Fashion's Muse: Milan Spring 2010 RTW

florals at etro

gustav klimt

Mada Primavesi, 1912. oil on canvas; 59 x 43 1/2 inches. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

white on white at jil sander

alberto burri

Grande bianco plastica, 1965. burned plastic and acrylic on panel; 56.5 x 96.5 inches.

raw edges at prada

lucio fontana

Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1965.

photograph by Ugo Mulas

prisms at prada

olafur eliasson

Berlin Colour Sphere, 2006. Boros Collection

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Beauty in Incompleteness: In-Finitum, curated by Axel Vervoordt, at the Palazzo Fortuny

Hiroshi Sugimoto, North Pacific Ocean, Ohkurosaki, 2002. Gelatin silver print; 119 x 149 cm. Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco.

In-finitum

curated by: Axel Vervoordt

Palazzo Fortuny, Venice

June 6 - November 15, 2009

"The infinite in the finite"

Few art exhibitions have made such an indelible impact on me as the tri-partite series curated and executed by the Belgian collector, interior designer, and schemer of worlds, Axel Vervoordt: Artempo (2007); Academia (2008); and In-finitum (2009). His penchant for combining beautiful objets d'art with masterworks and archeological ruins, often imparts to the exhibition at hand a feeling of the wunderkammer, the museum's primeval antecedent, the "collection" of exotic, wordly odds and ends. Our curiosity, derived from the juxtaposition of such objets, leads us to question the larger themes at stake in these exhibitions: human creativity, artistic process, timelines and genealogies.

In-finitum continues Vervoordt's investigation of time and art where he left off two years ago, during the 2007 Biennale di Venezia and his first exhibition planned at the Palazzo Fortuny, Artempo. We are plunged knee-deep into the "mysteries of the infinite" -- the boundless and labyrinthine territories of the indeterminate, the absolute, the sum total of the incalculable, the indescribable, the immense, the cosmic, the infinitesimal, the transfinite, the extreme, the divine, Nothingness, the void. What we come to realize, and what the exhibition presupposes, is that Art, and not science or empirical research, may be the only fit medium to express, or introduce to the visual world, these concepts.

We also take notice of the locus: the converted palazzo of the Spanish artist and dressmaker-turned permanent resident of Venice, Mariano Fortuny. The palazzo fortuny, now an historical museum and exhibition space, retains the vestiges of its former inhabitant -- Fortuny fabrics drape the walls, the musk and odor of time permeates its four floors and adjacent halls, its crumbling facade meets us with harmonious defiance.

Paradoxically, Vervoordt's exhibition gives order, clarity, and depth to the indefinite, the boundless. In this sense, it could be the visual equation of human wonder, a reification of the philosophical thought that has characterized the human race, propelling us ever forward, ever-reflecting, through present and beyond.

the palazzo:

the art:

Gunther Uecker, White Phantom, 1995. Nails and Acrylic on Canvas, on wood; 285 x 285 cm. Collection Axel Vervoordt:

Alexander Calder, Debout, 1972. Metal; 200 x 100 cm. Maeght Collection, Paris.

Michael Borremans, "The Ghost II," 2008. Oil on canvas; 60 x 70 cm. Zeno X, Antwerp.

Ettore Spalletti, Scatola di Colore, 1991. Impasto of color on Alabaster; 30 x 30 x 30 cm. Studio La Città, Roma.

Eugene Delacroix, Study of a Sulioth Cloth, Kontogouni Missal Covers, and Figures from Goya, 1822. Oil on canvas; 50 x 61 cm. Heim Gallery, Paris

Giorgio Morandi, Natura Morte, 1958. Oil on canvas; 25 x 30 cm. Galleria D'Arte Maggiore, Bologna.

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Art I love: Sigmar Polke meets Goya

Sigmar Polke. This is how you sit correctly (After Goya), 1982. Acrylic on fabric; 200 x 190 cm. Private collection.

Sigmar Polke, one of the contemporary art world's most elusive virtuosos, is known for his alchemical approach to painting, and his application of oils, lacquers, and various other emoluments onto his canvases.

It comes as no wonder, then, that he should find inspiration in the last great Old Master and first "contemporary" artist, Francisco Goya y Lucientes, the mad, cunning creator of the Caprichos, known for imbuing his canvases with more than a little black magic.

addendum:

toxic moment in the guise of German children and lacquered polyester:

Sigmar and I, Italian Pavillion, Biennale di Venezia 2007

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Portrait of a Lady: Carla Accardi

The missing link: a photograph of Carla Accardi

"For me, art and life run parallel to each other. On one hand, I made art mythical. On the other, I wanted to understand what lay behind it and I wanted for people not to feel stuck in front of a work. I found that to be too automatic a position. I wanted the audience to be shaken, to love art while rediscovering that life lies behind it."

-- Carla Accardi in an interview, FlashArt

On the influential margin of postwar art in Italy stands Carla Accardi. Born in 1924 in Trapani, Sicily,

Accardi recounts that she grew up in a somewhat insular ambience, an Italy in which "the Futurists were part of the past." After formal artistic training in the academies of Rome and Florence, Accardi settled in Florence and began an artistic legacy that to this day has made her one of the most endearing artists in Italy.

I like to think of her as thegrand dame of postwar Italian art. She represents the bridge between the modern art of the early 20th century, namely Balla and the Futurists, and the usurpers of that crown in 1960's Italy, the artists associated with Arte Povera, the conceptual movement which praised impoverished materials and organic processes over conventional media. She was also very friendly with Lucio Fontana, the Argentinean-born Italian whose violently slashed canvases echo a school of thought that he would usher to the world as Spazialismo. It was a result of Fontana's suggestion that Accardi was given her own tent in the 1964 Biennale di Venezia.

However, Accardi's work strides outside the parameters of Futurism, Arte Povera, and Spatialism. Her art takes the form of vivaciously repeated designs, often created with gouache. She also, famously, created art on a flexible plastic media called sicofoil in the sixties. These transparent "canvases," no less cunningly-crafted than the other gouaches, add an element of the unexpected to the viewer's interaction with the work.

Accardi's artistic process, as captivating to interior design as it is relevant to contemporary art practice, involves a dual vision that stresses a scientific aspect (think: an amoeba shrinking or multiplying) and also a geometrical approach. I tend to faintly trace the idea of the kilim, or prayer rug, in my mind when confronted with her colorful works. In fact, I would risk it to say that much of Accardi's work strongly reminds me of the sinuous fractals found in Islamic art (Accardi would not be the only Italian artist influenced by Islamic art -- her compatriot Alighiero Boetti made a voyage to Afghanistan in the 70's, which resulted in his infamousMappa del Mondo series).

Blu Viola, 1962. gouache on paper; 44 1/2 x 32 1/2 inches.

Biancobianco, 1968. enamel on sicofoil; 38 13/16 x 24 inches.

Senza Titolo, 1972. gouache on paper on canvas; 37 7/16 x 38 3/16.

Memorie della Sicilia, 1963. casein on canvas; 23 5/8 x 19 11/16 inches.

Rosso Scuro, 1974. enamel on sicofoil; 50 1/4 x 75 7/8 x 3 1/2 inches.

A Settori, 1962. gouache on paper; 27 1/2 x 39 3/8 inches.

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Zen Moment: Gainsbourg Smoking a Cigarette

perfection on so many levels...a young and crisp, if not slightly louche, Gainsbourg.

Looking forward to seeing his kin Charlotte on the screen alongside Willem Dafoe in the apocalyptic (and highly controversial) new release by Von Trier, Antichrist.

a knowledge of death: Gainsbourg and Dafoe in Antichrist (taken from the NY Times)

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Cucina Aperta: frittata con i pomodori verdi

Un'estate dei pomodori

Qualche persona ricorderà l'estate del 2009 come "l'estate della morte," in riferimento alle grandi lotte di MJ, Ted Kennedy, Merce Cunningham, Patrick Swayze, ecc. ecc. Dalla mia parte non vedo il mondo ristretto da questi termini. Preferisco piuttosto un punto di vista più semplice, come quello dalla mia cucina, da cui si può vedere che l'estate era quella dei pomodori.

Vi offro la ricetta seguente come un modo di continuare "l'estate dei pomodori" bensì al autunno. Combina un elemento dell'inaspettata nella comparsa degli aspri pomodori verdi, e una parte della funzione (le uova). Può essere servito come cena, pranzo, oppure colazione con un'insalata semplice di lattuga, rucola, e avocado.

L'ispirazione per la ricetta mi viene dalla bella Firenze, e il periodo della mia vita che già si è scomparso. Abitavo nel cuore di quella città medioevale, con una signora che faceva gallerista e su marito, un artista. A volte le mi ha preparato questo piatto semplicissimo, repieno di tutta la grazia e povertà della cucina toscana. Ormai mi viene nei sogni e nelle visioni qualche impalpabili da quel tempo.

tempi passati: your humble narrator, ensconced in Florence, 2006

A Summer of Tomatoes

Some people will remember the summer of 2009 as "the summer of death," referring to the great losses of MJ, Ted Kennedy, Merce Cunningham, Patrick Swayze, etc. etc. From my viewpoint I don't see the world restricted to these terms. Rather, I prefer a point of view much more simple, like the one from my kitchen, from which one can plainly see that this summer was a summer of tomatoes.

I offer you the following recipe as a way to continue the "summer of tomatoes" well into the fall. It combines an element of the unexpected in the appearance of the tart green tomatoes and one part functionality from the eggs. It can be served as dinner, lunch, or even breakfast with a simple salad of lettuce, arugula, and avocado.

The inspiration for the dish comes to me from lovely Florence, and the period of my life that is already gone. I was living in the heart of that medieval city, with a lady who owned an art gallery and her artist husband. Sometimes she would make me this simplest of dishes, replete with all the grace and poverty of Tuscan cuisine. To this day it comes to me in the dreams and almost impalpable visions from that time.

Frittata con i pomodori verdi alla Rosanna

Green Tomato Frittata a la Rosanna

serves 2

1 Green tomato, sliced into 1/2" thick rounds

6 eggs

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

herbs de provence

3 tbsp. Good Olive Oil

salt + pepper

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Warm a medium skillet under medium-high heat, pouring in the olive oil. Let oil cook until smoking. Place the tomato slices in a circular "ring" around the edges of the skillet. Sautè until golden brown on both sides, about 7 minutes, flipping the tomatoes once during cooking time.

3. At the same time, whisk the eggs, parmesan, herbs de provence, and salt + pepper until light and airy. Combine egg mixture in skillet with the tomatoes. Let cook 3-4 minutes, making sure to spread the eggs evenly with a spatula.

4. Remove skillet from heat and place directly into the stove. Let harden and fluff up for approximately 6 minutes.

5. Remove skillet from oven. Flip the frittata upside-down onto a platter. Cut into wedges. Can be served immediately or eaten at room temperature.

recommended side dish: salad of baby greens, arugula, and avocado with lemon vinaigrette

Buon appetito!

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Madrelingua: Museo d'Arte di Chiancino Terme

Jacques Gregoire, The Naked Photographer. Museum of Art of Chiancino Terme

Appena letto l'articolo sul Museo d'Arte di Chiancino Terme nel New York Times, e voglio sapere più del progetto, eppure più del suo organizzatore, Roberto Gagliardi. Gagliardi fa gallerista a Londra, però ha deciso di fondare il suo museo nel borgo inaspettato di Chiancino, vicino a Siena nella regione di Toscana. Fra gli artisti rappresentati al museo c'è Goya, Dali, Rembrandt (tutti disegni), e anche l'arte asiatica dai paesi come Afghanistan e Cina. Antico e fresco, moderno e tradizionale, il museo di Gagliardi mi pare un bel omaggio al paese in cui tutti questi paradossi fiorono in abbondanza.

After reading about the Museum of Art Chiancino Terme in the New York Times, I'd like to know more about the project and more still of its organizer, Roberto Gagliardi. Gagliardi is an Italian gallerist based in London; however, he decided to found his museum collection in the small, unexpected town of Chiancino, close to Siena in the region of Tuscany. Among the represented artists in the museum are Goya, Dali, Rembrandt (all drawings), and also Asian art from countries like Afghanistan and China. Ancient and fresh, modern and traditional, Gagliardi's museum seems to me a beautiful homage to the country in which all these paradoxes flourish in great abundance.

sandstone fragment with Kufic inscriptions, Museum of Art of Chiancino Terme

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Portrait of a Lady: Lee Krasner

Early self-portrait by Lee Krasner

Style icon: Lee Krasner

woman of substance (and style), of chic, European sensibilities (even through lack of financial stability for most of her married life) -- the "silent", unspoken genius. While there is an aura of ennui, of chaos, self-destruction and America enmeshed around the figure of Jackson Pollock, Krasner is put-together, practical, canny and composed. As she selflessly promoted her husband's art and nurtured his creativity, Krasner also made time to continue her own painting. I admire this steely-eyed determination. In the words of Coco Chanel, "Elegance is refusal." Lee seems to innately bring the saying to life, often poised in a self-knowing, individual stance in photos, never dwarfed beside the looming character of her husband. Her fashion savvy

indicates a parisian, artistic sense of cool, whether in a man's shirt and slacks, or a full skirt paired with Grecian sandals -- she is always a class act.

I had a recent encounter with the milieu of both husband and wife, the Pollock-Krasner House located in The Springs.

It was my second visit to the site, the first being made many years ago in adolescence. On my first visit, I recall being transfixed by the mythic character of Pollock, the peeled-back floorboards in his studio, and the ghostly ashes of many a cigarette; pointing out, as if negative space in a painting, the absences where the man would have stood in life. Upon a second visit, Pollock faded into the distance, and Lee presumed her silent reign. The home and studio there were a hearth, maintained and kept in order by Lee. Organic, sea-shapes line the sills of the bedroom in the house. It is her presence that charges the grounds, her wit and wisdom, her style and outlook.

The Art of Refusal: Lee Krasner in (above) Pollock's studio and (below) her own studio.

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