Large Plane Trees

“The Large Plane Trees,” an 1889 work by Vincent Van Gogh at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

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A few of my favorite things

I wanted to share a few of my favorite images from a recent trip to the Toledo Museum of Art.  The first image is Wheat Fields with Reaper, Auvers, by Vincent van Gogh, 1890.  I love the landscape, color and movement.  The landscape reminds me of the area I live in, north-Central Ohio, except the warmth and sun that we tend to lack.

 

Athanor, by Anselm Kiefer, 1983-84.  …only by going into the past can you go into the future. Anselm Kiefer has used his art to confront the wounds left to his homeland, Germany, by Hitler’s regime. With his art, Kiefer uses the alchemists’ symbolic “secret fire” to purify and transform the terrible legacy of Nazi Germany into hope for the future of humanity. He becomes the alchemist himself, literally using fire (a blowtorch) to scorch parts of the painting—and to scorch the symbols of evil and tragedy in order to change them into something new. This image, in my opinion, demonstrates how art can help to transform the human condition and push us/inspire us to more…to hope.

Portrait of a Freedom Fighter, Julian Schnabel, 1984.  Rather than painting on canvas or panel, Julian Schnabel builds up an uneven landscape of broken crockery, held together with bondo (an adhesive commonly used in body work on cars). He then uses this sculptural surface as the foundation for painting this anonymous portrait.  Stand across the room from Portrait of a Freedom Fighter. Notice how clear the face is from far away—how it is even possible to identify an emotional expression on this mottled surface.  Portrait of a Freedom Fighter depicts the Cuban émigré poet Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990) against a barren landscape. The title refers to Arenas’s brave, anti-authoritarian stances, which led to his persecution and exile from his homeland.   I remember learning about Schnabel when I was in art school, and it was great to see his images again.  As Schnabel used to say, it’s important to see paintings in person, and this broken plate painting is well worth the trip to Toledo to see in person.

Landscape, Andre Derain, 1906.  André Derain here transforms the traditional subject of the landscape view with thick black outlines, strong brushstrokes, and bold layers of color. The inspiration of nature remains important, but the work is just as much a world of the artist’s own creation as Derain takes liberties of creativity and self-expression.  I really like this landscape by Derain.  It seems that he takes up where van Gogh and Cezanne have left off  in their paintings as he explores the landscape from an expressionist view.  I desire and I am inspired to follow the path that Derain has made with his landscapes full of expression.  I hope my journey to the Toledo Museum of Art has inspired you to explore a local museum or art gallery near you to refresh your mind and soul!

 

Repetitions

I recently visited the Cleveland Museum of Art to view the joint exhibition with the Phillips Collection -Van Gogh Repetitions .  The two institutions have joined together to develop a ground-breaking exhibition that presents new insights into the art of Vincent van Gogh through a study of his répétitions—a term the artist used to describe a distinctive genre of works in his oeuvre.

Currently there is considerable debate even among experts over how Van Gogh produced his repetitions. It is known that he used a perspective frame to compose some paintings, a squaring technique to enlarge painted compositions and Buhot paper to transfer some drawings to lithographic stone. The exhibition curators and conservators are working closely together to investigate the various means Van Gogh employed to produce repetitions.

“Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter’s soul”; so states Vincent Van Gogh in his writings and through his work in this exhibition, “Van Gogh: Repetitions.”   This exhibit fleshes out  the creative process over his mastery of post-Impressionist colors and forms accessible to followers and students of all levels.

“Repetitions” is an impressively exhaustive effort to gather so many of these intimately related pieces in the same gallery for the first time. I felt honored to be able to observe and experience this work together in one place -almost like walking into Van Gog’s studio; allowing me to explore all of these paintings together makes for exciting art that welcomes viewers into the process!