Highlights from My Trip to New York!!

Otto Dix, The Dancer Anita Berber (1925)


Hello Everyone!!

I am back in Madison, fresh off my trip to New York. I saw so much, met some great people, saw old friends and attempted to blaze new trails! The week started off with a bang; tons of galleries on Wednesday and a stop by Sotheby's. I was able to see part of the American paintings auction as it was going on, and the energy in the salesroom looked good! After a blockbuster Wednesday, did some more gallery and museum touring on Thursday and then Friday did a whirlwind tour of some of the exhibits that I had been dying to see. Highlights include:

Otto Dix at the Neue Galerie, (see the above portrait of Anita Berber who I will be posting on later this week because I am completely in love after that exhibition). A revelation for me, I always visit the Neue to see my favorites Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka but Dix has never had a huge draw for me. The exhibit reveals his character by theme and the war and dance hall works were completely know and absolutely beautiful. I am so excited to have a new artist to learn about and one that depicts one of my favorite periods in art history, the early years of the Wiemar Republic. I will be posting on him soon so you can have a better idea of why I think he is so fantastic! :)

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present at the MoMA (see post from Tuesday, April 13, 2010) It was a very interesting exhibit but it seemed like so much information, a complete retrospective of her career, was jammed into a small space. The legion of performance artists performing different aspects of her previous work was strange because the artist was not present in those works anymore and they lost some of their power because of that. Also, the videos of her older work were at times starkly beautiful but at others incomprehensible in their new circumstances. The most interesting and riveting part of the experience was the artist herself seated in the atrium. Though I did not have the time, or patience, to wait to sit across from her myself, observing her intense concentration and full commitment to the work was absolutely fantastic.


Manuscript Illumination: The Belle Hueres of the Duc du Berry by the Limborg Brothers at the Met (see post from Wednesday, April 14, 2010) So fabulous! The entire manuscript is displayed in glass cases with magnifying glasses for each (the only way you are able to fully appreciate the minute details of these works). I was so glad that I was able to see this work that I adore so much in its entirety. By no means the most exciting exhibit in New York it was something I truly enjoyed and if you have any fondness for beautiful craftsmanship and intricate detail, it is a must-see.

Picasso at the Met
Great, nothing spectacularly new. The Gertrude Stein portrait was obviously a huge draw but the rest of the exhibit was much more of a general sketch. Important for anyone with little to no knowledge of the artist, it was a fantastic introduction to all the different themes of his career but lacked some of his blockbuster works.


Malevich at the Guggenheim (see post from Wednesday, May 12, 2010)
The Russian does no wrong in my eyes, as is obvious from my worshipful post. A beautiful show, completely overshadowed the Haunting exhibit going on in the lower floors.

I have included some pictures I took. Both beautiful and a bit fun, like my afternoon at the Cafe Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie (below).