Tuesday, April 03, 2018

Familiar style leads to unfamiliar delights

Helen Torr: Houses on a Barge (image from here)
One recent rainy day we took ourselves to Oxford to see the current exhibition at the Ashmolean museum: America's Cool Modernism - O'Keeffe to Hopper.  Although two blockbuster artists are mentioned in the title of the show, most of the works are by folks far less famous - and not necessarily deservedly so.  I was delighted to be introduced to such a number of interesting works which help to put so much famous American art of the period into context.  I was also pleased to see a significant number of prints and photographs in the mix with paintings.
Imogen Cunningham: Two Callas (image from here)
The review which sums up my own reaction best is this one by Laura Cumming in Sunday last's ObserverHere and here are another two reviews.
There are so many artists whose work I now want to explore further.

3 comments:

  1. This is on my list of exhibitions to go and see. Looking forward to it.

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  2. And on mine too. I've had my eye on it since it was first advertised in the autumn. Your link to the Observer article was most interesting - very many thanks.

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  3. I hope that you both get to see it. It was unfortunately (for me) packed out when we went - as was the whole museum. I thought we'd get in before the Easter crowds, but it was absolutely pouring rain outside, so everyone seemed to have made a beeline for the Ashmolean!
    Nonetheless we found the exhibition excellent, and thought-provoking.

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