Natural Connections

Bush, Cole Bay, Anguilla

Maelstorm, 2009, Roxy Paine

Assemblage in shape of teepee, Anguila

Metropolitan 139, 1961, Jean Tinguely

Rainbow over the valley, St. Maarten

Hell Yes, 2001, Ugo Rondinone

Also, I did not get a picture of this, but coming back on the ferry from Anguilla I saw a sky just this color blue over the distant hills of Saint Maarten, and a single star had the same electrifying effect that this moon does.

The Sleeping Gypsy, 1897, Henri Rousseau

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Roxy Paine at the Met

Roxy Paine is a) an awesome name, and b) a creator of a hell of a museum topper. Maelstorm, pictured above and below, is a steel thing that totally captivated me on this grey day when I made it up to the roof of the Met before it started raining.

It’s quite a tangle, and the silver surface reflects the sky and some of the green of Central Park. For such a large, invase, twisted sculpture, it is remarkable harmonious in its setting. The intertwined limbs sprawling out might seem chaotic, and they did, but in fact they suited the space and setting marvelously. This is the most recent in a series of Dendroid tree-like sculptures. He tries to merge varying sizes of piping together in a replication of natural growth patterns. The repetition of organic patterns in monochramatic and abstract forms reminds me of what I like best in Tara Donovan’s work (like her 2007 wall installation at the Met).

Maelstorm will be up through November 29, 2009, so you still have a chance to see it before it gets taken down. I have to say, it fills the space a hundred times better than previous works that have been up (Jeff Koon’s comes to mind.)