Art Update: Warhol Opening at Peter Brant's - May 12th, 2013

Arrived in Greenwich on May 12th to attend Peter Brant's luncheon preview and opening of Andy Warhol's exhibition at The Brant Foundation Art Study Center. Peter's interest in art goes back to his college days when he purchased two Warhols and a Franz Kline as a student. He has been collecting ever since. By establishing The Peter Brant Foundation, Inc. and the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, he gives back to the community by fostering education and appreciation of contemporary art and design as well inspiring the younger generation. 

Warhol, Marilyn, 1964 

Opened in 2009 and converted from a former stone barn into gallery space by Richard Gluckman, exhibitions have included Urs Fischer, Josh Smith, David Altmejd, Karen Kilimnik and Nate Lowman. The inaugural exhibition was an homage to Henry Geldzahaler, "Remembering Henry's Show: Selected Works 1978-2008." The current Warhol show comprises works from Peter and his family's collections. On view, a selection from over 200 works, includes examples from the following series: death and disaster, flowers, celebrity portraits, self-portraits and political portraits, culminating with the Last Supper, part of his final series in 1987. Peter mentioned to me that the large Mao, which he donated to the Metropolitan Museum in 1977 is on loan for this exhibition. 

Conyers Farm, Greenwich, CT

Peter and his glamorous wife Stephanie are the quintessential hosts. After viewing the superbly hung show, we walked outside to enjoy the beautiful grounds and polo fields of Conyers Farm, where cocktails and lunch were being served under the tent. It was a great afternoon chatting with friends and meeting new people from all over the world, invited to share Peter and Stephanie's generosity!

Art Update: Thomas Houseago at the Storm King Art Center

Thomas Houseago, Striding Figure II (Ghost), 2012, breeze and steel, 15' 6.5" x 7' 9" x 12'

On May 4th, we drove up to Storm King Art Center to attend Thomas Houseago's opening of his first U.S. museum exhibition titled "As I Went Out One Morning". The title is taken from a Bob Dylan song showing the influence that music had on the artist.

Thomas Houseago, Studio Seat I, 2011, Tuf-Cal, hemp and iron rebar,  50" x 41.5" x 42.5"

The exhibition consists of indoor and outdoor sculpture in several media including bronze, aluminum, wood, Tuf-Cal plaster and charcoal as well as drawings. For the first time a grouping of two plaster chairs can be viewed in front of the Museum Hill Building inviting visitors to sit upon them. This alludes to the artist's studio-based practice where he says "the studio for me is the center of my life".

Alexander Calder, The Arch, 1975, Steel painted black, 50' x 41' 5" x 35'   

Storm King is one of the world's premiere sculpture parks located about one hour North of NYC on over 500 acres in the Hudson Valley. It's grounds are an ideal venue to view Thomas' work as well as a unique opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the dramatic landscape with its allees, woodlands, lawns and vistas in harmony with the collection (dating from the 1960's to present). We went on the tram to cover more ground and saw many of the highlights along the way: Calder's The Arch, Maya Lin's Wavefield, Richard Serra's Schunnemunk Fork, Andy Goldsworthy's Storm King Wall, Marc Di Suvero's Pyramidian and David Smith's Volton XX.  

Another trip is definitely necessary!

   

Art Update: MAN MADE Jean-Michel Basquiat

Arrived last night at Sotheby's private S|2 exhibition to attend the opening of Jean-Michel Basquiat's show entitled "MAN MADE", hosted by entertainment mogul Swizz Beatz with his elegant and talented wife Alicia Keys.  

Swizz spoke of his affection and admiration for "Jean" and introduced Fab Freddy, a fellow graffiti artist. Swizz praised the artist to the energized crowd, (apparently Beatz tweeted that he was going to the Basquiat opening to his 1.6M followers and tons of people showed up only to be halted at the door for fear of overcrowding).

His message to the crowd was to enjoy the art on the walls and to encourage people to become artists and express themselves. He said all artists need to express themselves as do all musicians. Basquiat is a hero to the hip hop music world and his work continuously enthralls new fans! He is a true legend in the art world.