Author Archives: Linnea

Roll Call: Favorites of the Decade

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Untitled (Mylar), Tara Donovan, Installation Shot at Met

 So I was asked the big question: Who are my favorite 3 artists/artworks of past 10 years?

Clearly this is an impossible question, and perhaps for that reason my mind went utterly blank…especially as I mentally had to reject so many things made prior to 10 years ago. But it bothered me I couldn’t answer.

The next day, because I think better on paper, I made a list:

  • William Kentridge (and, by the way, check out the PBS documentary that just came out)
  • Tara Donovan
  • Doug Aitken
  • Julie Heffernan
  • Mark Bradford
  • Michelangelo Pistoletti

Not sure but strong maybes:

  • Murakami
  • Hernan Bas
  • Claire Twomey

Not sure due to 10-year time restriction:

  • Jeff Wall
  • Cy Twombley

 So let’s get quite contemporary, and you tell me, what would you pick? Can you pick? I can’t even choose a favorite color, so I understand not being able to. But a fun game if you want to drive yourself bonkers.

Kline & Motherwell

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How is it that I knew and loved Franz Kline, but MoMA’s Abstract Expressionist New York was the first time I really appreciated Robert Motherwell?

New York, Franz Kline

No. 7, Franz Kline

Zinc Doors, Franz Kline

 I still have a lot of art historical catching up to do. This whole time it’s as if Robert Motherwell was waiting in the wings for me, so to speak.

Elegy 57, Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic, Robert Motherwell
Beside the Sea, Robert Motherwell

Beside the Sea, above, is a new favorite of mine. Clearly, I love the stark palette with the bold, expressive brushstrokes. Both artist’s work vary much more than what I’m showing here. Yet the similarity is still distinct, and belies some of the difference that the exhibition stresses.

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The Big Picture: Abstract Expressionist NY at MoMA

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One: Number 31, 1950, Jackson Pollock

Abstract Expressionist New York at MoMA is a large show, and I only had time to see ‘The Big Picture,’ a painting and sculpture-centric takeover of MoMA’s 4th Floor. Of course, the typically large Abstract Expressionist canvases, bursting with color, are difficult to hang next to each other even when from the same artist. Rather than playing off each other, they often seem strangled. Jackson Pollock’s One: Number 31 was an exception; this enormous canvas could hold its own in a brawl with just about any work of the era.

Personage with Yellow Ochre and White, Robert Motherwell

MoMA has a treasure trove of Abstract Expressionist pieces, so its great to see them all out. The exhibition wasn’t the art history lesson I had hoped to get from it, showing rooms of individual artists instead of making comparisons. Maybe that’s for the better; it’s rather a lot to take in as it is. Yet it felt lackluster and unfocused compared to some of the excellent shows MoMA has put on recently (Marina Abramovic, William Kentridge). On the other hand, this focus on artists made cherry-picking favorites easy enough: Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman. Swoon

No.5 / No. 22, Mark Rothko

Chief, Franz Kline

Two Edges, Barnett Newman

I guess the conclusion is: there’s some fantastic art up on the walls of MoMA right now, but you can’t see it very well.

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