Art Guide
Exhibits We Love Right NowThe Fullness of Color: 1960s Painting at the Guggenheim Museum — New York, New York
The Guggenheim's latest exhibit explores the bold colors of abstract art in the Sixties and early Seventies, from legends such as Helen Frankenthaler and Kenneth Noland. A sharp turn from the previously dominant gestural M.O. of Pollock, de Kooning and crew, these works celebrate filling the canvas with lush and brilliantly vivid color. We can't think of a better way to shake off the winters doldrums.
Dan Flavin at David Zwirner — Paris, France
Bonjour, Paris! David Zwirner finally opens a gallery in the City of Light—after outposts in New York, London and Hong Kong—and the debut exhibit features none other than light-loving Dan Flavin. A career retrospective, it includes major fluorescent works by the American minimalist pioneer as well as some of his lesser-known circular light fixtures and—for the first time in Paris—a massive geometric "barrier" that was originally installed in fellow artist Donald Judd's Soho loft in the Seventies.
What does a sunbathing Hubert de Givenchy have to do with the post-war reconstruction of Nuremberg? Or Coney Island with Ali MacGraw? Sophia Loren with the Battle of the Bulge? They're all part of photographer Tony Vaccaro's oeuvre, on view at Monroe Gallery on Don Gaspar Avenue. Fun fact: Vaccaro, a former soldier who went on to work for Harper's Bazaar and Town & Country, celebrated his 97th birthday last month.
You'll find ample glamour in this respective of Scottish lensman Albert Watson, who's photographed everyone from David Bowie and Mick Jagger to supermodels Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss and Christy Turlington. Impressive, no? Then consider this: Watson's shot over 200 covers for Vogue and 40 covers for Rolling Stone.
A library is a library, right? Not the ones captured by Candida Höfer, who's made a name for herself in photographing grand, large-scale spaces—typically peopleless, the better to drink in the sumptuous interiors. This series focuses on libraries and theaters from around the world: Austria, France, Mexico, Russia… If our library was as breathtaking as these, maybe we would have spent more time hitting the books.
Norman Rockwell: American Freedom at The Museum of Fine Arts — Houston, Texas
We all know Norman Rockwell as the renowned artist who captured everyday American life in the 20th Century. This exhibit centers, in particular, on the paintings that speak to President Roosevelt's 1941 Four Freedoms speech: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Fear, and Freedom from Want. Also included in the show: works by many of his contemporaries (Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange) as well as more modern pieces in a section dubbed Four Freedoms Reimagined.
Fruits, Vegetables; Fruit and Vegetable Salad at the Whitney — New York, NY
Darren Bader puts a whole new spin on performance art in his upcoming exhibit at the Whitney. Fresh fruits and vegetables are placed on pedestals as the art and, as they ripen, they're taken off, cleaned, chopped, sliced and diced into a salad—which is subsequently served to visitors. The process then begins anew with more produce. Head to the museum's website for the schedule of salad-making and eating "showtimes."