Friday, September 27, 2013

A Day at the Met – Some Brief Remarks

By Charles Kessler

I've been seeing a lot of art lately, some of which I thought was pretty good, but for some reason I haven't felt like writing about it. When this happens, I go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to recharge.
The Met's David Koch plaza and fountains have been under construction for a year now. What's up? 
The Met installed four awesome (and I mean that literally) Caravaggio paintings together in gallery #621 (up the Grand Stairway and to the right),

including this touching painting (below) from a private collection. There's no information about the painting on the Met's otherwise abundantly informative website, not even a reproduction of the painting – so a photo that I took will have to suffice.
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, oil on canvas, early 1600s. 
The wall label states that the painting is one of the few Caravaggio's that was commissioned by an individual for private devotional purposes, and the painting is in fact so intimate that it feels embarrassingly voyeuristic to look in on the Holy Family during this private moment. Note also how Saint Joseph is pressing John the Baptist's fingers on Jesus's thigh, but he's not touching the Baby himself (that's the Virgin's somewhat manly right hand around the Child – not Joseph's). Caravaggio here is emphasizing the minor role Joseph plays in this drama – he isn't the father. (Later, however, he begat many of Christ's brothers and sisters.)

Another new small installation is a grouping of three 1920's paintings that Matisse made when he lived in Nice. It's located in the Modern and Contemporary wing, gallery 917. I'm familiar with The Three O'Clock Sitting, but I don't remember seeing the other two before. For all I know they could have been hanging in various places at the Met for years, but seeing them together, and in their own space, made me notice them.
From left to right: The Three O'Clock Sitting, 1924; Girl by a Window, 1921; and The Goldfish Bowl, Winter, 1921-22. 
Not too far from the Matisses are the contemporary galleries. 
Why do museums so often install contemporary art in these over-bright, over-large, over-dramatic spaces? Wouldn't this work look more substantial, less flashy, in a space like gallery 919, the Clyfford Still Room (below)? 
Gallery 919, the Clyfford Still room (which BTW, looks less crowded and busy since they removed the David Smith sculpture from the middle of the room).
In the stairwell going from the second to the first floor of the Contemporary and Modern wing (Gallery 903) is a bizarre Kiki Smith sculpture, a crouching female figure hanging upside-down on the wall. I noticed, for the first time, that as you pass by you look right in the disturbingly realistic eyes of the figure. 
Installation view, Kiki Smith, Lilith, 1994, bronze with glass eyes, 31 1/2 x 27 x 17 1/2 inches.
Finally, the Chinese wing is closed for "infrastructure upgrades" until December. But it's worth visiting the hallway leading to the Chinese wing (Gallery 207) because they recently added to their collection of ancient Chinese bronzes that were on display there. (What is it that's so profoundly strange, and even a bit creepy, about ancient Chinese bronzes?)
Ancient Chinese bronzes located just inside the hallway leading to the Chinese wing.
and further down the hallway is an entire wall of snuff bottles that you could spend hours enjoying.
Room 207 –  the end of the hallway near the entrance to the Chinese wing.
Snuff Bottle, Late 18th century, Qing dynasty, agate with glass stopper, 2 1/2 x 2 1/8 x 1 inches.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

The World's Best Table of New York Museum Hours

By Charles Kessler

Photo from The College Guild Website.
I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've gone to the Whitney on a Friday morning, or the Guggenheim on a Thursday. Let's just say they were closed enough times that I decided to make a table of the hours of all the major New York museums. For your convenience, I'm sharing it with you.

Caveats: 
  • The hours are accurate as of now – but they change. For the most up-to-date information, check the museum website. (The names of the museums are hyperlinks to their websites.)
  • This post will not be updated, but the table will be available in the right sidebar under the heading "Gallery and Museum Guides," and I will try to keep that one current. 
  • The best table to print is the one in the sidebar. If you're having trouble, copy and paste it to a blank document. 
  • "Free" doesn't really mean free – I used it as a shorthand for "pay what you wish."
  • I don't know why there are weird quirks in the formatting, like that line between the Jewish Museum and its address. Google Blogger HTML for this table is incredibly complicated, and there's nothing I can do to fix it. 

Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday


Sunday


Park @ 70th  

Closed
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
(until 9 pm in summer)
11 - 6
11 - 6

200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn

Closed
Closed
11 - 6
11 - 10
11 - 6
11 - 6
(1st Sat. of month open until 11pm)
11 - 6

5th Ave. 
@ 104th

Closed
Closed
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
Closed

5th Ave. 
@ 70th

Closed
10 - 6
10 - 6
10 - 6
10 - 6
10 - 6
11 - 5 
Free 11-1
5th Ave. 
@ 89th

10 - 5:45
10 - 5:45
10 - 5:45
Closed
10 - 5:45
10 - 7:45 Free 5:45 - 7:45
10 - 5:45
11 - 5:45
11 - 5:45
Closed
11 - 8 
Free 5 - 8
11 - 5:45
11 - 5:45
11 - 5:45
5th Ave. 
@ 92nd  


5th Ave. 
@ 82nd

   10:00 - 
5:30
   10:00 - 
5:30
   10:00 
5:30
   10:00 - 
5:30
10:00 - 
9:00
10:00 - 
9:00
10:00 - 
5:30


MOMA
53rd between
5th and 6th

    10:30 - 
5:30
    10:30 - 
5:30
    10:30 - 
5:30
10:30 - 5:30 (until 8pm in summer)
    10:30 - 
8:00
    10:30 - 
5:30
    10:30 - 
5:30

Morgan
225 Madison @ 36th

Closed
    10:30 - 
5:00
    10:30 - 
5:00
    10:30 - 
5:00
   10:30 - 
9:00
10 - 6
11 - 6

National Academy
5th Ave. 
@ 89th

Closed
Closed
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6

New Museum
235 Bowery
@ Prince

Closed
Closed
11 - 6
11 - 9 
Free 7 - 9
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6

Neue Galerie
5th Ave. 
@ 86th

11 - 6
Closed
Closed
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6
11 - 6

PS 1
22-25 Jackson Ave. @ 46th Ave., Queens

12 - 6
Closed
Closed
12 - 6
12 - 6
12 - 6
12 - 6

Rubin
17th between 6th & 7th Ave.

11 – 5
Closed
11 - 7
11 - 5
11 - 10
11 - 6
11 - 6

Whitney
945 Madison Ave. @ 75th 

Closed
Closed
11 - 6
11 - 6
- 9 
Free 6 - 9
11 - 6
11 - 6


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Art Scene Summer Slumber Ending

By Charles Kessler

According to NYArtBeat.com, there are 24 openings in Chelsea Thursday night. From my experience, there could easily be twice as many, and if it's a nice night, and if Rosh Hashana isn't a factor, the streets will be packed. Highlights include:

  • Frederick Hammersley at Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe, 525 W. 22nd Street. Hammersley was (he died in 2009) one of Los Angeles's early abstractionist. He may not be in John McLaughlin's league, but he's pretty good. 

Frederick Hammersley, Self centered, #4, 1994, oil on linen, framed: 20 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches. 


Paul Resika, Lamp, Chair and Skull (Provincetown), June 1947, oil on Masonite, 48 X 39 inches.


In Bushwick, according to the Bushwick & Ridgewood Gallery Guide (the most extensive and up-to-date guide), eight galleries are opening Friday night, six of them at the 56 Bogart building. Likely to be interesting are Richard Paul at Theodore:ART and Tim Spelios at Studio10, both at 56 Bogart. On Saturday, BTW, there's the opening of Deborah Brown's new large space, Storefront Ten Eyck, 324 Ten Eyck Street.

You can also expect a lot of openings on the Lower East Side Friday night when most of the galleries usually have their openings. Of special interest is "Cary Leibowitz (paintings and buckles)" at Invisible-Exports in their new space at 89 Eldridge Street (just above Grand); and "RICHARD KERN: Medicated, etc, " a photography exhibition and book launch at Feature Inc., 131 Allen Street (between Rivington and Delancey).

The best news is the Canada Gallery, on Friday the 13th, will open their new space at 333 Broome Street (between Chrystie and Bowery). The space has been a long renovation nightmare for them, and they will be opening with the work of Joanna Malinowska.  I love the gallery and wish them well.