Art and Museums
National Portrait Gallery Presents “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939"
“By bringing the experiences of American women to the fore, ‘Brilliant Exiles’ provides a counternarrative to conventional histories of Americans in Paris that focus on the interwar period and the ‘Lost Generation’ of men such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald,” said curator Robyn Asleson. “The exhibition will highlight alternative approaches to modernism developed by women, as well as the enterprises through which they catalyzed creativity and forged interconnected communities.” "The exhibition reveals the dynamic role of portraiture in articulating the new identities that American women were at liberty to develop in Paris, with works by artists including Berenice Abbott, Alice Pike Barney, Romaine Brooks, Anne Goldthwaite, Loïs Mailou Jones, Henri Matisse, Isamu Noguchi, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Anne Estelle Rice, Augusta Savage, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Laura Wheeler Waring and Marguerite Zorach." more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Spring is Coming
Ferida Wolff writes: "The daffies have been spreading over the years. They seem to decide where to plant themselves and then surprise me when they bloom. It’s a pleasure to see the vibrant yellow greeting me when I look out the kitchen window and it feels like the flowers’ energy is present when I do qigong exercises outside on a nice pre-spring day. A daffodil is seen as a symbol of hope and healing. It feels like an awakening as it begins to bring our thoughts to Spring. It’s almost an invitation to set aside what the winter offered and to welcome what is yet to come." more »
New York City's Cooper Hewitt's Retrospective of British Artist's Es Devlin
"An Atlas of Es Devlin is the first monographic museum exhibition dedicated to British artist and stage designer Es Devlin (born 1971), who is renowned for work that transforms audiences. Since beginning in small theaters in 1995, she has charted a course from kinetic stage designs at the National Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera to installations at major institutions, including the World Expo, Lincoln Center, and the United Nations headquarters. Her sculptures for Olympic Ceremonies, NFL Super Bowl halftime shows, and stadium tours for Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and U2 frame narratives that feel personal at a monumental scale." more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Not So Ordinary and Goodbye Tree
"The ordinary things that we see are easy to pass by... We take them for granted and move on to whatever is next. But maybe if we allow ourselves to look at things differently, we may notice something new about the usual... But things move on. Recently, a crew was out sawing away at one of the mature trees. When the work was finished, the thick branches and sawed trunk lay on the street, a reminder of how big the tree had grown. It was sad. I thanked the tree for sharing its life within our community for so long. Then looking beyond, I could see that new trees, self-planted, were rising down the block." more »