Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L'Amour Fou

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, I suggest heading over to the Gagosian Gallery to see the new Picasso exhibition, Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L'Amour Fou.  When Picasso saw the beautiful and blonde Marie-Thérèse Walter outside the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris in 1927, he told her, "You have an interesting face.  I would like to do a portrait of you.  I have a feeling we will do great things together."  The fact that she was 16 and he was 45 and married didn't matter and she went on to become his muse and mistress.  The exhibition chronicles the life of Marie-Thérèse and their love affair through Picasso's paintings. There is a wonderful excerpt from the exhibition catalog written by John Richardson in the May 2011 issue of Vanity Fair and online for those of you who can't make it to the show in person.  The exhibition was also made possible with help from Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the granddaughter or Picasso and Marie-Thérèse.

Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L'Amour Fou

Gagosian Gallery

522 West 21st Street

New York, NY 10011

April 14 - June 25, 2011

www.gagosian.com

Marie-Thérèse Leaning on One Arm, 1939

Marie-Thérèse Coiffee d'un Beret, 1927

Photo of Marie-Thérèse Walter, date unknown

Top Painting: Marie-Thérèse with Garland, 1937

Joan Mitchell: The Last Decade

Joan Mitchell is one of my favorite artists.  I was disappointed to find that there was only one of her paintings in the Abstract Expressionism exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art on view now.  I wish I lived in Beverly Hills.  If I did, I could view fourteen of her gorgeous works at the Gagosian Gallery.  The Last Decade includes paintings from the last ten years of her life when she lived in France.  I highly recommend making time for this wonderful exhibition which runs from November 13 through December 23, 2010.  You can make it a present to yourself.  I'll guess I'll have to make due with the catalog.  Sigh.

Claude Monet: Late Work

I was blown away by the Picasso exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea last summer and I've been hearing that the Claude Monet: Late Work exhibition is even more amazing. "The most significant gathering of Monet's late paintings to take place in New York in more than thirty years, it will focus on the most important late subjects drawn from his gardens at Giverny—Nymphéas, Le pont japonais, and L'allée de rosiers—which are among the most treasured paintings of his long and prodigious career" I am looking forward to seeing it and if you are too, make sure you go soon. It closes June 26th!

Gagosian Gallery
522 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011
T. 212.741.1717
Monday-Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm
May 1 - June 26, 2010

Picasso: Mosqueteros

When I was little, I used to paint and draw all the time. I visited museums and loved art but hated Picasso. I always thought I could paint better than he could. During my senior year of college, I took an entire course devoted to Picasso. On the first day, the professor told the story of how Picasso could paint like a master at the age of 15 and then spent the rest of his life trying to paint like a child. Then I got it.

If there is anyone who doesn't get that Larry Gagosian is the most powerful man in the art world, they should see Picasso: Mosqueteros. "It is the first exhibition in the United States to focus on the late paintings since Picasso: The Last Years: 1963-1973 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1984." I had the pleasure of walking through the show last week and I can say is that it is amazing! The Gagosian Gallery is inconveniently located but the trek is worth it. The exhibition was curated by Picasso biographer John Richardson who you can hear speak about the artist and his paintings on the New York Times website.

Picasso may have tried to paint like a child but these paintings were done in the last few years of his life when he was focused on death. You can see this in many of the self portraits and even though he was in his late 80's when these were painted, they are still vibrant, brilliant, and full of energy and spectacular. They are also full of beautiful color combinations that as a designer, I found truly inspiring. I highly recommend that you check it out so you can get Picasso too! Although, you might want to first get a taxi!