New York City Holiday

Three wonderful days in New York City. Caught the Matisse exhibition at the Met. [link here] and was so excited by his use of blues and greens. We wondered if the paintings had just been cleaned or if we were just so used to seeing his work in reproduction, what ever it was they were stunning.  At the Frick [link here] we saw the Piero della Francesca exhibition, which is tiny but exquisite. There is something so other-worldly or un-worldly about his work; the pose of the figures, the glaze of the eyes, the quality of the light, they hold you spell bound. It was great fun wandering about the Frick, which I haven't been to in years, and maybe my favorite part was the Hans Holbein portraits of Thomas Cromwell and Thomas More staring at each other across the fireplace [link here]. Some one has been reading Wolf Hall. And just out side the Frick snowdrops were in bloom. We stayed at a hotel near MOMA, which was a perfect as with a membership you gain entrance 1 hour before opening. What a treat to go back to the Inventing Abstraction [link here] show as I missed 2 rooms the first time around. And I loved Pollen, the Wolfgang Laib work. [Link here]. It really was wonderful to see with out any one about, and then catch glimpses of it from all the different levels. I love that new wing, such elegant and restrained architecture that really enhances the work shown. Then on to the Brooklyn Museum to see El Anatsui's exhibition Gravity and Grace [link here], which we loved. The short videos about the gallery were also great as he talked about his work and process, what a lovely man. Taking the stairs between floors of the museum I caught this lovely light.

In the stairwell of the Brooklyn Museum

Another view in the stairwell of the Brooklyn Museum