looking forward to January 2019, the Tate Modern shares the work of one
of the finest colorists of the 19th century with its show, Bonnard: The Color of Memory. At
the Tate Liverpool there is Fernand Léger: New Times, New Pleasures which highlights the influence of
modern life on the artist. For more information on these exhibits www.tate.org.uk will have everything you need
to know. While you are there, check out the amazing videos at the site about
various exhibitions.
Two exciting exhibits are
currently at The National Gallery in London. Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cézanne will be at
the gallery through January 20, 2019. Featured are over 40 masterpieces. Also
on view is Mantegna and Bellini,
two of the great painters of the Renaissance. Incidentally, they were also
brother-in-laws and rivals. This show traces the creative links between the
two. Find more information at www.nationalgallery.org.uk
when you look for details.
At Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum No Offence: Exploring LGBTQ + Histories
takes the viewer through the ways gender diversity has been expressed
throughout history and across cultures. Commemorating the 50th
anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act, the show is up through December 2,
2018. Check out their website at www.ashmolean.org
for information plus some interesting videos.
So many exciting exhibits are at
the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Picasso:
Blue and Rose runs through the beginning of January of next year. The
exhibit covers the artist’s blue and rose periods from 1900 – 1906. Included
are paintings, drawing, sculptures and engravings. Also Renoir Father and Son: Painting and Cinema will be at the
museum followed by Berthe Morisot:
Female Impressionist and Degas
at the Opera which is scheduled for 2019. Check out www.musee-orsay.fr if you will be in Paris
for any of these shows.
The Musée Unterlinden in Colmar, France underwent a
renovation and expansion in 2016. In the Alsace region, the museum has been in
existence since 1853 and is home to Gruenwald’s Medieval masterpiece, Isenheim Altarpiece, as well as one of
only 3 tapestries of Guernica
approved by Picasso. It also has a large collection of Dubuffet artwork. The
National Geographic station aired the made-for-television series on Picasso’s
life which features a dramatization of the making of Guernica and how it came to be and why. I had the privilege of
seeing the work at MoMA years ago. As I got off the elevator in the museum I
came face to face with this large masterpiece. I have never forgotten the
experience. The museum’s website at www.musee-unterlinden.com,
is very informative.
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 is
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
UC Santa Barbara just received
a treasure trove of drawings by the late architect Lockwood De Forest III. His Italy Scrapbook was made on a
trip he took in 1921. The drawings are primarily of gardens so are of interest
to artists and gardeners alike. In order to view it call the UC Art and
Architecture Museum in Santa Barbara at 805.893.2951 to make an appointment.
One of California’s great
architectural treasures, along with Hearst Castle to the north, The Adamson House and Malibu Lagoon
Museum is a spectacular Spanish Colonial style home overlooking the
Pacific Ocean. It was built in 1929 and most of its contents are original with
wonderful Malibu Tile work. It is open to the public Thursday – Saturday and
you can take a tour between 1-3pm. Get all the information at www.adamsonhouse.org and see some
wonderful photos of the house and grounds. My grandparents built their Southern
California home around the same time. It was a Spanish style California
bungalow and though it was much smaller and not at all elaborate, I still love
this kind of special architecture.
Around this time of year in
California there are many beach cities that put on festivals featuring lighted
boats. I know where I grew up, in Long Beach, the Naples district hosts a lighted boat parade every year…check
your neighborhood to find the closest one.
Hearst Castle, designed by
Julia Morgan, is beautifully decorated for the holidays so it’s a great time
for a tour. Christmas at Hearst
Castle tours begin on Thanksgiving weekend and end on December 30.
These tours are beautiful and wheelchair accessible. The website at www.hearstcastle.org has all the
information.
Christmas at the Inns, at the Asilomar Conference
Grounds in Pacific Grove, is celebrating its 38th Anniversary. This
year it is happening November 27 – 28. The Inns will be decorated and Julia
Morgan, our favorite architect, will be a featured topic. You can extend your
visit and stay for Thanksgiving if you like. There is a plethora of information
at www.visitasilomar.com which also
has information on other conferences and happenings and where you can make a
reservation.
And finally the Indio International Tamale Festival
takes place December 1 – 2. Over 60 food booths will be there, as well as those
filled with arts and crafts…I understand Mr. Tamale will make an appearance so if
you are a tamale and beer lover you could not find a better venue. For more
information go to www.tamalefestival.net
so you can kick off the holiday season in style.
