The Unbearable Banishment: Moe. Neigh.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Moe. Neigh.

If you visit New York between now and June 26th and are trolling around for a mind-blowing art exhibit, head over to the Gagosian Gallery on 21st St. between 10th and 11th Avenue. Some of the big-name galleries and art dealers in New York occasionally put on shows that rival those in the major institutions. For example, the nice people at the Gagosian are presenting Claude Monet: Late Work.


The exhibit contains 27 extraordinary works dating from 1904 to 1922. There's not a clunker in the whole show. These aren't the typical Monet "pretty" pictures you're use to seeing. These are paintings of his garden at Giverny that were executed through his failing eyesight.


I nearly passed out. I walked through the exhibit thrice and will probably go back for another peek before it closes.


The show was assembled via loans from museums all over the planet; Paris, Switzerland, Japan, Chicago. When you think of the breadth of what went into this exhibit (not to mention the cost), it's pretty impressive stuff. And what's really shocking is that nothing is for sale! (This is, after all, a gallery. Not a museum.) There's no admission charge, either! It's there for your enjoyment. Amazing. I love New York. And the Gagosians, too.


10 of these paintings (my favorites, as it turned out) are on loan from PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. These are pieces that are rarely, if ever, seen in public. It also means that somewhere in the world, someone walks into their dining room and one of these Monet's is hanging there. A new benchmark for my own ordinariness.


Monet's vision deteriorated to the point where he had to number his tubes of paint so he would know which color he was using. This was one of my favorites. It's borderline abstract expressionism.

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14 Comments:

Anonymous nursemyra said...

Lovely indeed

May 10, 2010 at 4:57 AM  
Blogger savannah said...

what a lovely start to the week, sugar! xoxoxo

May 10, 2010 at 6:47 AM  
Blogger Pat said...

Giverny was a joy and I bought three pictures for my bedroom. Repros actually;)

May 10, 2010 at 7:33 AM  
Blogger Cat said...

I absolutely love Monet. I've never seen these paintings before, but they are now my new favorites from one of my favorite painters.

May 10, 2010 at 8:50 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

Nurse: Go ahead. Go to Greece instead. The weather will be better.

Savannah: I saw this show on Friday and, believe me, it's a great way to end a week, as well.

Pat: You've been!? Lucky. That would be great if you had three ORIGINALS hanging in your bedroom. That's what I'd call a good morning.

Cat: Click over to the Gagosian site (link provided). There are several other pics of the paintings.

May 10, 2010 at 10:11 AM  
Anonymous annie said...

Oldest daughter is holidaying in Manhatten in a few weeks. I will have to send her this link.

I love Monet.

May 10, 2010 at 2:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh--a little jealousy here. I've been to Giverny and it is breathtaking, even in the rain.

May 10, 2010 at 4:39 PM  
Blogger Ellie said...

This makes me jealous.

May 10, 2010 at 6:25 PM  
Blogger Ellie said...

Just now saw Franklin's comment. Maybe she and I will get together, drink wine, and be jealous together.

May 10, 2010 at 6:26 PM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

Annie: Tell her to get a copy of Time Out New York. It's got all the good stuff in it.

HIF + Ellie: I hope you guys don't think I post this stuff just to brag and make y'all jealous. I thought it would be interesting.

May 10, 2010 at 7:06 PM  
Blogger Here In Franklin said...

UB--Neigh! We love you--and someday I'll go to Spain and have that wine with Ellie! Or she'll come to Franklin which would be lots cheaper for me.

May 10, 2010 at 7:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

(sigh) i'm in another stinkin' hotel smack dab in the middle of nowhere interesting. why can't they have these damn meetings in NYC?

May 10, 2010 at 8:42 PM  
Blogger savannah said...

thank you, sugar.
and y'all know why!


(i'm still jealous.)

(ellie & franklin, i'll buy the first round!)

May 11, 2010 at 9:43 AM  
Blogger Blues said...

Wow. Nothing cool like that ever happens in my town.

May 30, 2010 at 9:29 AM  

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