I popped over to the Spring Gallery walk in DC’s vibrant Georgetown last Saturday. What I didn’t expect was the overwhelming French ambiance along Wisconsin Street in particular. It almost felt like an afternoon strolling through Paris. There’s a fantastic word in French that encapsulates the pleasant strolling activity with no particular goal in mind : flâner.
I also realized that I was drawn to several artworks that reminded me of similar work I myself have created. I suppose that is not that unusual, but it did strike me as curious. I’ll share some examples below but first I’ll give you a taste of Paris in Georgetown!
A sculpture depicting Leda and Swan was on display at L’Enfant Gallery (below left) – probably art nouveau (correct me if I’m wrong!) and on the right is my interpretation of Leda and the Swan! (SOLD)
At the Susan Calloway Gallery, I spied a lovely grid of small portraits by Susan La Mont.
These paintings brought me back to a series of small portraits of Parisians that I created for an exhibition following an artist residency. Here is a small selection of my paintings. Don’t they all look so Parisian???!!!
I spent the afternoon at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC to see the special exhibition of Pierre Bonnard’s paintings. Founded by art collector and philanthropist Duncan Phillips in 1921, The Phillips Collection is housed in Phillips’s former home. Despite its modest size, the collection boasts exquisite examples of work created by famous modern and contemporary artists. I’ll touch upon the Bonnard exhibition in a moment, but first I want to challenge my readers with an art quiz.
Below are 6 details from paintings in the collection by famous artists with very distinctive styles. Can you identify who the artists are from these cropped images? Answers at the end of the blog! Good luck!!
Just a brief word about Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947). Bonnard was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. He is known as the Painter of Happiness. His style is hard to classify and even though I’m not the biggest fan, the special exhibit at the Phillips did give me a renewed appreciation for his work. One interesting thing I noticed when confronted with so many of his works was that in many of his paintings, the figure was almost incidental, just a little slither caught on the verge of leaving the scene.
All in all, it was definitely a worthwhile outing. The exhibition closes in June, 2024. If you’re interested in learning more about Bonnard, you might be interested in watching this comprehensive video:
And now for the answers I promised:
Henri Matisse 2. Dominique Ingres 3. Wassily Kandinsky 4. Picasso 5. Paul Gauguin 6. Cezanne
I recently spent an art-saturated weekend in New York. Determined not to waste one precious minute, I hoofed it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s updated European wing, continued on to galleries in Chelsea and SoHo, and rounded it all off with a visit to the Frick Madison. In all, I experienced a kaleidoscopic offering of art that dated from the 16th century through to cutting edge contemporary art. I’m still reeling but I wanted to share some of the highlights, so come join me on a (very, very) abbreviated tour!
FIRST STOP: THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
I read somewhere that you would need two months to see every piece of art in the Met and that seems like a low number to me. It’s best to have a goal in mind when visiting or else the Met quickly becomes overwhelming. I went specifically to see the newly renovated European galleries featuring art from the 13th through to the 19th century. The curators made an interesting decision to insert a few modern paintings to underscore the influence of earlier masters.
Take 17th century master El Greco on the left and it’s not a stretch to see that Picasso (on the right) was influenced by El Greco’s intense, colorful Mannerist style and elongated figures.
One room I really enjoyed was dedicated to paintings of artists’ studios through the ages. See three examples below.
Jean Alaux Leon Palliere in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome, 1817
William Orpen Self-Portrait, 1910
Kerry James Marshall Untitled, 2014
I did quite a lot of sketching while at the museum, one of which (below) was a detail of Massimo Stanzione’s Judith with the Head of Holofernes, 1640. I was fascinated and amused by the ornate outfit the model is wearing for the task of chopping off a man’s head. And not a drop of blood splatter!
NEXT STOP: GAGOSIAN GALLERIES: A FOREIGNER CALLED PICASSO
Gagosian galleries really outdid themselves with this incredible exhibition organized in association with the Musée national Picasso–Paris and the Palais de la Porte Dorée–Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, Paris. The breadth of the works on display was extraordinary and what was equally extraordinary was the relatively small number of visitors – if you were to go to the Picasso museum in Paris to see some of these works, it would be wall-to-wall people. I particularly loved this still life:
One thing you can say about Picasso is that his work is unique – his style, his technique and his brushwork are so identifiable. He can be painting a skull or a woman or a cat, and you just know it’s a Picasso. I was also drawn to a series of miniature portraits (approx. 3″ x 4″) that appeared to be prints or watercolors. The one on the right is Picasso’s self-portrait.
NEXT STOP: YANCEY RICHARDSON GALLERY
I’ve been playing with a lot of collage in my studio lately and was interested in seeing Sandi Haber Fifield’s solo exhibition of photocollages entitled The Thing In Front of You. The artist propels her photographs beyond the frame, mounting fragmented images on angled constructions. The images selected may seem random, but ‘everything in life connects’, states Haber Fifield. Here are two examples of her unique compositions.
These works were reminiscent of a series of photo collages done by David Hockney in the 1980’s:
Well, that’s it for now – your feet may be getting tired wandering all over the city. Hope you enjoyed the tour and a belated Happy New Year to all my readers xxx
Visiting contemporary art galleries and museums nowadays is a Lilliputian experience. By that I mean that the scale of many of the artworks on exhibit dwarf the viewer. This was unequivocally the case on my recent visit to the newly opened Rubell Museum in Washington DC. If you’re scratching your head wondering why the name Rubell sounds familiar, you may be thinking of Steve Rubell, co-founder of Studio 54. Steve’s brother, Don Rubell, and his wife, Mera, have been collecting art since the 60’s. The Rubell collection in Miami and the new Rubell museum in Washington DC house a mere fraction of their collection.
My favorite piece was probably Kehinde Wiley’s Sleep (2008), above. It is an epic painting in the artist’s signature theme – posing people of color in majestic or heroic poses from famous works in art history. Wiley’s Sleep is based on Jean Bernard Restout’s 1771 painting of the same name. I can’t imagine undertaking a painting of this size!!!! I am in awe of the execution.
Here is another enormous work by Christopher Myers (2020) made of appliqued cloth, entitled Earth:
Detail of Earth
The artist’s tapestries typically explore narratives of hardship, protest and racial violence. Myers sees his obligation as an artist to pull mythologies apart and record unwritten histories. These works have their foundation in the longstanding quilting traditions. Another artist who creates Klimt-like, undulating tapestries is the renowned Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. However his large hanging tapestry forms are made of recycled aluminum liquor bottle caps and copper wire. He creates pure magic with these humble materials (see below).
Detail from Another Man’s Cloth (2006)
There was only one ceramic work on exhibit – three oversized glazed vessels by the late Huang Yong Ping playfully entitled Well, Well, Well. A step was positioned beside each vessel, inviting visitors to step up and peer into the dark interiors…
And guess what one discovers? Taxidermized animals – bats, snakes and goats staring back at you!!
There were several paintings by well-known female artists verging on the erotic. Take for example Lisa Yuskavage’s Northview.
Yuskavage’s highly original approach to figurative painting is immediately recognizable. To quote Artsy magazine, the artist ‘makes color-saturated paintings of brazen, doll-like women who shift freely between playful sexuality and sullen contemplation.’
I was pleased to see a painting by another female artist whose work defies classification and whose paintings both appeal and repel: Marlene Dumas. Her solo show at this year’s Venice Biennale has been touted as the single best show at the Biennale. Her washed-out, haunting and often sexually explicit paintings filled the palazzo Grassi on Venice’s Grand Canal. What an achievement! Here is her painting currently exhibited in the Rubell collection:
But the room filled with twenty drawings created by Keith Haring in 1989 had the most powerful effect on me. The twenty framed works, all created in the space of a day, retain their creative power and Haring’s disturbing message seems more relevant than ever.
These drawings on linen paper distressed me and brought home how little progress we have made in protecting our beautiful planet. As we approach the New Year, I want to wish my readers and supporters a meaningful, fulfilling and joyful year ahead with the humble request that we all try to tread evermore lightly upon this earth. Seasons greetings to one and all. Take care, Lilianne.
I love just about any type of art – painting, sculpture, prints, you name it. But I have a special place in my heart for big, bold conceptual art that brings socio-political issues to the viewer’s attention. I’ve recently come across three artists whose work I’d like to share with you.
DAVID SHRIGLEY
I did a double-take when I saw images of David Shrigley’s interactive installation at the Stephen Friedman Gallery in London because it was SOOO different to the irreverent, comic-like drawings he is famous for (see some examples below).
I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at when I saw an image of his installation (below) called ‘The Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange’. “It’s a gallery filled with fresh new tennis balls that you can come and swap an old ball of yours for. That’s it. That’s the show. And somehow, it’s great (TIME OUT LONDON)”. Over the course of the exhibition as people replace the new balls with their old ones, the pristine rows of neon yellow balls disintegrate into a mess of used, smelly balls – a slow decaying in front of our eyes. I find the concept particularly poignant with multiple interpretations. You can listen to David Shrigley talk about his work here. What do you think?
AMANDA WILLIAMS
I was first introduced to Ms. Williams while listening to her TED talk. Williams grew up in Chicago’s South Side and trained as an architect. Her work investigates color, race, and space while blurring the conventional line between art and architecture. “In her paintings, sculptures, installations, and photographs, Williams uses color as a tool to examine the complex ways in which race informs our assignment of value to physical, social, and conceptual spaces (GAGOSIAN GALLERY)”. The project that attracted me was her decision to block paint abandoned houses in a predominantly Black neighborhood with colors that held strong associations with defunct iconic products and brands that were part of the Black experience decades ago.
I really enjoyed hearing her speak about how terrified she was about getting arrested for painting these houses. But she went ahead anyway (with a group of volunteers) because she felt compelled to make this statement. As an artist, I have experienced this compulsion on several occasions. You can hear Amanda speak here.
KELLIE GILLESPIE
Kellie Gillespie describes her work as “mostly sculptural, focused on issues specifically associated with mental health, as well as the concepts of recovery and survivorship. Through the artwork I create, I break the negative connotations surrounding the subject of mental illness.” Those are pretty big issues to take on and she does her subject justice.
These structures are composed of sliced up pill containers painstakingly glued together. You can watch her amazing process on her Instagram account @kellie.gillespie.art. I find her work both beautiful and tragic.
Let me know what you think of these artists and whether you believe that art can make a difference to the way we see ourselves, our lives and our planet! I certainly do 🙂
Anyone familiar with Israeli art spanning the last few decades will recognize the iconic sheep motif of artist and sculptor Menashe Kadishman (1932-2015). Kadishman’s oeuvre looms over Israel’s artistic landscape and is still prevalently exhibited and collected. Over decades, Kadishman transformed the sheep he herded as a child into powerful anti-war paintings and sculptures that decry the sacrifice of soldiers, likening them to sheep being led to the slaughter. But contemporary galleries in Israel have moved on from the likes of Kadishman to a broad range of artists working in a variety of mediums and techniques.
Detail of mixed media painting by Tommy
On a recent visit I dropped into the beautiful new Rothschild49 Art Gallery in Tel Aviv. There, I was introduced to a number of contemporary artists mostly producing large-scale works such as those by the artist Tommy, who has successfully married mixed media with pop art tropes while still maintaining a fresh originality through textured layering.
Sommer Contemporary has always been one of my go-to art stops in Tel Aviv. It took me a while to find their new location and when I did finally navigate my way up several flights of stairs and into a small space off a balcony overlooking a super chic courtyard eatery, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the artist on exhibit was an old friend and colleague, Shai Azoulay. I recognized his larger canvases and was delighted to discover his small scale daily paintings attractively displayed in a room of their own (see some examples below). There is something quintessentially Israeli about Shai’s intuitive paintings.
I also visited the high-end Eden Gallery with branches in major cities around the world. This gallery has some of the most beautifully curated spaces I have encountered. The artists are of the highest caliber, sharing a bold sense of color, a mastery of slick new materials and distinctive contemporary styles. The artist who goes by the name of SN comes from an impressive background as a National Geographic photographer and now exhibits his new series of photographs enhanced by the brilliant colors of his trademark butterflies.
Gal Yosef’s stunning, oversized digital images (example below) demonstrate his impressive 3D and digital sculpting skills, and are often staged in his uniquely crafted ‘cartooniverse’.
‘Stylin’ by Gal Yosef
Heading over to the hip Neve Tzedek neighborhood, I came across some superb realist paintings by Natan Pernick, exhibited at the TLV ART GALLERY. I encourage you to peruse his website.
At the same gallery (Shabazi 39, Tel Aviv), I admired the large graphic paintings conceived by Rachel Ehrenhalt, a young artist recently graduated from the prestigious Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem.
Some of the street art in Tel Aviv was equally interesting and whimsical:
This next example of graffiti art stood out to me because it brought to mind a ceramic mixed media piece I created years earlier called ‘TV Baby’. The similarity is striking, isn’t it?
Street art
TV Baby by Lilianne Milgrom
I hope you enjoyed this whirlwind tour of the Tel Aviv art scene. And in case you blinked and missed my 5 seconds of fame, I was mentioned in a New York Times article about Museum podcasts!!
I thought I’d share some behind-the-scenes evolution of works created during my week on the Caribbean island of Aruba. I’m not a fan of winter, so the warm temperatures, sea breezes and swaying palm trees were a balm for the soul. I usually travel with some basic art materials for when the muse strikes and people lying on beaches make for great quick sketching subjects.
For this trip, I packed a bunch of different painting materials in my suitcase hoping to loosen up and try something new. One of the inspirations was artist and master motivator Nicholas Winton who teaches artists to let go of fear – throw your paint at the canvas and if you don’t like it, guess what? Paint over it in globs of color and add random marks and scribbles until you like what you see! What a concept! Taking his example to heart, my first piece was looser but still tentative:
Mixed media on tea sachet packaging
Over the next few days, I threw caution to the wind and introduced finger painting, cardboard stencils, found paper, crayons and charcoal to my acrylic paintings. Here are some of the results:
I’ve been heartened by the response. Please contact me if you’re interested in seeing the works still available for purchase. I loved creating these – so liberating!! I’m itching to continue on this journey but I sense that I may need to go back to find some of that island magic…!
I’d also like to share an article that was just published in France Magazinedescribing my unique experience recovering from COVID during an artist residency at a gorgeous French chateau last summer. I’m happy to say that all’s well that ends well!
When one of my favorite artists came to town to exhibit her work, I made sure I was at the opening to hear her gallery talk. I have been following Maggie Siner‘s work for years but have never actually seen her artwork in person. Her paintings have a rare immediacy – they capture impressions without necessarily being impressionistic. By that I mean that Maggie Siner paints a plate of melon rinds, or a dress carelessly thrown over a chair the way your eye would capture a scene if you just glimpsed it for a fleeting moment before looking away.
Melon Slices, 2021, 10x18ins, oil on linen
Turquoise Dress & Letter, 2021, 12x17ins, oil on linen
Maggie is an American artist who divides her time between Venice and Loudon County, VA. Her resume is beyond impressive – she has been on the faculty of L’Institut d’Universités Américaines and Lacoste School of Art in France, a visiting professor at Xiamen University in China, Artist in Residence at the Savannah College of Art and Design and Dean of Faculty at the Washington Studio School. The woman has painting chops. But hearing her speak about painting is equally inspiring.
Turquoise Vase, 2016, 24x28ins, oil on linen
In her gallery talk, Maggie made it abundantly clear that narrative is not of the essence. We may want to impose our meaning and narrative on the painting above, for example, but what the artist gets excited about are colors and shapes and drapery – especially drapery, which she describes as “telling the story of the universe, because drapery is all about gravity, and gravity is the story of the universe.”
Central Pillows, 2017, 24x30ins, oil on linen
It’s when you get up close to Siner’s work that you see the real magic she creates with paint. Look at a detail of the painting above:
This bowl of mandarins just blew me away.
Mandarins on Plate, 2020, 14x16ins, oil on linen
Detail of mandarins
Siner spoke about the struggles and challenges she still faces with every painting. “Starting a new painting is like jumping into a mud puddle and figuring out how to get out again.” She paints exclusively from life with a limited palette of six colors of the spectrum. She makes it a point to stand far back from her subjects so that she purposely loses the sharp edges and unimportant detail. Siner applies intellectual consideration to every aspect of painting. “Boundaries create tension,” said Siner, referring to the placement of a composition within a rectangle. “Things hit against the limits and the edges.” Her enthusiasm for her work and her subjects was contagious. She got positively giddy when talking about radishes. “Radishes are events – all that green and red, and the tails!!!”
Radishes on Gray, 2020, 14x18ins, oil on linen
Siner’s exhibition will be on view at Susan Calloway in Georgetown, Washington DC until January 18th.
I highly recommend a visit! What do you think of Siner’s paintings?
I love flowers. They make me stop in my tracks to admire their beauty and when they grace my table, they lift my spirits. But I have never really thought of them as a creative medium for telling a story, nor as having the ability to mimic great works of art. The current, short-lived exhibition Fine Arts & Flowers at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts changed all that.
In this 13th Biennial of its kind, the museum presents spectacular floral interpretations of works from its permanent collection. The exhibition has a twofold benefit – the floral accents scattered about the museum add a touch of magic to the museum experience, but they also provide a unique way of appreciating the works of art themselves. It makes one stop and really look at the painting, sculpture or artefact. There were many glorious and innovative pairings and I’d like to share some of my favorites here.
Aren’t these Birds of Paradise the perfect match for the spikey treatment of horse and rider in Jacques Villon’s Horseback Riding, Chantilly, 1950?
Look at the way the flowers copy the gesture and color of the central path in Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Taunus Road.
Not only are the colors and shape of the bouquet in line with Queen Anne of Denmark’s portrait, but the stunning rose arrangement really look like bosoms about to explode out of a cinched bodice!
This is one of my favorites. Did you recognize Picasso’s Jester on Horseback? What I particularly like in this bouquet is the driftwood that matches the sensitive color of the horse. By adding greenery in the bouquet, the flower arranger added the background scenery absent in Picasso’s painting.
Monet’s Irises by the Pond. See a close-up of the exuberant floral arrangement below.
Look at the clever color match of the lapis dragon and the flower and paper arrangement below.
I could go on and on but you get the idea. I will leave you with a few additional images, and I’d love to hear what your favorites are!
The Virginia Museum of Fine Art is a true gem with a surprisingly robust collection. I feel uplifted by the Fine Arts & Flowers show (OCTOBER 20, 2021 – OCTOBER 24, 2021).
Before signing off, I’m thrilled to share the new cover from the second edition of my award-winning novel L’Origine and the launch of my author website!!
Some of you may know that I have been in France for the past few weeks on a writer’s residency in a magical chateau-turned-artist-residency not far from France’s Champagne region.
If you’re imagining that the lord of the manor behind this ambitious enterprise is a noble Frenchman who struts around in a velvet waistcoat twirling his goatee and quoting passages from Diderot and Voltaire, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. The man behind the vision is Israeli-born American artist and entrepreneur Ziggy Attias, whose duties include Goat wrangler, Plumber, Lawn Maintenance, and Janitor. Ziggy’s long-term dream reaches beyond the grounds of the gorgeous Chateau Orquevaux to the sleepy (and largely abandoned) little village of Orquevaux nestled at the foot of the chateau.
The grounds here are truly magnificent. From the steps of the chateau you see cows grazing in the distance, a church spire rising up to the clouds, forests that once held plentiful boar and deer and a gushing river spanned by wrought iron bridges. There are several smaller buildings in various stages of repair – gatehouses, goat house, boat house, fantastic old stables, etc. I can’t really do justice to the ambiance and beauty of a French chateau so I’ll resort to a few additional images and you can always check out more on my instagram.
Morning walks
I managed to tear myself away from the natural beauty of the French countryside to dig into my second novel, and I did a number of small studies and sketches including a live model session by the banks of the river. I felt like I was living inside Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass!
Kitchen shelf at the chateau SOLD
Now, lest you think that one can go through life without the good AND the bad, I will wrap up this post with the unhappy news that amidst all this beauty and natural wonder, I contracted COVID. Yep, I’m fully vaccinated. I am writing this in isolation at the chateau. Four of us tested positive and like an ant hill that someone kicked over, everyone who tested negative fled the scene to return to their respective domiciles. So four of us have been left to recover here in the chateau, wandering the grounds and doing our best to overcome the symptoms – no picnic, I assure you. Ziggy and his partner, Beulah, are doing a great job of looking after us from a distance but it’s a really bizarre and emotional experience to say the least. It can be looked at as a blessing, or equated to the unnerving scenes from The Shining with Jack Nicolson!! Hopefully I fly back home soon. Fingers crossed!
Art and Beyond 