Winter Trees by Donalee Nelson
About Discipline: But, Baby Its Cold Outside
The landscape seems frozen. It
is grey outside. Flowers have taken a hiatus and the trees are bare and
sculptural. If there is any snow on the ground it is dirty and pushed aside,
not a winter wonderland of white glistening icicles. Baby, it’s cold outside, all
the easier to stay inside and work. Picture a warm, comfy fire roaring inside
with lots of pillows, soft colorful quilts and knitted afghans. Add a hot mug
of coffee, tea or cocoa. Right about now it would be wonderful if inspiration
would set in, but it doesn’t always comply. Now is when discipline comes into
play. If you spend time every day on your creative project it will happen. As a
writer you will not have to look at a blank page. The same goes for the artist
and the blank canvas or hunk of clay. You will already have begun. You are on
your way. Creation isn’t always easy. As a painter, working daily helps me
remember what I figured out the day before and often, accidents turn into
magical forms. The work just gets better and better. As a writer I am no longer
staring at a blank page…I have something to work with if I am consistent and
persistent. So baby, now that it is cold outside there is less to distract
me…let’s get to work!
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. Locally,
there is a fashion exhibit of a different sort at the Santa Barbara Historical
Museum. The West Dressed Woman
runs through March 24, 2019 and features outfits from the museum’s costume
collection. Many garments belonged to prominent local women shown in an
historical context. The best place to learn more is at www.sbhistorical.org where times, dates
and directions are listed.
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. Upcoming to the museum this October 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 beginning in 2019. 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. 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 presents Titian’s ‘Portrait
of a Lady in White,’c. 1561 beginning December 19, 2018 through 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 also.
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. As a special feature Rauschenberg: The ¼ Mile (or 2 Furlong Piece) will be on
view through June 9, 2019. The work took over 17 years to create and consists
of 190 panels. More information is available at www.lacma.org about these exhibits.
Monumentality is currently in place at the Getty Center
in Los Angeles. The exhibition runs through April 21, 2019 and explores various
monuments and why some are still viable while others 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.
Gauguin: a Spiritual Journey will be at the de Young Museum in
San Francisco until April 7, 2019. The exhibit features some of the artist’s
works on paper taken from the museum’s own collection and over fifty paintings,
carvings and ceramics on loan from Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. 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. I am looking forward to Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts
Movement coming up in June 2019. 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 until 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. Two new exhibits take over on January 18, 2019 and run through April
28, 2019. Clyfford Still &
Photography includes around 70 photos from the artist’s archives and
covers the period from 1905 through the mid-1970s. This exhibit also highlights
some comparative paintings, books, clippings and ephemera. Surrounding this is Highlights from the Collection which
includes close to 35 paintings, 35 works on paper and a sculpture by the artist
which covers his 60 year career beginning in 1925. Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the details.
Solitary:
Alienation in Modern Life delves into the concept of alienation in the 19th
and 20th centuries. This exhibit continues at The Nelson-Atkins
Museum in Kansas City, Missouri through May 5, 2019. Many artists have made
works based on the impact of and psychology of aloneness in modern times
including Kirchner, Klee, Matisse, Miro and Otto Dix who are all represented in
this show. 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 dejeuner
sur l’herbe, Olympia, and Un Bar aux Folies-Bergere. 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 which opened
November 4, 2018. Joining the Japanese Wing are the new Asian Galleries which
include works from China, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Buddhist Art from
all over Asia. Detroit Collects:
Selections of African American Art from Private Collections will be on
view later in the fall and run until 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 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 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. The Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden and Plaza,
also part of the Smithsonian, features a wide range of sculpture from Auguste
Rodin to more modern examples like those of Jean Arp. It is a great outdoor
space with an ongoing display of many of the finest sculptures in the world. Make
sure to check out Kusama’s Pumpkin.
Gordon
Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950 is at The National Gallery of Art in
Washington D.C. until February 18, 2019. The exhibit covers the early years of
his career and features 150 photographs and ephemera. It follows his path and
influences as well as close relationships with Roy Stryker, Langston Hughes, Richard
Wright, and Ralph Ellison. Find out more about this great 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 Fabergé Rediscovered is on view and is about to end but will be followed by Perfume and Seduction beginning
on February 16, 2019. 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.
Humble and Human: An Exhibition in Honor of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. is a
collaboration of two great museums. Both the Albright-Knox Museum in Buffalo,
New York and the Detroit Institute of Arts are among my favorites. The exhibit
starts in Buffalo on February 2, 2019 – May 26, 2019 and then travels to the
DIA. Ralph Wilson Jr. lived in Detroit and was the founding owner of the
Buffalo Bills. He was also a philanthropist. The exhibit features work by Cézanne,
Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir 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. Harry Potter: A
History of Magic is at the museum from a collaboration with a British
Library exhibition. Many of the objects on display are from the personal archives
of the author, publisher and illustrator. Harry Potter is there until January
27, 2019 so be sure and hurry. 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.
You’ll need to make haste if
you want to catch Delacroix the
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. Play it Loud: Instruments of Rock &
Roll, presented in concert with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, comes
to the Met on April 8 – October 1, 2019. Exploring the relationship between
musicians and their instruments, about 130 instruments and costumes will be on
display. 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. Upcoming in February is Joan Miró: Birth of the World.
The exhibit examines the painting which was inspired by a poem and puts it in
context with the artist’s other paintings. The museum website at www.moma.org has more information.
Andy Warhol – From A To B And
Back Again is at the Whitney in New York until March 31,
2019. The exhibit is the first to focus on the artist by a U.S. institution
since 1989. Warhol experimented with many techniques and was an important and
influential artist. For more about his life and art go to www.whitney.org and find much 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. Ending soon, 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, 2019. Ongoing, the museum explores its own
roots in Collecting Stories: Native
American Art by reflecting on some of its early acquisitions. Ansel Adams in Our Time is on
view until February 24, 2019. The show explores the artist’s influences and
puts his work in the context of more recent photographers. A unique opportunity
presents itself as the museum offers Exhibition
Lab: Sargent and Fashion through June 23, 2019. As a precursor to a
huge Sargent exhibit coming in 2020-22, this show allows visitors to give input
for the big show that the museum is co-organizing with the Tate. 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. Empress of China’s Forbidden City
features 200 objects from the Palace Museum which are on display through
February 10, 2019. The idea of the exhibit is to shed light on the influence of
imperial women on court politics, art and religion. 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. Opening February
2, 2019 – July 2019, Christian Dior:
Designer of Dreams, takes a look at one of the most influential
clothing designers of the twentieth century. Dior created the New Look, which
included fuller skirts that were right in step after the restrictions of WWII.
His assistant was a young man, Yves Saint Laurent, who took on the mantle of
head designer when Dior died, and became equally as famous. 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. In 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 Leger: 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
brothers-in-law and rivals. This show traces the creative links between the
two. Find more information at www.nationalgallery.org.uk
when you look for details.
Jeff Koons is at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum beginning February
7 – June 9, 2019. The combination of one of the most subversive artists and the
world’s oldest public museum will be interesting. The exhibit is curated with
the artist himself which also adds a surprising element. Spanning over 4
decades and featuring 17 major works, the show will undoubtedly spark
controversy. 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 2019. 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.
For a look at a different kind
of architecture head over to Palm Springs, California. However, if you wait
until February you can participate in Modernism
Week which takes place in that city February 14 – 24, 2019. Seventy
events are scheduled for that week including tours of the famous Frey House II,
lectures, a design expo, and elegant parties among other things. If you are
into mid-century mod check out www.modernismweek
for the 911.
Addendum:
Happy Valentine’s Day:
Wishing
you all lots of love and happiness.
Be Mine by Donalee Nelson
