If you were watching “CBS Sunday Morning” a few weeks ago, you probably saw the segment on Louise Nevelson’s current exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. But you don’t need to travel nearly that far to see a wonderful array of her famous sculptures and learn more about her fascinating artistic journey. The Columbus Museum of Art is currently featuring a special exhibit entitled “Louise Nevelson: Dawn to Dusk.”
Many don’t realize that Nevelson began her art career as a painter.
There are stars in a lot of her early work, a CMA docent points out. She thought of herself as someone who should be a star but questioned her position in the art field and wanted to make her mark in the art world.
Nevelson eventually became a wealthy and glamorous celebrity known for her outlandish style of dress, false eyelashes and dramatic personality.
She was one of the original recyclers, gathering up all sorts of discarded and found pieces of wood (her father was a building contractor) and turning them into the huge abstract monochromatic assemblages for which she is best known. She often arranged these objects within wooden boxes or crates, then painted all of them, mostly black which she considered the most “aristocratic” color; others white and gold.
When you visit the exhibit, take time to try to identify some of the objects Nevelson found on the streets of New York and incorporated into her work, everything from chair parts and stair banisters to baseball bats and bowling pins.
In addition to her sculptures, you’ll see Nevelson’s paintings, collages and pieces of handcrafted jewelry, much of which she herself wore.
Nevelson donated much of her work to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, where her family lived after coming to the United States from Russia in the early 1900s. Many of the pieces you’ll see in Columbus are from the Farnsworth, originators of this exhibit.
Brooke A. Minto, executive director & CEO of the Columbus museum, said the response to the Nevelson exhibit has been “incredibly resonant.”
“Visitors are captivated by the scale and emotion of her work—and many are surprised to learn how significant Columbus was in her story," he said. “Through her close ties to Pace/Columbus and the Glimcher family, the city helped elevate her to national and international prominence. This exhibition has invited our community to reconnect with Nevelson in a personal way and reflect on the role Columbus has played in shaping artists whose influence extends far beyond the region.”
In Cincinnati
“Farm to Table: Food and Identity in the Age of Impressionism” explores the intersection of art, food and identity during the last decades of the 1800s in France.
“This exhibition provides a unique lens through which to view one of the great moments in the history of European art,” said Peter Bell, Cincinnati’s curator of European paintings, sculpture and drawings. “Looking at food production and consumption and how it intersected with the national identity of France—both the prowess and insecurity felt by the nation—through the works of its artists has not been done before. I am particularly pleased by the opportunity for our visitors to encounter artists of great renown in their time that may not be so familiar, like Marie Braquemont, one of the great women of the Impressionist movement, or Victor Gabriel Gilbert, whose scenes of daily life in Paris create an indelible impression of the time.”
The impressive exhibit, which more than 60 paintings and sculptures, also includes famous artists including Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh.
“This exhibit was 12 years in the making and it’s selfish on my part because it combines two things I love — art and food,” said Andrew Eschelbacher, who conceived the idea for the show and was in Cincinnati for the opening.
“I had seen a lot of paintings about food and its implications — about class, gender, other subjects,” he said. “You build a Rolodex in your head and that’s your research and it forms a concept. While there are plenty of pictures of food in the show, there’s a lot more to this exhibit.
“I hope people take away the notion of the way we think and talk about food and paint food is very reflective of much broader societal conversations.”
DALI members check out the shows
Members of Dayton Art Lovers Initiative (DALI) had the opportunity to visit both exhibits as a group over the summer. The informal organization, founded in 2015, is a fellowship composed of 45 former Dayton Art Institute docents as well as some current museum guides. What they have in common is a love for art and a goal of connecting with one another and supporting the regional art community.
Heather Hime of Centerville enjoyed seeing the transitions from Realism to Impressionism at the Cincinnati show. She was struck by the comparison between the size and scale of the realistic paintings of food and game signifying abundance and obviously aimed at the upper classes, versus the smaller paintings of more modest everyday food of the working class.
Hime was also impressed by the way Impressionists turned away from glorifying the abundance of French food to showing more rural, everyday scenes.
“They did this with vivid colors, broad brushwork, thick paint applications and being able to show this as it was happening,” she said.
Hime was also struck by the depictions of the poor and starving peasants juxtaposed in the same galleries with the restaurant and party scenes of those with the time and money to enjoy themselves.
“I wasn’t aware of the starvation and suffering of the French people due to the Franco Prussian War!” she said. " I wasn’t as familiar with what was going on in France at the time. Our Docent recommended two books on this time period: ‘Paris in Ruins’ by Sebastian Smee and ‘Little Dancer Aged Fourteen’ by Camille Laurens.”
Hime said she appreciated the opportunity to compare the work of artists exhibited at the Dayton Art Institute with the offerings of those same artists at CAM.
Janet Estep, another member of DALI who is from Washington Twp., said hadn’t realized until she saw the Columbus exhibit that Louise Nevelson had also painted.
“I was first in awe of her paintings,” she said. " They were so dramatic with their bold strokes and color contrasts. Her sculptures, walls of monotone found objects, are more peaceful, even the ones with rifle and/or shotgun stocks. It made me wonder if she had lived near or frequently visited the trash near a firearms manufacturer. The blue light on the piece in the permanent collection of the CMA gives it a glow that is eerie and serene simultaneously."
HOW TO GO - COLUMBUS
What: “Louise Nevelson: Dawn to Dusk”
Where: Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E Broad St Columbus
When: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday.
Admission: $22 adults; $18 seniors; $16 students and youth; free on Sundays and for children ages three and under. Every Thursday from 5-10 p.m., the museum offers music, a range of creative experiences and food and drink in the sculpture garden. Admission to the galleries are free as well.
For more information: columbusmuseum.org
HOW TO GO - CONCINNATI
What: “Farm to Table: Food and Identity in the Age of Impressionism”
Where: Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Dr, Cincinnati
When: Through Sept. 21. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday.
Admission: Tickets are $12, with discounted rates for students, children, and seniors. Save $2 when purchasing tickets online. Admission is free for museum members. The exhibition will be free for members and nonmembers from 5-9 pm. every Thursday and and August 29 during Art After Dark.
For more information: cincinnatiartmuseum.org
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