van Gogh at the Met

October 24, 2005

On Sunday Russ and I met some family to see a special exhibition of drawings by van Gogh at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that are rarely exhibited because they are fragile and sensitive to light. I would have rather gone on a weekday, because it was almost impossible to study or even see the drawings up close because the galleries were mobbed. But as Shane said, it was the opportunity of a lifetime…

I often think about van Gogh’s work when I’m sewing lines into my own work, so I was especially intrigued by a series of drawings that van Gogh did of his own completed paintings. Using a reed pen, brush, and ink he creates lines that are not contours or crosshatching to create volume, but as a kind of a color shorthand and a patterning that gives a unique energy to the work. What a genius he was!

Also at the Jewish Museum was a retrospective of Joan Snyder’s paintings, large beautifully colored, multi-media canvases with herbs, found objects and even fabric (velvet and others)very effectively mixed with the paint. Most of her work was much more colorful, but I especially like this painting Cherry Fall — the lucious white sky and red cherries almost made my mouth water.

And finally on the way out of the museum, this painting by self-taught Jewish artist Malcah Zeldis caught my eye.

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