Today I mapped out about 4 different exhibits I wanted to get to, and they weren’t necessarily that far from each other (Westwood, Hollywood, and Santa Monica); but we got going too late, and had to return to Pasadena too early to be able to fit in more than one of them, especially considering LA traffic (1 hour to get there; 1.5 hours to get back; how do people stand it out there?).
The first (and last) place we made it to was the Armand Hammer Museum, which I am now officially declaring to be my favorite museum in LA. Every show we’ve seen there has been fantastic. OK, well, that may not apply if you’re primarily interested in viewing only Impressionist works or art from previous centuries. But for me and Terry, the shows at the A.H. tickle our art-appreciation bits the most.
Each room in the Oranges and Sardines Exhibit showcased the work by a current artist with accompanying works by artists who influenced them. What a strong show!
The first room contained the work of Mary Heilmann, whose piece, “Blood on the Tracks,” 2005 (above) I found to be quite striking.
I’m afraid my notes are too sketchy to reconstruct the experience, but I do recall (I think) that one of her influences was Francis Bacon, and they had his piece “Figure with Two Owls, Study for Velasquez,” 1963 on display. A gorgeous work. I do love how he applies paint; it’s so scrumptious!
Do click on the link in the title to see more about this show at the Armand Hammer (they do a great job of extending their exhibits online). If you’re in LA, please do yourself a favor and go see this show! The few images here are but a tease.
Here are the pieces I made note of throughout this exhibit:
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Willem de Kooning
Untitled XXII
1982
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Juan Mele
Irregular Frame #2
1946
Oil on Masonite
(love the colors! green, chartreuse, ochre, ecru, brown, + stripes!)
(I’m pretty sure I saw this in a Philip Guston show at the Art Institute of Chicago when I was a student there.)
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Philip Guston
North
1961-1962
Oil on Canvas
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Dieter Roth
Selbstportrait als Suppe
1969-74
glue and acrylic paint
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Dieter Roth
Bonbons am Abend
1974
glue and acrylic paint
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Dieter Roth
Ein Bleicher Kracker
1974
glue and acrylic paint
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Dieter Roth
Mit Vogelkacke sich ernahrender bleicher Schleimbonbonscmeisser
1969-74
glue and acrylic paint
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Dieter Roth
2 Kartobbelknaben
1969-74
glue and acrylic paint
(some of the above were in the room of Christopher Wool; no promises that I got the German words correct!)
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Albert Ohlen
Untitled 1988
Oil on Linen
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Picasso
Man with Pipe
1969
Oil on Canvas
Wade Guyton’s room:
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Robert Morris
Horse of the Vetti II
1983
felt, grommets
(do an image search on Robert Morris — great stuff!)
Mark Grotjahn’s room:
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Paul Klee,
Two Heads
1932
(I think this was the Still painting; he has long been one of my favorite Abstract Expressionists)
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Joseph Albers
Homage to the Square
1954
Yayoi Kusama
(small swirls of white paint, more or less covering a stained canvas, with holes through which you could see the stain color, similar to the one above — and check out the slideshow on her bio page!)
(similar to the one above)