Two really good things about getting really old is that there is little that can either surprise or shock you, but you can still still learn something. I went with high hopes for the surrealism in photos and film and low expectations for the show of 90 year old Pierre Soulages' paintings.
Well, by me, the surrealism show was ho hum, seen it, done it, what's new? but Soulages bedazzled with his use of color and Black with shading and shimmering and highlighting; his quotation: "Why Black? ...... Because" was perfect. Why not? While echoes of Frank Stella, Ad Reinhardt, Yves Klein and counter-intuitively, Agnes Martin, occurred, this guy is terrific; why have he and I not met before? His photo makes me want to have lunch with him; looks like a regular guy with no ego but immense talent; a great combo.
Another show with a different sort of razzle-dazzle is in the under area and covers three decades of design; it's a wonderful romp through semi-known but thoroughly friendly furniture. Good stuff curators!
Score card: Soulages and Design = 3 Wows each for very different reasons; Surrealism, no wows; Jim Hodges broken glass, right down there with Whitneyesque strips of felt on the wall and piles of slate on the floor.
The Soulages is open until March 8th; the design show til Feb 1.
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