Marfa, Texas
/Cool, crisp day in Marfa...
Christie's Impressionist and Modern Sales
/While attending the Impressionist and Modern sales in New York, it was a special thrill to view the much buzzed-about Salvator Mundi. It sold the following evening for a record-smashing $450 Million!
The 68-lot evening sale generated $480,414,000 and included the enchanting Matinée sur la Seine by Monet.
Dallas Art Fair and Nasher Sculpture Center
/
It was a gorgeous weekend to visit Dallas! The Dallas Art Fair is always impressive and this time was no exception. 95 galleries were in attendance, 40 of them international. Exhibitors must be invited to participate which results in a very well-curated event.
Here is a sampling of some works that caught my eye :
I also took a bit of time away from the fair to visit the Richard Serra exhibit at the Nasher Sculpture Center featuring his prints and drawings. The textures of these works are incredible. They must be seen in person to fully appreciate the subtleties of "black".
The Armory Show: New York
/
Now in its 23rd year, The Armory Show is a leader in the global art fair circuit, highlighting the most prestigious artists and galleries in the world. With 200 galleries and 65,000 visitors annually, there is much to see. Here are a few of my favorites from the fair including a Calder and a Frankenthaler.
I also visited the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum which had two outstanding exhibits: Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim, and the Thannhauser Collection featuring many lovely Picasso works as well as Impressionist masters. It was exciting to see some early works by the masters of Modernism.
A few of the highlights from my gallery visits in New York were a small Braque with sunflowers as an homage to Van Gogh, a charming Degas drawing, and a stunning, early Man Ray painting.
Studio Visit: Trenton Doyle Hancock
/
Recently I had the opportunity to visit Trenton Doyle Hancock in his studio. Seeing his complex works during the creation process was inspiring. Over the course of two decades, Hancock has built his own universe complete with a creation story, villains, heroes, and a host of recurring characters such as his autobiographical Torpedo Boy (pictured at right), who all find themselves toiling in his colorful and emotional tales of good vs. evil.
Hancock is an outstanding draftsman as well as a gifted painter, which is evident in his mastery of color, perspective and pattern. He deftly collages bits of his own discarded canvases into new compositions. His studio was like a giant adult toy box where his imagination roams free.
In 2014, a seminal exhibition of his drawings traveled from the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston to the Akron Art Museum in Ohio and finally to the Studio Museum in Harlem. His work is in prestigious museum collections worldwide. It was an honor to spend some time with him in his studio.
Torpedo Boy is Hancock’s autobiographical character which he first conceived in the fourth grade.
Hancock’s completed work: Coloration Coronation, 2016
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
90 x 132 inches
"Degas, A New Vision" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
/
I hope you had a chance to see Degas: A New Vision at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It was a stunning display of the breadth and span of the artist’s career from the expected paintings to the more seldom exhibited prints and even photographs taken by the artist late in life. The didactic texts were brilliantly specific and plentiful.
Over 200 works were assembled from collections around the world; from the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. to Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, and from Museu de Arte de São Paulo to Musée d’Orsay, Paris. It was truly a comprehensive accumulation of the life’s work of an iconic and ground breaking artist.
If you are interested in learning more about Degas’ landscapes, on the left is a link to MFAH’s director Gary Tinterow giving some background to the works. On the right, you will find a short video teaser for the exhibition that shows some of the more well known works in the show.