Rodin and Richard Serra in Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Rodin and Richard Serra in Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0674

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0653

Two weeks ago, before I went to Palo Alto for the opening of "Scapes" juried exhibit at Pacific Art League, which included my painting "Lake", I stopped by the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University briefly.

I had visited the museum many times, including accompanying my visiting parents from China, and saw many wonderful permanent collections and special exhibit. This time, since I had little time, I was really only skipping along the surface; even so, I still managed to record many amazing pieces.

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0655

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0658

The special exhibit was "Rodin and America: Influence and Adaptation" (through 1 Jan 2012), which juxtaposed many sculptures, sketches and works in other media by Auguste Rodin and other American artists under his influences. The work I admire most was Lorado Taft's extremely dramatic "The Blind", which predated Jose Saramago's Blindness (The City of Blind):

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0660

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0668

After that, I did see some of its famous Rodin collections:

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0669

I was mostly enchanted by the "Spirit of Eternal Repose", a 1898 Plaster work:

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0719

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0715

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0725

Other sculptures stood out are:

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0671

Horse, bronze, Deborah Butterfield

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0700

Untitled, 1989, Welded and rusted steel and rubber, Mark Lere

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0706

Granite Circle, Richard Long (on the balcony)

I didn't have much time therefore only looked permanent painting collections very quickly and these are Admirable paintings inside the museums are:

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0709

Front: Pink Companion, 1991, Cedar and graphite, Ursula von Rydingsvard; Left: Angel, 1983, Oil on Canvas, Sean Scully; Right: Untitled #14, 1969, John McLaughlin

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0678

Rodin and the Dancing Body: Tracing a Lineage

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0704

Man with Hand to Face #2, 1960, Oil on canvas, Nathan Oliveira

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0707

Window, 1967, Oil on Canvas, Richard Diebenkorn

Then, there would always be the meditative "Stone River" by Andy Goldsworthy:

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0727

Stone River, Andy Goldsworthy, Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0737

And the last, the new temporary addition to Cantor Art Center, the rusty steel sculpture "Sequence" by Richard Serra. It was amazingly large, rustic yet sensual, almost echoed the Diebenkorn's "Window" (above):

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0702

Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0696

Sequence, Steel, Richard Serra, Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0690

Sequence, Steel, Richard Serra, Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0665

Sequence, Steel, Richard Serra, Cantor Art Museum, Stanford University, California _ 0666

linda cicero / stanford university news dept.

Richard Serra's 2006 "Sequence"
at Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center
will move to S.F.

Image source: SFGate.com

Then, yesterday, SFGate.com reported that Richard Serra's immense sculpture "Sequence", "the interlocking steel spirals - which are 13 feet tall and together weigh a whopping 235 tons - will reside come 2016 in the Howard Street gallery of SFMOMA's new wing [Fischer Collection]. And since the addition's ground floor will be clad in glass, the much-praised "Sequence" should be visible even when the museum is closed.

As for 'Sequence,' it's not far away if you want a peek before 2016: This summer it was installed outdoors at the Cantor Arts Center on the Stanford campus."

My time at Stanford this time was too short for me to enter into the swirls. I definitely would get inside them before it moved to San Francisco. It looked amazing on Stanford campus and it is intriguing to see how it looks in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

Related article: Second Thoughts on the Sculpture "The Blind" by Lorado Taft

Thursday, November 17, 2011