Thursday, August 28, 2014

Modernism from the National Gallery of Art in De Young Museum, San Francisco


DSCN0358 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum

Last weekend, I visited De Young Museum to see the special exhibit: Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection.

DSCN0378 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum

DSCN0015 _ NGA at De Young

DSCN0040 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum

The exhibition included many important modern masters, with works in the styles ranging from almost realism to schematic abstract and cartoonish.

DSCN0092 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum

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To me, the most astonishing offering was a series of paintings by Barnett Newman, titled The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachthani, created from 1958 to 1966. Spartan and aesthetically pleasing, the group paintings had an otherworldly beauty and spirituality.  The scope of the paintings was vast; and despite the long period of the creation, this series never veered away from the clearly defined concept, and these canvases could be appreciated individually or as a whole:

DSCN0403 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young

DSCN0400 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young  DSCN0402 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young

DSCN0070 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young

DSCN0404 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young

DSCN0002 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young



DSCN0065 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young

DSCN0062 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young

Similarly, I found this Rothko's abstract piece, in very subdued palettes, exceedingly beautiful.  It surely made a stark contrast to his more vibrantly painted pieces, particularly his red and purple pieces.  It is a very meditative piece:

DSCN0381 _ Untitled, 1969, Mark Rothko, NGA at De Young

DSCN0041 _ Untitled, 1969, Mark Rothko, NGA at De Young
Untitled, 1969, Mark Rothko

The Bradley Walker Tomlin painting was definitely vibrantly colorful and also amazingly beautiful, and even orderly, despite the deceptive chaos:

DSCN0399 _ Maneuver for Position, 1947, Bradley Walker Tomlin, NGA at De Young
Maneuver for Position, 1947, Bradley Walker Tomlin

Hans Hoffmann's piece included was a typical Hofmann - strong color contrasts, geometric pattens seemed ever moving on the canvas. Very dynamic:

DSCN0395 _ Autumn Gold, 1957, Hans Hofmann, NGA at De Young

DSCN0396 _ Autumn Gold (detail), 1957, Hans Hofmann, NGA at De Young
Autumn Gold and detail, 1957, Hans Hofmann

Other pieces with similar complexities and contrasts are these pieces below, in turn subtle, bold, schematic, and chaotic:

DSCN0392 _ Essex and Hester (Red), 1958, Grace Hartigan, NGA at de Young
Essex and Hester (Red), 1958, Grace Hartigan

DSCN0384 _ Desert Landscape, 1951, William Baziotes, NGA at De Young
Desert Landscape, 1951, William Baziotes

DSCN0012 _ Perilous Night, 1982, Jasper Johns, NGA at De Young
Perilous Night, 1982, Jasper Johns

DSCN0007 _ Souvenirs, 1980-84, Howard Hodgkin, NGA at De Young
Souvenirs, 1980-84, Howard Hodgkin

The following group included the most representative and visually complex offerings, intricate in patterns and meanings:

DSCN0038 _ La round des images, 1977, Jean Dubuffet, NGA at De Young
La round des images, 1977, Jean Dubuffet

DSCN0032 _ Saigon, Minnesota, 1985, Eric Fischl, NGA at De Young
Saigon, Minnesota, 1985, Eric Fischl

DSCN0004 _ Archive, 1963, Robert Rauschenberg, NGA at De Young
Archive, 1963, Robert Rauschenberg

DSCN0025 _ Courtroom, 1970, Philip Guston, NGA at De Young
Courtroom, 1970, Philip Guston

The following group paintings were the most schematic and purely abstract, and some of them were quite lovely, such as those by Ad Reinhardt:

DSCN0010 _ Graphics Tablet, 1998, Terry Winters, NGA at De Young
Graphics Tablet, 1998, Terry Winters

DSCN0036 _ Picasso's Skull, 1989-90, Brice Marden, NGA at De Young
Picasso's Skull, 1989-90, Brice Marden

DSCN0390 _ Untitled (Yellow and White), Untitled (Red and Gray), 1950, Ad Reinhardt, NGA at De Young

DSCN0049
Untitled (Yellow and White), Untitled (Red and Gray), 1950, Ad Reinhardt

DSCN0387 _ 1951-N, 1951, Clyfford Still, NGA at De Young
1951-N, 1951, Clyfford Still

DSCN0383 _ Study for Homage to the Square_ Light Rising, 1950, altered 1959, Josef Albers, NGA at De Young
Study for Homage to the Square_ Light Rising, 1950, altered 1959, Josef Albers

DSCN0386 _ First Theme, 1964, Burgoyne Diller, NGA at De Young
First Theme, 1964, Burgoyne Diller

DSCN0033 _ Untitled #2, 1981, Agnes Martin, NGA at De Young
Untitled #2, 1981, Agnes Martin

And lastly, there were some Roy Lichtenstein's cartoonish paintings - certainly there was no denying that there was some beauty in them, but they just didn't speak to me, as to some other absorbed patrons:

DSCN0089 _ Painting with Statue of Liberty, 1983, Roy Lichtenstein, NGA at De Young
Painting with Statue of Liberty, 1983, Roy Lichtenstein

DSCN0091 _ Entablature, 1974, Roy Lichtenstein, NGA at De Young
Entablature, 1974, Roy Lichtenstein

The exhibit was in the Herbst Special Exhibition Galleries of De Young Museum and it ran from June 7, 2014 to October 12, 2014.  Highly recommended.

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And you can tweet about it:

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- Venetian Masterpieces from Vienna at De Young Museum
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- Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris - De Young Museum, San Francisco
- Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay at De Young Museum, San Francisco
- My Favorite De Young Museum Collections
- My Favorite Paintings at National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

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