Monday, June 8, 2009

In May I went with a friend to Chicago to visit the Chicago Art Institute, which has just opened a new wing, a light , airy addition. Chicago is a beautiful city , exhibiting a delightful mix of architectural styles that can be seen by boat on a river architectural tour. (Do I sound like a promo?) I especially like the Art Deco buildings.

Millenium Park in downtown Chicago must the be the pride of the city, with its "bean," a shiny reflective huge sculpture named Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor. Photographing it is great fun. I think it's a wonderfully successful scultpre everyone can enjoy, from a two-year-old who stands against it and sees herself, to a ninety-year-old using a walker.

What stands out for me from my three days in the "windy city" is the exhibition at the Art Institute of Cy Twombly's work, the American abstract painter who during the last few years did a series of peonies. Also exhibited in the show are calligraphic works, huge gestural markings that seem to be language from somewhere in the depths of Twombly's many years of experience and wisdom. Those gestural forms have stayed with me for the last two weeks, as have the peonies, large dripping abstract forms that delight my visual memory.

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