Tag: museum

Mark Bradford in ‘Epic Abstraction’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hung in the spot long occupied by an iconic Jackson Pollock drip painting, and inspired by Clyfford Still’s monumental abstractions, Mark Bradford’s mixed media on canvas artwork declares that non-representational art is still cutting-edge in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s ‘Epic Abstraction’ rehang.  The bleach and water degraded layered paper surfaces of ‘Duck Walk’ reference Chuck Berry’s famous dance move, also adopted by ballroom voguers, maintaining Pollock’s scale and dynamic movement while prompting alternative considerations of race, gender and history.  (Ongoing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Mark Bradford, Duck Walk, mixed media on canvas, 2016.

Ranjani Shettar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Southern Indian sculptor Ranjani Shettar’s concern for threatened rural Indian ecosystems informed her dramatic mezzanine installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Seven ponds and a few raindrops.’  Crafted from organic muslin and bound to a welded and molded steel base with tamarind paste, the piece’s floating organic shapes conjure 3-D scientific models, intricate plant life or alien life.  (On view on the Upper East Side through Sept 16th).

Ranjani Shettar, detail installation view of ‘Seven ponds and a few raindrops’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2018.

‘African American: Photographs from the 1940s and 1950s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

One hundred and fifty studio portraits of unidentified African Americans by unknown photographers now on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art offer a fascinating peek at self-representation in the mid-20th century.  By recently acquiring two major portrait groups represented in the show, the Met announces its intention to build its collection to include images of African Americans.  (On view on the Upper East Side through October 8th).

Installation view of ‘African American: Photographs from the 1940s and 1950s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2018.

Gianni Versace in ‘Heavenly Bodies’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gianni Versace’s 1991-92 jacket, featuring a Madonna and child embroidered in crystals, draws on the gold tile and opulent patterning of Ravenna’s Byzantine architecture.  Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s stunning ‘Heavenly Bodies’ Costume Institute exhibition, the garment joins icons from the Met’s collection in a contemporary reinterpretation of opulence.  (On view on the Upper East Side through Oct 8th).

Gianni Versace, Jacket, autumn/winter 1991-92, green silk tulle, embroidered polychrome silk thread, gold silk and metal thread, polychrome faceted crystals, green seed beads, and gold metal hardware.

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV in ‘Japanese Bamboo Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV created this stunning woven bamboo sculpture on-site at the entrance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current show of bamboo art from the Abbey Collection, announcing the amazing craftsmanship and inventiveness on display in this exhibition. (On view through Feb 4th).

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, The Gate (Mon), installation view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2017.