Arts Summary

February 13, 2020

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter and Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance at The Drawing Center, through May 10, 2020

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter, February 20 – May 10, 2020

“Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter is the first exhibition devoted to the Canadian-Trinidadian artist’s drawing practice, which has expanded significantly in recent years. Throughout his work, Santiago grapples with ‘genetic imagination,’ or the ability to access generational knowledge through imaginative recollection and projection. For the artist, this method serves as a means of wading through histories lost, hidden, and often tangled. In Can’t I Alter, Santiago creates a multi-faceted narrative in an immersive, drawing-filled installation that explores the theme of ancestry and the necessity of preserving the past while acknowledging the fallacies implicit in historical recollection. As viewers explore the space, they join Santiago and his alter ego, the J’ouvert Knight, in an attempt to locate a diasporic ancestor whose existence cannot ever be fully grasped. A newly commissioned film will accompany the installation, as well as performances organized by Santiago.” — The Drawing Center

Curtis Talwst Santiago. Whatever lay ahead he had already accepted, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (90.2 x 90.2 cm). Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

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Curtis Talwst Santiago. Artist as knight (self portrait), 2018. Mixed media diorama in reclaimed jewelry box, 2 1/4 x 2 x 2 1/2 inches (5.7 x 5.1 x 6.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago. Redface Ancestor Rock II, 2017. Spray paint and hard pastel on found rock, 68 x 28 x 24 inches (172.7 x 71.1 x 61 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

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Curtis Talwst Santiago. The Four of Them Made a Promise, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 85 x 76 1/2 inches (215.9 x 194.3 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago. A morte do cavaleiro prateado, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (90.2 x 90.2 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago. African Knight I, 2018. Wire and beads on steel armature, 82 x 24 x 24 inches (208.3 x 61 x 61 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago. Red Face Ancestral Vision 1, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, acrylic on canvas, 39 3/4 x 39 1/2 inches (101 x 100.3 cm). Courtesy of Racquel Chevremont. Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter is organized by Claire Gilman, Chief Curator, with Isabella Kapur, Curatorial Assistant.

Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance, February 20 – May 10, 2020

“Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance is the first major institutional exhibition of the Chinese artist’s work in the United States. Born in 1942 in Xi’an, the site of China’s historical capital, Guo began making art in her late forties after debilitating arthritis forced her into early retirement from a job at a chemical fertilizer factory. To alleviate her chronic pain, Guo devoted herself to qigong—an ancient Chinese wellness and healing technique that combines coordinated movements, breathing, and meditation—and subsequently developed a highly personal drawing practice. Producing an astonishing body of work in the last two decades of her life, Guo created more than 500 intricate ink drawings on subjects ranging from cosmology and Chinese mythology to traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy. Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance features more than thirty works from Guo’s brief yet prolific career, including drawings executed on the backs of book and calendar pages and on cloth, as well as small- and large-scale drawings on rice-paper scrolls.” — The Drawing Center

Guo Fengyi. Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, 1989.  Ink on glazed printing paper,27 1/2 x 19 8/9 inches.  Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. The Buddha in the Underground Palace of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, 1989. Ink on calendar paper, 29 x 20 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Fetus, 1989. Colored ink on calendar paper, 31 2/5 x 21 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Asking the Master How Many People Have Natural Superpower, 1990. Colored ink on calendar paper, 73 4/5 x 34 3/4 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Male Female, 1989. Colored ink on glazed printing paper, 30 3/5 x 21 1/3 inches.  Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Organization Method of Human Numeric, 2006. Colored ink on blueprint paper, 55 x 34 ½ inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Diagram of the Human Nerves Ten Thousand Twenty Thousand One Hundred Thousand, 1989. Colored ink on blueprint paper, 36 3/5 x 25 3/5 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Four Diagrams of the Divination Procedures in Zhu Xi’s The Basics of I Ching, 1990. Colored ink on rice paper, 48 x 35 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi. Organization Diagram of Human Numeric, 2006. Colored ink on blueprint paper, 55 x 34 ½ inches. Courtesy of Long March Space

Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance is organized by Rosario Güiraldes, Assistant Curator, and Laura Hoptman, Executive Director.

Images courtesy The Drawing Center.

February 5, 2020

Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution at Museum of Fine Arts (MSK), Ghent, February 1 – April 30, 2020

“Worldwide, only approximately twenty works by Van Eyck have been preserved. Quite exceptionally, over half of these traveled to Ghent in 2020 for the exhibition ‘Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution’ at the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK). In what marks an unmissable and strong exhibition, the world of Van Eyck and his revolutionary gaze is brought to life like never before.

The centerpieces of the exhibition are the outer panels of ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’. These were restored in the MSK by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage between 2012 and 2016. In a highly exceptional loan, they returned to the museum where they are reunited with other works by Van Eyck for the very first time.

To contextualize the optical revolution he inspired, Van Eyck’s paintings are shown alongside works by his most talented peers from Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. ‘Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution’ is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the absolute highlights of Ghent’s 2020 Van Eyck theme year.

The exhibition in 2020 brings around 80 late medieval works to Ghent. Painting, miniature art, sculpture, and drawings are placed next to and opposite each other to bring the medieval world of Van Eyck to life. For this, the MSK worked in close collaboration with international partners.” — Museum of Fine Arts

Jan (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441) and Hubert van Eyck (Maaseik, c. 1366/1370- Ghent, 1426). The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432. Outer panels of the closed altarpiece. Oil on panel. Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). The Madonna at the Fountain, 1439. Oil on panel. 19 x 12 cm. Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. Photo Hugo Maertens.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy, c. 1435. Oil on panel. 26.6 x 19.6 cm. Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). The Annunciation Diptych, c. 1433-1435. Oil on panel. Left: 38.8 x 23.2 cm. Right: 39 x 24 cm. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

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Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon, c. 1428−1430. Oil on panel. 22 x 17 cm. Muzeul National Brukenthal, Sibiu (Romania).

Anonymous (Southern Low Countries), after Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). The Triptych of Petrus Wyts, first half 17th century (central panel), first half 16th century (outer panels). Oil on panel. 172 x 99 cm 172 x 41 cm (shutters). Groeningemuseum, Bruges. Photo Hugo Maertens.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). The Saint Barbara of Nicomedia, 1437. Oil on panel. 32 × 18,2 cm. Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Antwerp. Photo Hugo Maertens.

Jan van Eyck and workshop (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Brugge, 1441). The Madonna at the fountain, c. 1440. Oil on panel. 21,3 x 17,2 cm. Private collection (© Courtesy of the Frick Collection).

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). The Annunciation, c. 1434-1436. Oil on panel, transferred onto canvas. 92.7 x 36.7 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). The Turin-Milan Book of Hours, c. 1410-1440. Tempera, gold and ink on parchment. 284 x 203 mm. Palazzo Madama, Turin – Museo Civico d’Arte Antica. Reproduced by permission of the Fondazione Torino Musei.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, c. 1390 – Bruges, 1441). Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata, 1440. Oil on vellum on panel. 12,7 x 14,6 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection, 1917. Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, ca. 1390 – Brugge, 1441). Portrait of Jan de Leeuw, 1436. Oil on panel. 33 x 27,5 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wenen, Gemäldegalerie.

Jan van Eyck (Maaseik?, ca. 1390 – Brugge, 1441). Portrait of Margareta van Eyck, 1439. Oil on panel. 32,6 x 25,8 cm. Musea Brugge. Photo: Hugo Maertens.

Images courtesy Museum of Fine Arts (MSK).

February 4, 2020

Designs for Different Futures at Philadelphia Museum of Art, through March 8, 2020

“The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents a major collaborative exhibition that focuses on the role of designers in shaping the world of our future. Tasked with problem-solving across multiple disciplines, designers address the values, behavior, needs, and wants of society, not only with physical products, but by creating services, organizational systems, human interactions, speculative propositions, and even virtual experiences. Designs for Different Futures includes imaginative design ideas and products that respond to human civilization’s future needs, desires, and fears, exploring such issues as human/digital interaction, climate change, political and social inequality, resource scarcity, transportation, and infrastructure. About 80 future-focused projects are orgazined loosely into subthemes – ideas such as Bodies, Foods, Generations, Data, Jobs, Materials, Power – constellations that reflect differently designed and multiple-answer futures.” — Philadelphia Museum of Art

Another Generosity, designed 2018 by Eero Lundén, Ron Aasholm, and Carmen Lee of Lundén Architecture Company in collaboration with Bergent, BuroHappold Engineering, and Aalto University (Courtesy of the designers). Photograph © Andrea Ferro. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Raising Robotic Natives, designed 2016 by Stephen Bogner, Philipp Schmitt, and Jonas Voigt (Courtesy of the designers) Photograph © Stephan Bogner, Philipp Schmitt, and Jonas Voigt. Image courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Alien Nation: Parade 0, designed 2017 by Lisa Hartje Moura for HEAD-Genève (Private Collection) Photograph © Head-Genève, Michel Giesbrecht, 2017. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Everything Video Game, designed 2017–19 by David OReilly (Courtesy of the designer) Image © David OReilly. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

PhoeniX Exoskeleton, designed around 2013 by Dr. Homayoon Kazerooni for suitX (Courtesy of the manufacturer). Photograph ©suitX. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Cricket Shelter: Modular Edible Insect Farm, designed 2016 by Mitchell Joachim (Courtesy of the designer). Photograph © Mitchell Joachim, Terreform ONE. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

ZXX Typeface, designed 2012, by Sang Mun (Courtesy of the designer). Photograph © Sang Mun. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault, designed 2008 by Peter W. Søderman, Barlindhaug Consulting (Exhibition display courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation). Photograph courtesy of Global Crop Diversity Trust. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Petit Pli—Clothes That Grow, designed 2017 by Ryan Mario Yasin (Courtesy of the designer). Photograph © Ryan Mario Yasin. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Future Library, 2014–2114, designed by Katie Paterson (Exhibition display gift of the Future Library Trust, 2018 and purchased with the European Decorative Arts Revolving Fund, 2018). Photograph © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch, 2017. Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Title image: Installation view of Designs for Different Futures (Resources), featuring Another Generosity, designed 2018 by Eero Lundén, Ron Aasholm, and Carmen Lee of Lundén Architecture Company in collaboration with Bergent, BuroHappold Engineering, and Aalto University (Courtesy of the designers). Photo by Joseph Hu, courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019.

Designs for Different Futures was organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibition will travel to the Walker Art Center (September 12, 2020–January 3, 2021).

February 3, 2020

Alfred Jarry: The Carnival of Being and Jean-Jacques Lequeu: Visionary Architect at The Morgan Library & Museum, through May 10, 2020

Alfred Jarry: The Carnival of Being, January 24 through May 10, 2020

“The Morgan Library & Museum presents the first major U.S. museum exhibition exploring the iconoclastic works and personality of the French writer Alfred Jarry (1873–1907). Alfred Jarry: The Carnival of Being considers the author’s seminal role in the radical upheaval in the arts more than a century ago. An inspiration for Dada and Surrealism and a touchstone for the Theatre of the Absurd, Jarry is best-known today for his revolutionary play Ubu roi (1896) and for his invention of pataphysics—a ‘science of imaginary solutions.’ Jarry was also a puppeteer, a critic, a novelist, an artist, and a bicycle fanatic. His works suggested that technology, popular imagery, and the performance of everyday life could constitute works of art. Jarry’s statement that ‘living is the carnival of being’ embodies his anti-authoritarianism and subversive theatricality, expressed in a life of excess, wordplay, alter egos, and the unfettered imagination. Since his death in 1907, Jarry’s eclectic works and ideas have continued to resonate for figures of the twentieth- and twenty-first century avant-gardes.” — The Morgan Library & Museum

Le livre d'art : revue artistique et litteraire : illustree de planches originales. Paris : L'Epreuve, [1896], p. 25, PML 197088

Alfred Jarry (1873–1907), “Ubu roi,” in Livre d’Art no. 2 (April 1896). The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman, 2017. PML 197088. Photography by Janny Chiu, 2019.

Thomas Chimes (1921–2009), Alfred Jarry (Departure from the Present), 1973, oil on panel. The Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman Pataphysics Collection. Courtesy of Locks Gallery.

Alfred Jarry (at right) fencing with Félix Blaviel in Laval, 1906, photograph. The Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman Pataphysics Collection.

Jarry, Alfred, 1873-1907, Cesar antechrjst / par Alfred Jarry, [Paris] : Editio dv. Mercvre. de Frace. xv. rve. de. líEchavde, M.D. CCC. XCV. [1895], plate [3]r (image), PML 197018

Alfred Jarry (1873–1907), César-antechrist (Paris: Mercure de France, 1895). The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman, 2017. PML 197018. Photography by Janny Chiu, 2019.

L'Ymagier. [Paris : L'Ymagier, 1894-1896], pp. 74-74a unfolded spread, PML 197080 (PML 197080-81)

Alfred Jarry (1873–1907), “Les Monstres,” in L’Ymagier no. 2 (January 1895). The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman, 2017. PML 197080. Photography by Janny Chiu, 2019.

Terrasse, Claude, 1867-1923. Chanson du decervelage (tude) : chantee par Jacotot, au 5e. acte d'Ubu roi / Paris : Edition du Mercure de France, 1898, front cover, PML 197091

Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) and Claude Terrasse (1867–1923), Répertoire des Pantins: La chanson du décervelage (Paris: Mercure de France, 1898). The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman, 2017. PML 197091. Photography by Janny Chiu, 2019.

Jarry, Alfred, 1873-1907. Les minutes de sable memorial / [Paris] : Editio[n] du Mercure de Fra[n]ce, xv, rue de l'Echaude, MDCCCXCIV [1894], plate [2]r (image), PML 197017

Alfred Jarry (1873–1907), Les minutes de sable mémorial (Paris: Mercure de France, 1894). The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman, 2017. PML 197017. Photography by Janny Chiu.

Jarry, Alfred, 1873-1907, Ubu roi : drame en cinq actes en prose restitue. / Paris : Mercure de France, title page, 1896, PML 197019

Alfred Jarry (1873–1907), Ubu roi (Paris: Mercure de France, 1896). The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Robert J. and Linda Klieger Stillman, 2017. PML 197019. Photography by Janny Chiu, 2019.

Alfred Jarry: The Carnival of Being is organized by The Morgan Library & Museum and curated by Sheelagh Bevan, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Printed Books and Bindings.

Jean-Jacques Lequeu: Visionary Architect. Drawings from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, January 31 through May 10, 2020

“Six months before he died in poverty and obscurity, architect and draftsman Jean‐Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826) donated one of the most singular and fascinating graphic oeuvres of his time to the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). The Morgan Library & Museum is proud to be the first institution in New York City to present a selection of these works. Some sixty of Lequeu’s several hundred drawings will be on view in Jean‐Jacques Lequeu: Visionary Architect, the first museum retrospective to bring significant public and scholarly attention to one of the most imaginative architects of the Enlightenment.

Lequeu’s meticulous drawings in pen and wash include highly detailed renderings of buildings and imaginary monuments populating invented landscapes. His mission was to see and describe everything systematically—from the animal to the organic, from erotic fantasy to his own visage. Solitary and obsessive, he created the fantastic worlds shown in his drawings without ever leaving his studio, and enriched them with characters and stories drawn from his library.” — The Morgan Library & Museum

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), The Great Yawner, 1777-1824. Pen and black ink, brown and gray wash, red chalk. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), He Sticks Out His Tongue, 1777-1824. Pen and black ink, brown wash. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), Draftsman’s Tools, from Civil Architecture, 1782. Pen and black ink, brown and gray wash, watercolor. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), Frontispiece to the New method applied to the elementary principles of drawing, tending to graphically prefect the outline of the human head by means of various geometrical figures, 1792. Pen and black ink, gray wash. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), Designs for a Temple of the Earth, from Civil Architecture, 1794. Pen and black ink, brown and gray wash, watercolor. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), He Is Free, 1798 or 1799. Pen and black ink, brown and red wash. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), Tavern and Hammock of Love, from Civil Architecture. Pen and black ink, gray and brown wash, watercolor. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), Temple of Divination, from Civil Architecture. Pen and black ink, gray wash, watercolor. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

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Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826), Underground of a Gothic House, from Civil Architecture. Pen and brown and black ink, brown and gray wash, watercolor. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Departement des Estampes et de la photographie.

Jean-Jacques Lequeu: Visionary Architect is organized by the Morgan Library & Museum and the Bibiliothèque nationale de France with the cooperation of Paris Musées.

Exhibition curators at Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris were Corinne Le Bitouzé and Christophe Leribault and scientific collaborators were Laurent Baridon, Jean-Philippe Garric, and Martial Guédron. The curator of the exhibition at the Morgan is Jennifer Tonkovich, Eugene and Clare Thaw Curator of Drawings and Prints.

February 2, 2020

International Center of Photography Launched New Home at Essex Crossing with Four Exhibitions on January 25, 2020

The International Center of Photography (ICP) launched its new integrated center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side at 79 Essex Street. ICP’s new space reunites its school and museum, creating an engaging space to explore how images shape our understanding of the world. The Center features exhibition galleries, media labs, classrooms, darkrooms, an equipment room, and shooting studios, as well as an extensive research library, a shop, café, and public event spaces. The four opening exhibitions are: CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good, James Coupe: Warriors and The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection

“ICP is entering an exciting new era as we launch our new integrated center and reunify our school and museum. We look forward to welcoming our Lower East Side neighbors and photography lovers from all over the world,” said Mark Lubell, ICP’s Executive Director. “We encourage everyone to experience all ICP has to offer, including our world-class exhibitions, our education programs at every level, our thought-provoking public programs, and activities for photo enthusiasts and families.”

CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop—a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how iconic portraits came to be through four decades of contact sheets from major photographers documenting the hip-hop movement.