ART Fills My HEART! O’Keefe, Kandinsky, Turner, Kapoor, Beatles to Bowie, The Age of the Marvellous, and Frieze—All In Less Than a Week
Mid-October, amid busy and brief trips to New York and London, respectively, I had the incredible opportunity to attend special art exhibits:
• Vasily Kandinsky, the Guggenheim
A great museum to visit, for Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture as well as the artwork on display. Kandinsky’s images, en masse, help set it off to best advantage—and not surprisingly so. Being a significant part of the the permanent collection, they actually helped inspire the building’s design.
October 21st (soon after my visit) marked the Guggenheim’s 50th anniversary!
• Georgia O’Keefe, The Whitney
O’Keefe’s abstractions are less well known than her paintings of flowers and landscapes. That said, the 130 plus paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures, on exhibit here, herald O’Keefe as one of America’s first and boldest abstract artists.
I went from the O’Keefe to the Kandinsky, the Whitney and Guggenheim not being far from each other. What a double-header, and great day!
• JMW Turner and The Masters, the Tate Britain
Some of Turner’s most dramatic paintings are juxtaposed with masterpieces created by artists whom he revered and was obsessed with becoming “just as good as”: Canaletto, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Titian.
Over-crowded and somewhat predictable, this exhibit didn’t excite me as much as Kandinsky or O’Keefe had.
• Anish Kapoor, The Royal Academy
Kapoor was the winner of the 1991 Turner Prize, and this exhibit overviews his sculpture to date.
From the gasps and sighs made by others passing through at the same time, I realized I wasn’t alone in not loving most of what I saw! It felt almost sacriligious to see the fine walls, ceilings, and floors of five of the Royal Academy’s galleries smeared with crimson wax and stain…
In another section of the Academy, only a few of us seemed to chance upon the John Madejski Fine Rooms and the Council and Reynolds Rooms. A real treat! Wonder what the Academy’s original esteemed artist-members might of thought of the Kapoor exhibit? Gazing at W.P. Frith’s work, “Private View at the Royal Academy (1881), I don’t think it would be hard to guess.
The most magnificent piece from Kapoor’s exhibit is outside in the courtyard, with a close-up included at the beginning of this post.
• Beatles to Bowie, The National Portrait Gallery
The sub-title of this exhibit is “the 60s exposed.” Over 150 photos, together with a variety of memorabilia show “swinging London’s” icons, while giving historical overviews of pop music and culture.
Even if you don’t recognize all the personalities displayed, there’s a sense of wow over the attention to detail and passage of time. A popular exhibit with others who’d grown up in the 60s too—last Sunday, at least! Afterwards, as bonus, there’s the National Portrait Gallery’s café: a unique setting and delicious food.
• The Age of the Marvellous, One Marylebone (former Holy Trinity Church)
This exhibit is an exquisite “experiment” in the art world. All Visual Arts (AVA ) brings two master-minds together: Joe La Placa (art world insider) and Mike Platt (multi-millionaire CEO of Blue Crest). Their alliance leads to the unique creation of a major collection of contemporary art produced in collaboration with a select stable of hand-picked artists. Ambitious shows, like The Age of the Marvellous, are scheduled to be viewed over the next five years. These will introduce AVA artwork to a wider public.
Naturally, my favorite piece was a painting: Jonathan Wateridge’s splendid depiction, The Architect’s House (2009). 
• Frieze Art Fair, Regents Park
After stepping out of The Age of the Marvellous, in awe, it was hard not to adjust to some of what we saw when visiting Frieze…
Why did Gagosian Gallery’s Notebook Page by Tom Friedman have a $35,000 price tag?
Why did Kukje Gallery’s $50,000 black dog sculpture by Gimhongsok, Canine Construction (2009), in cast resin, raise my spirits? There I am, right behind it:-)
Let’s not forget that art means different things to different people at different times, often with shock appeal challenging personal taste and questions pertaining to technique and talent…
As a student in London, I lived at International Students’ House, York Terrace East. Ironically, the room that I had there then overlooks where the Frieze Art Fair is held now! This was, indeed, a sentimental journey. Though I hate to admit it, 29 years have passed since that time! As dusk fell, I noticed a single light left on in the students’ residence. Could it have been mine?! 
These You Tube Videos give interesting feedback: Cher’s classic "if I Could Turn Back Time," and this stumbled upon piece, If You Could Turn Back Time posted by WingzOFaDove.
