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The 31st Annual National Arts Club Roundtable Exhibition
Just picked up "New York Icons, Chrysler & Empire" from the framers for:
The 31st Annual National Arts Club Roundtable Exhibition: June 7-30, 2023
Trask Gallery, 15 Gramercy Park South
Opening reception is June 9 at 6:30.
New York Icons, Chrysler & Empire, 2000, 27" x 28" framed, printed 2023
© Paula Barr & Artists Rights Society (ARSNY)
The Roundtable Exhibit features work by Roundtable Committee members and their guests. This exhibit brings together established and emerging artists, offering them an opportunity to share their aesthetic explorations and latest accomplishments. The works encompass a variety of genres and materials.
The Brooklyn Bridge, an American Icon, Turns 140 Years Old on May 24th, 2023
Popularly referred to as “the eighth wonder of the world,” the bridge was, at the time of its construction, the largest suspension bridge in the world. Today, it connects New Yorkers with their past and each other.
Brooklyn Bridge, 1983, Silver dye bleach photograph (Cibachrome), image/sheet: 20 x 40 in. (50.8 x 101.6 cm)
Collection of the Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 84.26.3
As a photographer for the NY/NJ Port Authority I had the pleasure of photographing many of these iconic buildings and bridges of the NYC landscape, sometimes in 360 degrees.
Honoring the World Trade Center - 9/11/2001 - 9/11/2022
The WTC in a mud-puddle,1974, taken from West Street before the building of the West Side Highway. © Paula Barr & Artists Rights Society (ARSNY).
The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a large complex of seven buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. At the time of their completion, the Twin Towers—the original 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower) at 1,368 feet (417 m); and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower) at 1,362 feet (415.1 m)—were the tallest buildings in the world.
The core complex was built between 1966 and 1975, at a cost of $400 million (equivalent to $3.56 billion in 2022). The idea was suggested by David Rockefeller to help stimulate urban renewal in Lower Manhattan, and his brother Nelson signed the legislation to build it. The buildings at the complex were designed by Minoru Yamasaki. In 1998, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decided to privatize it by leasing the buildings to a private company to manage. It awarded the lease to Silverstein Properties in July 2001. During its existence, the World Trade Center symbolized globalization and the economic power of America. The Twin Towers became an icon of New York City. It had a major role in popular culture, and according to one estimate was depicted in 472 films. Following the September 11 attacks, mentions of the complex in various media were altered or deleted, and several dozen "memorial films" were created.
The Statue of Liberty and the WTC. © Paula Barr & Artists Rights Society (ARSNY).
Remembering Hurricane Katrina on its 17th anniversary
17 years ago today, on August 29, 2005, New Orleans’ poorly maintained levees broke and flooded the city when #HurricaneKatrina hit New Orleans. The privileged few were able to flee the disaster while thousands were left in flooded streets and on the rooftops of their homes. Over 1,800 people died as a result.
Bathroom in private home on Lake Pontchartrain, LA.
Katrina brought widespread damage and death to New Orleans and surrounding areas, including parts of Mississippi and Alabama.
Corner store, 9th Ward, New Orleans
Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes to strike the United States in recorded history. Katrina's destruction wasn't limited to just Louisiana and Mississippi, with damage reported as far east as the Florida Panhandle due to the large wind field and storm surge associated with the hurricane. In all, Hurricane Katrina was responsible for 1,833 fatalities and caused $125 billion dollars in damage.
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Water Towers (New York, United States), 1978–79
The German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher (1931–2007; 1934–2015) changed the course of late twentieth-century photography. Working as a rare artist couple, they focused on a single subject: the disappearing industrial architecture of Western Europe and North America. Their objective style resonated with the serial approach of contemporary Minimalism and Conceptual art.
Using a large-format view camera, the Bechers methodically recorded blast furnaces, winding towers, grain silos, cooling towers, and gas tanks with precision, elegance, and passion. Their rigorous, standardized practice allowed for comparative analyses of structures that they exhibited in grids of between four and thirty photographs.
This posthumous retrospective is shown with the minimalist works by Carl Andre and Sol LeWitt. As you leave the exhibition you see how the Becher's fit so well into contemporary sculpture.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue July 15 – November 6, 2022
Winslow Homer: Cross Currents
Image above: The Life Brigade, ca. 1882, Oil on canvas
This work startled me with its minimalist composition, palette and brush. Homer is a master of color and paint found in his oils and watercolors.
At Cullercoats, Homer painted almost exclusively in watercolor; this remarkably bold oil sketch was likely produced after his return to the United States. Inspired by scenes of rescue and his admiration for the local volunteer lifesaving crews that he had witnessed in action.
It’s a knockout. The Washington Post
The exhibition was on view at The Met April 11 - July 31, 2022.
Holbein: Capturing Character
Reflecting on the Morgan Library’s Hans Holbein Exhibition February 11-May 15, 2022.
This will be the first major U.S. exhibition dedicated to the art of Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98–1543), who created captivating portraits of courtiers, merchants, scholars, and statesmen in Basel, Switzerland, and later in England and served as a court painter to King Henry VIII (1491–1547). The Morgan’s display will feature around 60 objects from over 20 lenders across the globe, including 31 paintings and drawings by Holbein himself. His work was detailed with inscriptions, insignia, and evocative attributes, conveying truthful likenesses but also celebrating the individuals’ identities, values, aspirations, and achievements. Exclusive to the Morgan’s exhibition is Sir Thomas More (1527)—one of the masterpieces of Holbein’s first stay in England—depicting the philosopher, statesman and humanist at the height of his political career. More sat for Holbein shortly before he was promoted to Lord Chancellor, the highest-ranking office in Tudor England. Holbein presents his sitter as an authoritative statesman, prominently adorned with a golden chain of office.
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98–1543) was among the most skilled, versatile, and inventive artists of the early 1500s. He created captivating portraits of courtiers, merchants, scholars, and statesmen in Basel, Switzerland, and later in England, and served as a court painter to Tudor King Henry VIII (1491–1547). Enriched by inscriptions, insignia, and evocative attributes, his portraits comprise eloquent visual statements of personal identity and illuminate the Renaissance culture of erudition, self-fashioning, luxury, and wit
Holbein worked closely with Erasmus of Rotterdam, Thomas More, and other esteemed scholars in Renaissance Europe as both a portraitist and book illustrator. The book, with its ability to preserve and revive ancient texts and promulgate new ones, became the period’s humanist symbol par excellence, which many patrons wanted displayed in their portraits. Holbein was also active as a designer of personal jewels, which could serve as small declarations of the wearer’s taste, beliefs, and erudition. Featuring examples from the artist’s diverse output alongside select works by his Northern contemporaries, Capturing Character explores Holbein’s contributions to Renaissance portraiture and celebrates the era’s sophistication and visual splendor.
Exhibition Announcement: The Roundtable Exhibition
Grand Central Terminal, Crab
Silver print on Ilford matt
36 x 19 in (91.44 x 48.26 cm)
The National Arts Club
The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South
On view in the Trask Gallery
The 30th Annual Roundtable Exhibition
May 18 – June 12
Opening Reception: May 23, 6 - 8 pm
The Roundtable Exhibit features work by Roundtable members and their guests. This exhibit brings together established and emerging artists, offering them an opportunity to share their aesthetic explorations and latest accomplishments. The works encompass a variety of genres and materials.
A Life Remembered
Shirley Blackwell's death was completely ordinary. She died on the day after Christmas 2020, at the age of 70, after long term kidney and lung issues. The event was reported in the local paper in Alliance, Ohio, dispassionately listing the usual things that are printed when a beloved member of a community dies: where she worked, who she is survived by, and details about where the celebration of her life would be held. Nothing was mentioned about the infamous pictures that she appeared in as part of a series for Life magazine, an event that would alter the course of her family forever. Nothing was said about the struggle she had faced for years trying to find money for college. And nothing certainly was mentioned about the time her mother’s dreams were put on hold after being fired from her job for participating in the magazine spread. Instead, niceties appeared in her small hometown paper and the death of the little girl in her Sunday best standing alongside her aunt outside of a “Colored Only” entrance in 1956 was ignored by the national media.
This Gordon Parks photo was taken in Mobile, Alabama, next door to my father's department store. I was touched by Ms Blackwell's obit and wanted to share the legendary, Life magazine, photo.
Conversations in Drawing: Seven Centuries of Art from the Gray Collection at the Morgan Library
An amazing exhibition of drawings. This Van Gogh is an example of the gems to be seen.
Van Gogh seems to have been inspired to make this melancholy drawing after reading “Tristement” (Sadly) by the French writer François Coppée, known as “the Poet of the Humble.” The poem describes a mourning widow proceeding along “a very long lane of giant, half- denuded plane trees.” Time has enhanced the drawing’s autumnal mood. The irongall ink that Van Gogh used, once black, has faded to a dark brown and imparted a golden tone to the paper, and the hatched pen lines have bled and merged. The effect overall is a more muted contrast between light and dark.
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch, 1853–1890
Avenue of Pollard Birches and Poplars, 1884
Reed pen and iron-gall ink
Richard and Mary L. Gray, promised gift to the Art Institute of Chicago
Gray Collection Trust, Art Institute of Chicago
Photography by Jamie Stukenberg, Professional Graphics Inc.
Happy Birthday Mickey Ruskin
Today, May 8, is the birthday of Mickey Ruskin, the founder of Max’s Kansas City and a major (and beloved) figure in New York City’s art and music scene in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Mickey would have been a feisty and delightful 87 today.
From Yvonne Sewall:
We are celebrating Mickey Ruskin Appreciation Week by reminding friends and --followers of how important Mickey was in our collective creative life. As the head of the Max’s family and overseer of the scene, he made sure that everyone had a place at the table (and often “free hors d’oeuvres," as Glenn O’Brien of Interview Magazine noted) and that connections, opportunities, and excitement were always on the menu.
For any of you who experienced those connections and benefited in any way, it is time to give back and keep Mickey's and Max's legacy alive. The Max’s Kansas City Project nonprofit was severely impacted financially by COVID-19. We’re struggling to stay afloat. Become a supporter like he supported you all those years. Go to www.maxskansascity.org and make a donation!
Feel free to Paadd a photo!
845-481-3416
Giovanni Bellini's St. Francis in the Desert is a masterpiece of spiritual poetry
On Sunday, April 11th, August celebrated my birthday with me at the Frick Madison. It was truly heaven on earth. I finally experienced the exquisite merging of photography and painting. Please see the installation below where the natural light and trapezoidal shape of the window is paired with Bellini's St. Francis in the Desert.
Giovanni Bellini's St. Francis in the Desert is a masterpiece of spiritual poetry that has enthralled generations of visitors to The Frick Collection.
This monumental painting — the largest work on panel at the Frick — portrays Francesco Bernardone of Assisi (c. 1181–1226), the medieval saint who renounced earthly riches to embrace a life of poverty, humility, simplicity, and prayer. Francis founded the mendicant religious order known in Italy as the Frati Minori, or Friars Minor, still flourishing today. In 1224, during a retreat to the Tuscan mountain of La Verna, he was honored for his empathetic faith with the stigmata, the imprint of the five wounds of Christ's Crucifixion
Summer Solstice, Juneteeth, Pause
Frank Stella Recent Work
The sculptures explode out of the galleries. They seem to have the energy that could push the walls apart...In some works, like
Atalanta and Hippomenes
(2017), the rigid structure of the grid is broken by the application of large, billowing white forms that seem to weave and expand across the vertical and horizontal planes. Inspired by the ethereal quality of smoke rings—which have long captivated Stella— the abstract form appears weightless despite its grand scale.
This sensation is further accentuated by the way the grid is affixed to the wall, giving it a contrasting feel of solidity. In others, such as
Leeuwarden II
(2017), the fiberglass grid is suspended within a metal frame, with brightly-colored, almost neon, ribbons dramatically swooping in and out of it, imbuing the work with a vivid sense of motion. The juxtaposition of materials, from colored fiberglass to bare steel to PU-foam, adds further texture and depth to the sculptures and contributes to the shifting experience of the work as one changes position and perspective.
will be on view from April 25 through June 22 across both of the
Chelsea locations at 509 and 507 W. 24th Street.
She Belongs to Me Bob Dylan
She's got everything she needs, she's an artist
She don't look back
She's got everything she needs, she's an artist
She don't look back
She can take the dark out of the nighttime
And paint the daytime black
You will start out standing
Proud to steal her anything she sees
You will start out standing
Proud to steal her anything she sees
But you'll wind up peeking through her keyhole
Down upon your knees
She never stumbles, she's got no place to fall
She never stumbles, she's got no place to fall
She's nobody's child, the Law can't touch her at all
She wears an Egyptian ring that sparkles before she speaks
She wears an Egyptian ring that sparkles before she speaks
She's a hypnotist collector, you are a walking antique.
Bow down to her on Sunday
Salute her when her birthday comes
Bow down to her on Sunday
Salute her when her birthday comes
For Halloween give her a trumpet
And for Christmas, buy her a drum
50 Years: An Anniversary
3 1/8 x 7 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. (7.9 x 19.7 x 5.7 cm);
overall: 3 1/8 x 223 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. (7.9 x 567.1 x 5.7 cm).
50 Years: An Anniversary
A Benefit Exhibition for March For Our Lives
October 10 – November 3, 2018
524 W 26th Street
Thank you Paula Cooper for your presence and enormous contributions to art history.
This extraordinary show, “50 Years: An Anniversary” celebrates the October 1968 opening of the Paula Cooper Gallery, the first art gallery in SoHo at 96-100 Prince Street. This fiftieth anniversary show in 2018 includes artworks from that time period by the original artists: Carl Andre, Jo Baer, Robert Barry, Bill Bollinger, Dan Flavin, Robert Huot, Will Insley, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Robert Murray, Doug Ohlson, and Robert Ryman.
On view at 524 West 26th Street, is Carl Andre’s original 1968 work, composed of twenty-eight found bricks laid end-to-end directly on the floor, which challenged traditional conceptions of material, labor and value.
Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture
Technological Totem Pole
Jack Whitten
(American, Bessemer, Alabama 1939–2018)
Date: 2013
Medium: Black mulberry, metal, Gortynis marble,
Braun alarm clock, mixed media.
I too was raised in Alabama in the 60's. Mobile is on the Gulf Coast and south of Bessemer, and had its activism that was very grassroots.
Jack and I were friendly in the naissance of the SoHo art community.
The late 1960's and early 1970's energy of creative exploration is evident in this body of Jack's work. I am ever so grateful to the Met for mounting such an intelligent and well curated show.
This exhibition presents the extraordinary and previously unknown sculptures of acclaimed American artist Jack Whitten (1939–2018). Whitten's sculptures, which he first created in New York and later at his summer home on Crete, consist of carved wood, often in combination with found materials sourced from his local environment, including bone, marble, paper, glass, nails, and fishing line. Inspired by art-historical sources rooted in Africa, the ancient Mediterranean, and the Southern United States, Whitten's sculptures not only address the themes of place, memory, family, and migration, they also give expression to a transnational, cosmopolitan perspective.
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
At The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters
May 10–October 8, 2018
In this magnificent installation we see the influence of religious art on innovative fashions. This Met exhibition is extravagant and heavenly!!
The Costume Institute's spring 2018 exhibition—at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters—features a dialogue between fashion and medieval art from The Met collection to examine fashion's ongoing engagement with the devotional practices and traditions of Catholicism.
The visual reference of the exhibition, papal robes and accessories from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which have never been seen outside The Vatican, are on view in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Fashions from the early twentieth century to the present are shown in the Byzantine and medieval galleries, part of the Robert Lehman Wing, and at The Met Cloisters.
For more on this extravagant spectacle click on Met Museum.
Georgia O'Keefe in Brooklyn
Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern
The exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum through July 23, 2017 is organized in sections that run from her early years, when O’Keeffe crafted a signature style of dress that dispensed with ornamentation; to her years in New York, in the 1920s and 1930s, when a black-and-white palette dominated much of her art and dress; and to her later years in New Mexico, where her art and clothing changed in response to the surrounding colors of the Southwestern landscape.
The final section explores the enormous role photography played in the artist’s reinvention of herself in the Southwest, when a younger generation of photographers visited her, solidifying her status as a pioneer of modernism and as a contemporary style icon.
It was an intimate visit with Georgia OK - I felt as if I was going thru her closets and shopping with Georgia at Marimekko.
Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern is part of A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum, a yearlong series of exhibitions celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.
Charlemagne Palestine’s Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland
Norman Kleeblatt's masterfully curated show of Charlemagne Palestine's vision is full of humor. Bear Mitzvah, at the Jewish Museum, is contemplative and bursting with a rainbow of color and whimsy.
The teddy bear’s invention in 1902 by an immigrant couple in the same Brooklyn neighborhood where Palestine was born has become a near obsession for the artist. The first bear was hand sewn by Morris and Rose Michtom as a tribute to President Theodore Roosevelt following his much publicized hunting trip during which he refused to shoot a bear cub that had been readied for his aim. The incident was popularized by the prominent illustrator Clifford Berryman’s cartoons in the Washington Post. The Michtoms, along with the rest of America, became fascinated by the story and thus dubbed the newly invented toy “Teddy’s bear.” The bear’s invention quickly became a commercial and media success
Charlemagne Palestine’s Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland, March 17 - August 6, 2017. The Jewish Museum, NY.