At an Exhibition: At Play in the Color Fields

Spilling Over opens at the Whitney.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

(Yes, this is not a music review, but the second installment in a new series about visual art, called At an Exhibition.)

Do not attempt to adjust your television: Kenneth Noland's New Day.
Image courtesy the Whitney Museum, © 1967 the artist.

At the Whitney Museum, proudly located on the rubble of what used to be New York’s meat-packing district, there are lines going down the block. The reason: the imminent closure of an extensive exhibit devoted to Andy Warhol. However, this week the top floor of the museum sees the opening of Spilling Over: Painting Color in the 1960s. Small and carefully curated from the Whitney's collection, this exhibit explores some of the bright visual territories mapped out by painters who worked in simple lines, bright colors and geometric shapes.

At An Exhibition: The Burning Red

My visit to the works and world of Lucio Fontana.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
(Yes, this is not a music review, but the first installment in a new series about visual art, called At an Exhibition.)

No way out: the claustrophobic, unsettling work of Lucio Fontana.
Photo taken at the Met Breuer by the author, who is still feeling the retinal effect.

Writing about the visual arts is not something that this blog is particularly known for. And yet, one of the perks of doing this blog is being able to accept an occasional invitation to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to experience the opening of a new exhibit. This morning, your faithful correspondent put on two layers of clothes and sallied forth to see Lucio Fontana: On the Threshold, the new exhibit celebration work of the 20th century artist.

Concert Review: In Praise of the Creator

Conor Hanick and the Met Museum celebrate Pierre Boulez.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The pianist Conor Hanick. Photo by Jonathan Waiter

There is no living figure in the music of the second half of the 20th century than Pierre Boulez. On Thursday afternoon, the Metropolitan Museum of Art offered Pierre Boulez: A 90th Birthday Celebration  with a triptych of works played by pianist Conor Hanick. This concert, featuring Mr. Boulez' first published works alongside 21st century compositions showed that the French composer's influence on the development of piano repertory remains strong into the modern age.