Whitney Museum of American Art | Lee Krasner, The Seasons, 1957
Way back in May – I SERIOUSLY cannot believe Christmas is in 20 days! – I took one of the best trips ever. I went to New York City to spend a few days with a group of wonderful, creative women – Jennifer Cooper, Leslie Fandrich, Caroline Gravino, Sandra Harris, Sheri Silver, and Jill Parrella Vaughn. While The Ladies and I don’t live close or talk often, they are some of my dearest friends. I feel so grateful to have this group of women that I know I can count on. We’ve got each other’s back no matter what.
View from the Whitney Museum of American Art | Photography by Melanie Biehle
We first met through blogging. I miss blogging. I want to be in this space again so much, but that’s another story. Today’s story is to share the AMAZING art that I saw at America Is Hard To See, the inaugural exhibition at the new location of the Whitney Museum of American Art. I was so lucky to be there during the grand opening weekend!
Whitney Museum of American Art | Mary Heilmann: Sunset | Photography by Melanie Biehle
While I love looking at artwork online and in the oversized art books that fill my shelves, there’s nothing like seeing the work in person. Being able to get up close and see Ed Ruscha’s pencil markings is priceless. Note: Click on the detail view image on the right to enlarge it and see them too!
One of my favorite pieces in the exhibition was The Rose by Jay DeFeo. I hadn’t heard of the artist before, but my friend Leslie told me about her and the story of this painting/sculpture on this very trip.
Lots of my other favorites were there too, including Agnes Martin, Ellsworth Kelly, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
Ellsworth Kelly, Atlantic, 1956 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Agnes Martin, This Rain, 1958 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Whitney Museum of American Art | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Georgia O’Keeffe, Abstraction, 1926 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Georgia O’Keeffe, Summer Days, 1936 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Franz Kline, Mahoning, 1956 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
View from Above | Whitney Museum of American Art | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Willem de Kooning, Door to the River, 1960
Detail View Jackson Pollack | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Wayne Thiebaud, Pie Counter, 1963 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
John Baldessari, An Artist is Not Merely the Slavish Announcer, 1966-68 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hollywood Africans, 1983 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Kiki Smith, Black Flag, 1989 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (We Don’t Need Another Hero), 1987 displayed on a backdrop of He Kills Me (1987), an AIDS protest mural by Donald Moffett | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Chuck Close, Phil, 1969 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Detail View Chuck Close, Phil, 1969 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
While there were plenty of artists that I was familiar with in the Whitney’s permanent collection, I loved the chance of learning about new-to-me artists that were part of America Is Hard To See.
Allan D’Arcangelo, Madonna and Child, 1963 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
John McLaughlin, #1, 1963, 1963 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Carmen Herrera, Blanco y Verde, 1959 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Whitney Museum of American Art | America Is Hard to See | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Mark Bradford, Bread and Circuses, 2007
Detail View of Mark Bradford, Bread and Circuses, 2007
Detail View of Mark Bradford, Bread and Circuses, 2007
Whitney Museum of American Art | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Robert Reed, Plum Nellie, Sea Stone, 1972 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Florine Stettheimer, Sun, 1931 | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Anne Collier, Woman With A Camera (Last Sitting, Bert Stern), 2009
Last stop – the bookstore. As far as I’m concerned, a trip to any art museum isn’t complete without visiting the books. And look what I found – a copy of my friend Danielle’s awesome book, Creative Block. I just had to take a photo of it and send it to her on Instagram during the grand opening weekend.
Creative Block by Danielle Krysa at the Whitney Museum of American Art | Photography by Melanie Biehle
Thanks for joining me on this stroll through my favorite pieces at the Whitney Museum this spring! I’m so grateful that I had a chance to experience it. If you haven’t had enough visit America Is Hard To See online and view more of the artwork included in the exhibition. How cool is that? Thank you, interwebs.
Have a great week! I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time with you on my blog. You can subscribe to blog posts here if you want to be notified when I publish something new. If you want to chat about a post or anything else, send me an email, message me on Twitter, or get in touch with me on my favorite social media networks Instagram and Pinterest. xoxo