I recently visited a sunflower farm, which made me think of the German artist Wolfgang Laib. I loved rewatching this wonderful Art 21 episode on him from 2014. Laib has been collecting pollen of various sorts, such as dandelion and hazelnut, since 1977. In 2013 the Museum of Modern Art held an exhibition of Laib’s work, including the extraordinary “Pollen from Hazelnut.” A room-size installation, … Continue reading Wolfgang Laib
I’ve been thinking about Katherine Bradford and her swimmer paintings a lot the past few days. Below are some images from a booth at NADA (during Art Basel, 2016). I may not remember what I did yesterday, but I always remember exactly where I fell for an artist and their work. At the end of June, I listened to a great podcast with Katherine Bradford. … Continue reading Katherine Bradford
The past four months I have been revisiting photos of art that I had seen prior to quarantine. I am comforted by the memories they provide me, and inspired to be looking at the art again. I cannot wait to get to see new shows again someday, but until then I plan to share some of the amazing art I saw prior to having started … Continue reading Klara Kuchta in Budapest, Hungary
I want to say hello and acknowledge that I have not been blogging for a while. Like all of you readers, I have of course been affected by sheltering in place during the pandemic. While you might think confinement at home would be a perfect opportunity to blog regularly, I’ve been selfishly using the time to focus on my own work as a maker, and … Continue reading I’m Back!
I was supposed to be in New York City a lot this April, and had a long list of art shows I planned to see on the first trip. Before every visit, I make a list. I organize it by neighborhood, plot out the days so that friends might join me, coordinate evening plans and fit everything in. Then I add on once I’m there. … Continue reading My week that didn’t happen, New York, NY
My youngest son is doing distance learning from home along with every other college student. It is truly great having him home but I still lament the loss of what we’d have been doing in Ithaca this past weekend, as we were scheduled to be visiting him for his first big rowing event of the season. When visiting Cornell University, I always go to the … Continue reading Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC was founded by Congress in 1962. Its mission is to tell the story of the people who shaped America, through portraiture. The gallery houses the only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. I had been several times before, but wanted to see the Obama portraits. Along with the presidential portrait galleries, the museum always features … Continue reading National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC
My last day in Toronto was a short one as I had a late afternoon flight to catch. I still had places I wanted to see on my list, and unfortunately had to postpone a few artist studio visits until my next trip. The day was grey and blustery, and a snowstorm was expected to hit the city pretty hard. Continue reading Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Harbourfront Centre and the Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario (day three)
I started day two in Toronto by arriving at the Art Gallery of Ontario as soon as it opened. I was excited to see the Diane Arbus show, as I have always loved her photographs, and she was the topic of one of the art history lectures at a Seattle lecture series I’ve been attending this year. I had a renewed interest in her, and her work and even learned that her name is pronounced “Dionne.” I never knew that. Continue reading Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), and a few great neighborhoods, Toronto, Ontario (day two)
I got a chance to go to Toronto right before the Coronavirus outbreak, so I now feel especially fortunate to have been able to see so much. I had never been to Toronto before but, having enjoyed everywhere else I’d been to in Canada, I was excited to explore. I got an old fashioned paper map from the hotel and plotted out the two and … Continue reading The Gardiner Museum, Bata Shoe Museum and MOCA Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
In 2006 the Glenstone Foundation opened a not-for-profit modern and contemporary art museum in Potomac, Maryland. I spent a recent Sunday afternoon at Glenstone and was delighted that the weather was mild and sunny. The Pavilions, completed in late 2018, added 50,000 square feet for additional exhibition space. The 300 acres it is situated on is comprised of woodland trails to the outdoor sculptures, pavilions … Continue reading Glenstone in Potomac, MD
I met Justin Duffus in 2015, and I’ve loved his paintings and drawings ever since. Justin works in a nicely lit studio, in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, when he is not teaching painting. His studio is surrounded by shipping containers, and you have to walk on the roof of one to get into his workspace. It’s cool. Originally from Pasadena, Justin studied at the … Continue reading Studio Visit: Justin Duffus in Seattle, WA
One of my favorite things about living in the Pacific Northwest is how easy it is to get to Palm Springs. I have really fallen for the desert, and I find a solid dose of Vitamin D helpful during the rainy and dark months in Seattle. If you plan ahead and can get reasonable fares directly into Palm Springs, it is the perfect weekend get … Continue reading Palm Springs, CA
My friend Janine is heading to Boston for a quick trip next month and over our favorite cocktails last week she asked me what art she should see when she is there. While Boston is full of good art, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (or simply the ‘Glass Flowers’) at the Harvard Museum of Natural … Continue reading Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA and the “Glass Flowers” in Cambridge, MA
Still operating with the same boiler since its opening in 1933, the Seattle Asian Art Museum has reopened after a two-year and $56 million, top-to-bottom renovation. I had a chance to go to the opening night event, and was pleased to see how well they had preserved the beautiful Art Deco building—home to the Seattle Art Museum’s Asian Art collection and set in the midst … Continue reading Seattle Asian Art Museum in Seattle, WA
It’s unusual to get to see the exact same art show in two different cities, only months apart. I first saw “30 Americans” at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, this past summer. Then, right after Art Basel, in December, I went to Philadelphia and saw “30 Americans” again at The Barnes Foundation. It was fun and interesting to see the same work displayed at different venues. The traveling exhibition was conceived of and put on by the Rubell family, The exhibit was first on display at the Rubell Museum in Miami, FL and has been traveling for almost ten years, with only three more locations to go. Continue reading 30 Americans at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO and The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA
When my family and I first moved to Seattle in 2006, we began to frequent (and still do) a wonderful restaurant in our neighborhood that had the most stunning paintings. Each time we went, we would talk about how much we liked them. I finally asked who the artist was, and learned it was Fay Jones. I admittedly was a bit in culture shock moving to the West Coast after living on the East Coast my entire adult life, and somehow these paintings always made me feel at home. Continue reading Fay Jones in Seattle, WA
Carol Gouthro is a Seattle-based, Canadian-American ceramic artist and educator, whose work is presently featured in the Forum at the Bellevue Art Museum. Carol creates her own fantastical world, which features extraordinary species from her own imagination. Each piece comes with its own pseudo-scientific name. Writes Gouthro, “After many years of closely observing and collecting plants and constructing vessel forms that transformed into plant forms, I began inventing my own hybrid flower/animal species using botanical nomenclature as my departure point.” Continue reading Carol Gouthro in Bellevue, WA
One of my favorite parts of being involved in the clay and art community is meeting people from all over the country and world, thanks to the Internet. After moving to Seattle from the East Coast in 2006, I’ve been able to explore parts of the country that I frankly had never thought about. I’ve learned that Montana is a hotbed of ceramic artists. I have taken workshops from a range of Montana artists, and on whole have found them… Continue reading Radius Gallery in Missoula, MT
I had not been to the newly expanded San Francisco Museum of Modern Art since it reopened in May of 2016. I was impressed by its beautifully lit gallery spaces, overall size (170,000 square feet of exhibition space) and design. They have over 33,000 works of art in their permanent collection. I was hopeful that they would have one of the two paintings that they own by Bay Area artist Roland Petersen on view, but no such luck. I was enamored nevertheless. Continue reading The SF Museum of Modern Art and SFO Airport in San Francisco, CA
I have been a bit obsessed with the work of Annabeth Rosen for quite some time, yet had never before seen it in person. Best known for her sculptural work, Fired, Broken, Gathered, Heaped, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, chronicles over 20 years of Rosen’s work in ceramics. Raised in Brooklyn, Rosen has taught ceramic art at the college level for 30 … Continue reading Annabeth Rosen in San Francisco, CA
I’m stepping away from the classic Art Basel fairs, to tie in the INK Miami Art Fair. Like Aqua, INK takes place at a Miami motel. The galleries are on the first floor, and many of the gallery owners stay on the second floor. The show has an open courtyard feel, and after all the years of tagging along with my brother and sister-in-law I’ve come to know the different galleries, owners, staff and the work they showcase. INK, on a whole, couldn’t be more welcoming… Continue reading INK Miami Art Fair in Miami Beach, FL
Art Basel Miami Beach takes place in the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. I read that there was a new sliding scale pricing system implemented this year that supported the participation of smaller and mid size galleries. Along with the improved lighting… Continue reading Part One: Art Basel Miami Beach in Miami Beach, FL
The Miami Beach Convention Center has been newly renovated, and completed, since last year’s Art Basel. Meridians, curated by Magali Arriola, presented 34 large-scale projects that cannot normally be shown at an art fair. Directly upstairs (via an escalator) from the exhibition hall of Art Basel were large-scale sculptures and paintings, live performances, installations and video projections in about 60,000 square feet of space. Continue reading Meridians at Art Basel in Miami Beach, FL
Art Miami and Context Art Miami are in two adjacent tents located in Miami, FL. They are easy to get to from South Beach, but you have to take into account traffic. It took me an hour to get there, and 12 minutes to get back to my hotel. I went preview night and purposely went to Art Miami first, and to Context with an hour to spare. Art Miami was super… Continue reading Art Miami and Context Art Miami in Miami, FL
Scope Miami Beach is another fair that makes its home in a tent, right on the beach. Scope has 134 exhibitors, and is in its 19th year. Last year they saw 60,000 visitors. The artwork I was drawn to at Scope happened to all include some sort of cool process or the repurposing of materials. I really enjoyed learning about the artists and their processes, whether from the gallery owners, employees, or the artists themselves. Continue reading Scope Miami Beach in Miami Beach, FL
Aqua Art Miami, takes place in a classic South Beach Miami two story motel. The furniture is all removed and each gallery takes over a room. I look forward to going every year but was disappointed this year as some of my favorite galleries from years past were not there, and the work in general wasn’t very appealing to me. Aqua features 47 exhibitions… Continue reading Aqua Art Miami in Miami Beach, FL
UNTITLED, ART is one of many art fairs that are part of Art Basel Miami. The show is set up in a temporary tent, which is more like a building, right on the beach in Miami Beach. UNTITLED features 126 exhibitions and, in 2018, had 48,000 visitors. Continue reading UNTITLED, ART in Miami Beach, FL
I was thrilled to find the Ruby Neri show opening at Salon 94 when I was in NYC in October. I liked it so much I went several times. It’s closing December 21st, so if you can get there, go! The show is full of large scale ceramic vessels adorned with nude female shapes. Upstairs there are some beautiful pastels on paper. Continue reading Ruby Neri in New York, NY
Soon, I’ll be showing more work by Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920), Roland Petersen (b. 1926) and Robert Arneson (1930-92) from other museums that I’ve recently visited in California. I did want you to see these pieces from the show Landscape Without Boundaries: Selections from the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art which runs through December 15, 2019. This is the museum where I’d gone to see the Kathy Butterly show. Continue reading Manetti Shrem permanent collection in Davis, CA
