En Plein Air, The Art of Jason Berger

A view along the "Promenade des Anglais" in Nice at night.
Picture taken from the hotel Suisse.
(Photo: W.M. Connolley/Wikimedia Commons)

Here's an interesting DC area art update I received today from a friend (thanks Susan!):

"From April 13 to May 4 'En Plein Air: The Art of Jason Berger' will be on exhibit at the French Embassy in Washington, DC.

On Friday, April 13, over 120 people gathered for an opening reception to celebrate the event.

VisionArt, an art consulting company based in Washington and owned / operated by Melissa Himmel Twomey has orchestrated the art exhibit which shows 50 of Berger's remarkable paintings.

Most of the paintings in the show are vivid landscapes of France, the place where he spent most of his adult life as an artist. All of the artwork is for sale in the exhibition.

Berger passed away in 2010 and this is the first large exhibition since his death and the first in Washington, DC.

The exhibit is open by appointment Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm or evenings can be arranged as well. Please contact Melissa Himmel Twomey of VisionArt Consulting at melissatwomey@gmail.com to make an appointment."

I must confess I had never heard of Jason Berger (1924-2010), before, but his work looks interesting - colorful, vibrant and full of "joie de vivre," as the French would say. Surely if the French Embassy is showcasing his work, it must be good, "n'est-ce pas"?

According to his website jasonbergerpainter.com, Berger was "a Boston area painter who was connected to the Boston Expressionists. He painted en plein air landscapes in the United States, Europe and Mexico and used those motifs in abstracted studio paintings."

On May 11, moreover, La Maison Francaise/House of France DC - the cultural center located on the grounds of the French Embassy - will at 7 pm host a free reception (registration required however) for 'Unforgettable - A Painter's Brush - With Iranian Female Artists - Works by Nurieh Mozaffari.'

Turner on the Tyne

The National Gallery of Art, which I follow on Twitter, tweeted the following on April 23:

"Today is J.M.W. Turner's birthday. From @ngadc, a time lapse of the River Tyne today combined with Turner's painting. http://ow.ly/asekn"

The "Turner on the Tyne" video this tweet links to is so AMAZING, I just HAD to share it here...



This video appears on a funky NGA site called "Art Babble," which in my view warrants two thumbs up for this video alone.

The NGA hosted a major Turner retrospective a few years ago. A very deadpan German-born art history professor in an Impressionism/Realism class I took in college always swooned over Turner - and lambasted most of the famous French Impressionists in the process.

"Impressionism is like a pretty girl in a bar," he would say, his lip curling in a snarky smirk (I later found out he was also spending quite a bit of 'quality time' himself with some 'pretty girls' who were undergrad students at this university, which landed him in a bit of trouble!). "From a distance she looks very nice but then you walk up to her and start talking to her and realize she is not really that pretty and she is all style, no substance."

That, at least, was HIS take on Impressionism (versus Realism, which he ADORED - we looked at a lot of Courbet slides in that class!).

Fans of the Impressionists, would of course, beg to differ.

One thing everyone can probably, however, agree on is that Turner was a genius.

Only 5 Days Left to See Colorful Realm!!!

Anyone hoping to check out Colorful Realm at the National Gallery of Art needs to do so in the next five days.

Two friends of mine viewed this exhibition last Sunday and said it was a MADHOUSE. This exhibition was so crowded that it was hard to really take it in, they said, which was a shame as it is a rare treat. (This is the first time these beautiful scrolls have been exhibited outside of Japan.)

Arriving very early, very late, or perhaps not on the final day of the exhibiton (April 29) might do the trick in avoiding the worst of the crowds.

Here's the latest info. from the NGA:

Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800)
March 30–April 29, 2012

Hours Extended
Open until 8 p.m., April 27, 28, 29
Use the 6th Street and Constitution Avenue entrance

Spring Fling: Street Photos, African-American Art, Howard Theatre

Jazz at the Howard, ca. 1941: Ray Bauduc, Herschel Evans,
Bob Haggart, Eddie Miller, Lester Young, and Matty Matlock.
(Photo: William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons)

The Washingtonian in its April 2012 issue flags up a few great new exhibitions in DC, including one I've already mentioned called "I Spy: Photography and the Theater of the Street, 1938-2010" (April 22-August 5) now on show at the National Gallery of Art.

At the same time, The Smithsonian American Art Museum is exploring a pivotal turning point in American history through "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond" (April 27-September 3), which includes works by Robert McNeill, Richmond Barthé, Romare Bearden, and 40 others.

On April 9, moreover, Washington's Howard Theatre (built in 1910) reopened "after a $29 million restoration that has turned the landmark into a state-of-the-art venue and revived its architectural glory," Sarah Wildman reported for The Washingtonian.

Located near the corner of Seventh and T streets in DC's historically African-American Shaw neighborhood it "was once an incubator of great music," according to Wildman. "Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, and Marvin Gaye all played at the Howard Theatre early in their careers."

The theatre reopens with a new lineup including Wanda Sykes, the Roots and Chuck Brown.

The Affordable Art Fair

Lucy Liu in 2007 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

DC-based artist and blogger F. Lennox Campello has been posting some interesting updates lately about The Affordable Art Fair, where he has sold some of his own works (including one that was purchased by actress Lucy Liu - quite a coup for Campello!).

As its title suggests, this art fair - held in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles - is trying to break new ground.

As the New York website states:

"Shaking up the dusty model of art as an elite pastime, the Affordable Art Fair will showcase new artists, galleries, programming, and installations!  Don't miss a second!"

Based on the title of this fair, perhaps some of the art on view may be affordable to the "99 percent" of Americans who do not have quite as much money in the bank as Donald Trump or Warren Buffet.

Joan Miró @ Kreeger

Joan Miró in 1935 (Photo: Carl van Vechten/Wikimedia Commons)

This Joan Miró (1893 - 1983) exhibition at the Kreeger Museum looks like it could be fun to check out. The Kreeger is one of Washington's hidden art gems. Nestled along Foxhall Road in the picturesque Palisades neighborhood near Georgetown, this former private residence is located nowhere near the National Mall which during the summer months is always teeming with tourists, most of whom will never set foot inside the Kreeger. I would highly recommend a tour of the permanent collection with one of the excellent and elegant docents who devot their free time to guiding visitors through the museum.

I interviewed the museum's director, Judy Greenberg, once for an article I wrote a few years ago about a citywide celebration of DC's own Color Field artists, of which Morris Louis was perhaps the most famous. It was a rare treat to meet her and hear about the genesis and ongoing plans of this very fine museum, which also features many music programs related to its exhibitions. (The Art Dossier also interviewed Greenberg in 2011.)

Although I'm not super familier with Miró's work, I've always found it quite whimsical, the same way Paul Klee fascinates with his quirky take on the world.

Sh*t Art World People Say

I love this video, which was highlighted recently by An Xiao at hyperallergic.com ...



This Hyperallergic site - launched by husband-and-husband team Veken Gueyikian and Hrag Vartanian in 2009 - seems pretty cool too.

Forrest Bess @ Whitney Biennial

Whitney Museum of American Art
(Photo: Gryffindor/Wikimedia Commons)

A small selection of works by the American painter Forrest Bess (1911 - 1977) is now on show at the Whitney Biennial in New York through May 27.

Sanford Schwartz recently described Bess in The New York Review of Books as an independent loner making a living as a Texas-based commercial fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico, far afield from the New York art world.

A lack of repetition of any particular motifs in his seemingly unassuming small-scale works makes him stand out as an artist. Yet his paintings are hardly ever on view anymore in major museums or exhibitions. (FYI you will hit the NYR paywall before you can read the entire article on Bess by Schwartz, but even reading just the first few grafs is pretty interesting!)

Bess' paintings were based on his own inner life. Like Georgia O'Keefe when she sought out solitude in the vast open spaces of New Mexico, he lived out most of his life in a ramshackle cabin on a spit of land accessible only by boat.

"I term myself a visionary painter for lack of a better word. I can close my eyes in a dark room and if there is no outside noise or attraction, plus, if there is no conscious effort on my part - then I can see color, lines, patterns, and forms that make up my canvases. I have always copied these arrangements exactly without elaboration." - Forrest Clemenger Bess (forrestbess.org)

What seems particularly intriguing about Bess, beyond his obviously eccentric existence, is that he cannot really be categorized with any particular group of artists or movement. Despite his odd lifestyle (which included self-mutilation in an attempt to become a hermaphrodite and seek eternal life), he seems particularly memorable for marching to the beat of his own drummer. His strange ways, however, could threaten at times to overshadow his increasingly obscure - yet critically acclaimed and oddly appealing - oeuvre.



As Michael H. Miller put it recently for GalleristNY: "The unclassifiable nature of his style has contributed to his mythical allure and slapped him with the problematic label of 'outsider.'"

The rare opportunity to see some of them sounds like yet another good reason to make a point of visiting Manhattan to check out the Whitney Biennial.

As recently cited by Christie's (where another Bess show closed earlier this month), the art historian Meyer Shapiro considered Bess "...that kind of artist rare at any time, a real visionary painter."

A selection of his works is on view here. Some more images by Bess are on view here.

The New York Times has also published a great Bess image gallery.

A revelation.

Stovall, Matsuyama @ AU Museum at the Katzen

American University Park (Photo: James Hare/Wikimedia Commons)

I am unfamiliar with the District-based artist Lou Stovall, but really intrigued by his current spring crop of colorful works now on display at the American University Museum at the Katzen.

As the museum, located across the street from the university's main entrance on Massachusetts Avenue, states on its website:

"Nature has been explored throughout DC-based artist Lou Stovall’s 60-year career and its representation has evolved considerably. Stovall’s latest iteration, his 'vertical views,' take form in silkscreen monoprints reconstructed into three-dimensional collages."

At present two other exhibitions at the Katzen celebrate Japanese art. "Floating World: 19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints" is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. And "Thousand Regards" showcases more contemporary works by Japanese-born, New-York based artist Tomokazu Matsuyama.

All three exhibitions run through May 20.

(People who live in the heart of DC may view AU as a distant place beyond the National Cathedral, but it is located quite close to Tenleytown and not far from Friendship Heights metro stops, where shopping and dining options abound. Some dining options are also available not far from the AU campus on Massachusetts Avenue. This is also the location of the Spring Valley Crate & Barrel store which I find hard to resist visiting at least a couple times per year. Even if I lack the space/income to totally re-furnish my tiny flat with their huge American furniture, it is fun to check out the designs there, including lovely glassware made in Italy and fun Marimekko fabrics from Finland. I bought a Marimekko tablecoth there once which I ADORE. I am clearly plugging Marimekko products here, but they deserve a plug because they place a premium on design and quality. Nice fabrics can be art too!)

Theater of the Street @ NGA

NPR's "Art Beat" recently flagged up what seems like a MUST-SEE SHOW for all lovers of urban photography.

As a lifelong city dweller and photography fan, I CANNOT WAIT to go see THE THEATER OF THE STREET (April 22 - August 5) at the National Gallery of Art.

Connecting Cultures @ Brooklyn Museum

This new exhibition on 'Connecting Cultures' at the Brooklyn Museum is probably worth a visit. Brooklyn residents have always wondered why more art lovers swarming the great museums of Manhattan don't bother to check out their museum just across the East River.

Now this could be a good reason to go!

Artomatic @ Crystal City

Peep my Artomatic (Photo: Jon Sullivan/Wikimedia Commons)

Artomatic is a super fun way to discover loads of different DC area artists.

Past Artomatic shows have inlcuded paintings, sculptures, glass panels, photos, illlustrations, mixed media, installations, and pretty much anything else that could be construed as art, such as marshmallow peep dioramas, comicbook-style storyboards festoooned with garishly neon-hued superhero action figures, or wacky wall hangings made of unconventional fabrics such as knitwear or lace. (The list goes on an on - Artomatic makes you realize that almost anything can be turned into art!)

In the past, Artomatic has also featured events such as concerts and dance performanes, as well as a gift shop.

The next Artomatic, which bills itself as "DC's biggest creative event", is due to opens on May 18 in Crystal City. (This really is a good enough reason for non-Virginians such as myself to head back over to VA - Crystal City is close to downtown DC.)

Any artists interested in registering to participate in Artomatic can still do so now on the Artomatic website.

Anyone interested in touring Artomatic exhibitions might moreover want to check back with this site, which has yet to update its events calendar and artist catalog.

NEXT @ Corcoran

The Corcoran (Photo: APK is gonna miss Jeffpw/WikiCommons)

Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art is now showcasing through May 20 fresh young talent via NEXT at the Corcoran, which presents works from the Corcoran College of Art + Design class of 2012.

"For more than 120 years, the Corcoran has educated and trained students—the next generation of America’s artists—while displaying the most important works of the time," the museum states on its website.

Admission to the NEXT exhibition is free of charge.

Whitney Biennial, Klimt, Renoir, Steins Collection @ Manhattan

Whistler/Frick  (The Yorck Project)

I really, really, really would like to hang out for a whole afternoon at the Whitney Biennial 2012, which is still on through May 27.

This review/blogpost by the New Yorker's Hilton Als provides an interesting commentary before you go.

BuffaloNews.com has meanwhile showcased "Five things at the Whitney Biennial."

Yet Choire Sicha of The Awl appears to give it at least one thumb down.

Hmm, perhaps the Klimt show at the Neue Galerie is a safer bet next time you're in Manhattan, but the Whitney Biennial may still be well worth a visit.

At the Met, "The Steins Collect" looks to be particularly interesting among the roster of current exhibitions. This new Renoir show at the Frick also looks interesting.

Time to check the Vamoose bus schedule and seek out the cheapest possible accomodations in Manhattan, which to me is a place of art pilgrimage (shopping, dining, etc. are great too there of course, but to me the No. 1 reason to visit NYC is to view art!).

So much art, so little time!

Lenny Kravitz + Philippe Starck = Rock'n'Roll Design

Another Facebook (journalist) friend of mine appears to be covering this:



I was at a great Philippe Starck show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris about a decade ago. He is like the world's designer - or at the very least one of the most prominent designers in the world who has brought design to the masses via creative partnerships with companies such as Target.

Starck is reportedly working on some "revolutionary" new project for Apple.

(I love his French accent in this clip with Kravitz!)

Patti Smith Sums it Up

A Facebook friend of mine posted this great quote today, which just about sums it up:

"In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth." - Patti Smith

Patti Smith performing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2006. (Photo Flickr/Daigo Oliva)

Hokusai @ Sackler + Jakuchū @ NGA

With the National Cherry Blossom Festival in full swing (even though we've already, alas, lost the blossoms!) there is some great related art to be seen in DC.

I really want to see the Hokusai exhibit at the Sackler.

There's also an exhibit on at the National Gallery of Art showcasing Japanese bird and flower paintings by Itō Jakuchū that looks to be lovely.

Art News Roundup @ Everywhere

Stop the Press! An El Greco has been found!

More information about the Google Art Project was recently reported by the Post, with The Art Institute of Chicago getting in on the act.

(The AIC online museum shop and mail order catalogue, incidentally, is one of my all-time favorites. The items on offer are not as extensive as, for instance, at The Metropolitian Museum of Art in New York, but there are a lot of unique and amazing gift items available. My mother adored the Gorey Moon Cat Pin, for instance, I gave her one year for Christmas and purchased from the AIC catalogue.)

And USA Today has also reported on the White House exhibit now on Google Art Project, which I also referenced in a recent post.

Metropolitain @ NGA Sculpture Garden

This striking Hector Guimard "Metropolitain" Paris Metro station entrance, with its Art Nouveau flourishes, fits perfectly into the garden with its organic forms. I defy anyone NOT to like this.

Photos by Karen Carstens

There are so many interesting angles hidden among the endless twists and curves of this Guimard masterpiece.

I really could really never tire of looking at it! (Except when the park is overflowing with tons of folks during the summertime Jazz in the Park concert series, which is fun, but can get CROWDED! I prefer the park in its more peaceful, "normal" state, with DC residents and tourists alike trickling in and out of this beautiful oasis right off the National Mall - it really is a sculpture garden intended for the entire nation to enjoy!)

 FYI the Hirshhorn's sculpture garden is also interesting.

Spider @ NGA Sculpture Garden

I also love this spider that always freaks people out a tad when they first step into the garden. It looks like something out of a vintage Steven Spielberg film - "Invastion of the Spider Snatchers!" Mwah. Mwah. Mwah. (All photos by Moi + Photoshop ... )

Spider (1996), by Louise Bourgeois - Normal

Spider - Super Saturated

Spider - All Hued Up

Silver Tree @ NGA Sculpture Garden

I love this silver tree in the sculpture garden. I had not noticed it before it shimmered in the sunlight on Easter Monday, its forever smooth and naked "branches" twisting up towards the sky like a slick trick we are trying to play on nature. (I wonder if any birds have ever perched there?)

Photo by Karen Carstens

Easter Monday @ National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

Yesterday (Easter Monday) the National Mall and the museums that make this city so marvelous were jam-packed with tourists viewing everything from aircraft to live insects to whisper-weight vintage silk gowns once worn by first ladies.

The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden provides a welcome oasis of calm and is a great place to stop and rest inbetween visiting other museums on or near the National Mall.

The sculpture garden is an oasis of calm (Photos by Karen Carstens)

One of several entrances to this marvelous magical garden that enchants young and old alike.

Even the iron gates of the garden are like works of art.

The fountains and pool at the center of the garden invite people to relax and while away a few minutes - or hours - in reverie. La Reve. Der Traum. Il Sogno. Something we all long for.

These diagonal lighting effects were captured unintentionally, but I kind of like them.

The sculptures on view inside the garden never cease to fascinate - revisiting the garden is like rediscovering them every time. (Each sculpture is followed by its description stone - these little plaques are discreetly yet visibly placed near each work of art.)

This rabbit (Thinker on a Rock, 1997) could have many connotations - Rodin's famous "Thinker" of course springs to mind, as does Alice in Wonderland and even Giacometti (the Paris-based sculptor from the Italian Swiss Alps - he had several brothers who were also artists and designers). But it also reminds me of that outlandish "Donny Darko" film in which a juvenile yet deeply disturbed Jake Gyllenhall was haunted by that evil rabbit which represented death/the grim reaper (?) It's a Mad World!

Could this be a stair- um "chairway" to heaven?

This playful and quirky "Cheval Rouge(" (Red Horse) by Calder makes me think - only because of its title - of the Blue Rider Expressionist movement that was centered around Munich in 1911/12. When Franz Marc painted his famous "Blue Horse," people were shocked. Today it is a modern masterpiece.

Easter Variations - The Edge of Reason (Second Act)

As I spent more and more time toying with Photoshop after meeting a deadline at work last week, I accidentally came across what seemed like a "magic" function that just so happened to turned an image of pussywillow branches festooned with decorated Easter eggs into ONE SINGLE MONGO-HUGE EGG (ok, egg-shaped thingamajig).

Easter decorations at the Neue Galerie New York (Photos by Karen Carstens)

Easter decoartions at the Neue Galerie New York (original, unadulterated, image).

The same image, now encased in "plastic wrap" (Photoshop).

"plastic wrap" - liquified (by moi, using Photoshop function "Liquify")

"plastic wrap" - liquified - egg (using Photoshop functions "Polar Coordinates" + "Liquify")

Et voila - POLAR COORDINATES seemed to somehow flip around my original image into an egg-like shape with weird, inverted, mirror images. Coincidence? Perhaps. It was interested that I stumbled upon this Photoshop function just a few days before Easter! By using other functions, notably "clouds" and "swirl" - as well as by changing the "hue" of these images - I came up with a new "series" of colorful Easter eggs.

I also created some decidedly darker, more psychedlic-looking versions in this egg series, also all based on the "polar coordinates" effect available in my version of Photoshop (which the long-suffering graphic designer at my not exactly ultra-innovative workplace, at least in terms of IT/multimedia capabilities, calls "Photoshop Light.")

I repeat, please nobody tell me to get a life. I find this kind of thing fun, and view it as part of my current Spring Awakening style Gen X multimedia learning curve - minus any desire to wade into deep water until I can go no further, that is ... Go ahead and laugh out loud at me, all you "digital native" Millenials. At least I can confidently claim that I cannot check Facebook for up to four - yep, FOUR - days and still be OK. (Although I did that recently - over the Easter weekend - and missed a dinner invite from a friend I had not seen in ages - darn! Note to self: Never ignore Facebook again for more than four days!!!)

Easter Variations - The Edge of Reason (First Act)

Imagine just how endless the possibilities are to get creative with Photoshop. Here are a few more Eastertime "variations" that border on the psychedelic. The world of photography will never be the same for you once you let the good times roll with Photoshop!

Easter decorations at the Neue Galerie New York (Photo taken with an iPod by Karen Carstens)

The same image, now overlaid/altered using "cross hatch" in Photoshop.

"paint daubs"

The same image, after altering the hue and saturation with Photoshop.

"texturizer"

The same image, transformed via the "photocopy" function in Photoshop.

I really like this final "photocopy" image. The "texturizer" version is also weirdly appealing to me because it reminds me of images in picture books from my childhood. (For some reason it conjures up images in my mind of almost garishly colored books featuring puppets on adventures that I found mesmerizing as a kid which were printed sometime in the 1960s or 70s.)