February 16, 2011
Anyone who has seen Shine, Shakespeare in Love, Exit the King or most recently The King's Speech knows that everything Geoffrey Rush touches turns to gold, and his current theater engagement should be no exception. The Diary of a Madman, which opened last week for a one-month run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, showcases Rush as Poprishchin, an unaccomplished civil servant living in 1830s Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. Based on a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol, the play details the protagonist's descent into insanity as told through his diary entries: He suspects two dogs of swapping love letters and spies on their affair, believes himself to be heir to the Spanish throne and falls in love with his superior's daughter. If Rush's past performances offer any clues as to how he will play a man held captive by a rigid social structure and a debilitating mental state, it's a safe bet to expect brilliance. At 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn; 718-636-4100; bam.org.
Photo Heidrun Lohr
February 23, 2011
Pablo Picasso is one of the most recognized names in art history, but it wasn't always so. In 1900, the then-unknown 19-year-old Picasso moved to Paris and discovered the works of Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. He would spend the next seven years there, coming into his own as an artist. That period of his life and work is the focus of "Picasso in Paris, 1900-1907," on view at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam through May 29. Guest-curated by art historian (and Picasso expert) Marilyn McCully and organized jointly with the Museu Picasso in Barcelona—with loans from Paris's Centre Pompidou, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim in New York—the show demonstrates how the artist's style was influenced by his time in the City of Light, from the death of his good friend Carles Casagemas in 1901 (which marked the start of his Blue Period) to his friendship with writers Max Jacobs and Guillaume Apollinaire, who piqued his interest in harlequins. Every Friday evening during the exhibition's run, dancers from the company Dansgroep Amsterdam perform Nomade, a site-specific work that celebrates Picasso's love of the circus, alongside his paintings. Picasso is also the topic of a lecture series taking place the first Sunday of each month. On March 6, literary historian Peter Read will examine the artistic relationship between Picasso and the poets in his circle of friends. At 7 Paulus Potterstraat; 31-20/570-5200; vangoghmuseum.nl.
Photo Self-portrait with a palette, 1906 , Philadelphia Museum of Art. A. E. Gallatin Collection, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2011 Pablo Picasso
March 02, 2011
Contemporary art collectors and admirers, rejoice! The Armory Show begins today. Running through March 6 on Piers 92 and 94 on Manhattan's west side, this year's fair hosts 274 galleries from 31 countries. At the Paul Kasmin Gallery booth, sculptor Iván Navarro has installed 82 feet of neon-lit fencing, while multimedia artist Sam Van Aken has transformed the Ronald Feldman Gallery stand into an orchard of live trees genetically altered to simultaneously produce peaches, plums, cherries, nectarines and apricots. Hirschl & Adler Modern is showing seven marble sculptures by Elizabeth Turk, the first exhibition of her work since she won a 2010 MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant. Eighteen galleries, both renowned and up-and-coming, from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela will represent Latin America at the second edition of Armory Focus, a curated, invitation-only section of the fair showcasing a particular artistic community (last year's featured Berlin). Don't miss the Casa Triângulo stall, where Brazilian painter Mariana Palma's colorful work will be on display. For its art-loving guests, private club and hotel Soho House is hosting a series of panel discussions and brunches with presenting artists, and offering guided tours of VOLTA NY, an Armory Show satellite exhibit on view on 34th Street. One-day admission to the Armory Show is $30 and a combination pass, including entry to VOLTA NY, is $40; thearmoryshow.com; voltashow.com. Soho House is located 29-35 Ninth Ave.; 212-627-9800; sohohouseny.com.
Photo Mariana Palma, Untitled, 2011, oil on canvas, 250 x 150 cm. Courtesy Casa Triângulo.
March 09, 2011
Based on the 1982 children's novel by British author Michael Morpurgo, War Horse is the story of a young boy in search of his beloved horse, who has been sold into the cavalry at the outbreak of World War I. Adapted by Nick Stafford, the play premiered at London's National Theatre in 2007 and spent two sold-out seasons there. The production, which is still showing to full houses in the UK—Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip even ventured out to see it for their first private theater appearance in four years—makes its highly anticipated American debut when previews begin March 15 at New York's Lincoln Center. The cast of 35 includes members of the Handspring Puppet Company, who maneuver the painstakingly—and, at times, heartbreakingly—realistic life-sized horse puppets that show the animals' every sinew and breath. Through June 26 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 W. 65th St.; 212-239-6200; warhorseonbroadway.com.
Photo Simon Annand
March 30, 2011
In recent years the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, just across the river from Washington, D.C., has been on a hot streak. First came the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award, then last year a celebrated performance of Sweeney Todd in honor of Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday, and now Art, which opened March 29. Written by Yasmina Reza, author of the Broadway hit God of Carnage, the dark comedy won a Tony for Best Play in 1998 and revolves around a blank canvas, a so-called piece of art purchased for nearly $43,000 by one of three friends—Serge, Marc and Yvan—who proceed to argue the question: Is this piece an avant-garde painting or a sham? Starting as a theoretical debate, the conversation spins into a wildly funny yet acerbic argument that exposes personal rifts and ultimately tests their 15-year friendship. A trio of much-lauded local actors—John Lescault, Mitchell Hébert and Michael Russotto—take the stage as the three friends and are accompanied by original music from Peter Lerman, winner of the 2010 Jonathan Larson Award. Tickets start at $50. At 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, VA; 703-573-7328; signature-theatre.org.
Photo Chris Mueller
April 07, 2011
Some creative collaborations amount to more than the sum of their parts, and this is one of them. Last month, Lalique released to its boutiques the first of 83 "Winged Victory of Samothrace" crystal sculptures that incorporate the artistic methods of the late French artist Yves Klein. After a year of experimentation with a chemist, Klein discovered an intense, completely absorbent shade of ultramarine blue, a hue now known as IKB (International Klein Blue). The scientific formula—a combination of copper and cobalt oxides—remains a secret, but Klein used the color to paint many of his sculptures, including Winged Victory, the moulds for which he acquired in 1962, the year of his death. Nearly fifty year later, Lalique comes in: the glassware and jewelry house worked with Klein's estate and revived its cire perdue (or "lost wax") method, in which a molten wax coagulates into a material described as crystalline skin. The result is a life-sized Winged Victory sculpture made of IKB-colored Lalique crystal, priced at $110,000. Two of the 83 that were crafted have already been purchased. For more information, please visit the Lalique New York boutique at 609 Madison Ave., or call 212-355-6550.
Photo Courtesy Lalique
April 14, 2011
The world knows Frank Stella as a painter and Santiago Calatrava as an architect, but the two have come together as artists, collaborating on an installation to be unveiled for the first time on April 15 at the New National Gallery in Berlin. In 2008, Stella painted the bright, 98-foot-long piece on multiple sheets of tarpaulin and titled it The Michael Kohlhaas Curtain, inspired by the German poet Heinrich von Kleist's 1811 novella. Calatrava then constructed a torus-shaped steel sculpture—he says it complements the gallery's architecture, done by Mies van der Rohe—inside of which Stella's painting is mounted. Suspended from the ceiling, the installation will have unobstructed views from all angles on the ground and is on view through August 14, when it will travel to Zaragoza, Spain. At 50 Potsdamer Strasse; 49-30/266-424-242; smb.museum.
Photo Courtesy www.palladium.de, Barbara Burg/Oliver Schuh
April 28, 2011
Ever since Barbara Heizer’s article appeared in our May/June 2007 issue, we at Departures have had a special place in our hearts for the Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, whose fifth touring season begins May 1. The 47-acre property once belonged to the renowned architect Philip Johnson and his lifetime partner, art collector and curator David Whitney (both passed away in 2005). On it, Johnson built his "fifty-year diary," as he called the 14 modernist structures he designed for the location, including the landmark Glass House in which he resided. This season will offer three new tours focusing on the site’s architecture, landscaping and art collection (which includes works by Donald Judd and Julian Schnabel). There will also be a program called Conversations in Context, in which leading minds like New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger, MoMA curator Barry Bergdoll and Johnson scholar Hilary Lewis will lead a small evening tour through the grounds, followed by a cocktail reception. Not to be missed—especially not by foodies—is a two-day event celebrating the recent book Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers and Artisans from Taunton Press. On the evening of June 10, ten guests can participate in Dine in Design, a five-course tasting menu prepared by chefs Michel Richard and Brian Lewis (of the restaurants Central in Washington, D.C. and Bedford Post in Bedford, N.Y., respectively) and served at Johnson’s table in the Glass House. The following afternoon brings Dine with Design, when visitors can roam the grounds and enjoy dishes made by the book’s authors and inspired by the property. Architecture, art and landscape tours, $45. Conversations in Context tour, $150. Dine in Design, $10,000 per plate. Dine with Design tickets, $300. At 199 Elm St., New Canaan, CT; 866-811-4111; philipjohnsonglasshouse.org.
Photo Courtesy Eirik Johnson
May 05, 2011
It doesn't get more New York than Robert Mapplethorpe (the late artist grew up in Queens, studied at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute and did much of his black-and-white photography in Manhattan studios), but a new show of his photographs takes a more national approach. Opening May 6 in Manhattan, the "50 Americans" exhibit at Sean Kelly Gallery has, as its name implies, 50 Americans—one from each state—choose an image from the Mapplethorpe catalogue that resonates with them as individuals. The selectors range in age from 20 to more than 100 years old; among them are a rancher, a business analyst, a rabbi and an IT engineer. Accompanying each image is a brief narrative from each participant explaining why he or she felt connected to a photograph, shedding light on how Mapplethorpe's oeuvre continues to impact viewers 22 years after his untimely death. At 528 W. 29th St.; 212-239-1181; skny.com.
Robert Mapplethorpe
Nick Marden, 1980
Copyright Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by Permission.
