Art Shows in Long Beach, California, USA
2014-06-04
While in the United States for jury duty, I went to two art shows that were in two different museums. Yes, as a US citizen I was required by law to serve on a jury panel for either a civil or criminal trial. I did not get picked and yet had to call in every day and show up at the court house for a week. However, I did spend some time having fun and catching up on my mail and a few doctor appointments, health checks and dental cleanings. Boring stuff. Anyway, the art shows were great fun. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter and wife of Diego Rivera, Mexican muralist. Her paintings have often been exhibited along with surrealist painters but she is in a class of her own. Her paintings are highly emotional and personal. Her life was marked by much personal tragedy, a horrible bus accident, over 30 operations, an amputation and her paintings reflect her pain. This exhibit, however, was made up of family photos without any of her paintings. Interesting but disappointing to those who have not seen any of her paintings. Fortunately I saw many of her paintings in Mexico City sometime in the 70s. The other exhibit comprised paintings of a living painter, Sherrie Wolf. She has repainted some famous baroque paintings and painted in various still life scenes of her own. They were all beautifully done in the style of trompe l'oeil which is so realistic you want to reach out and peel that orange in the painting.
brochure for Frida Kahlo show
brochure for Sherrie Wolf show
detail of painting by Wolf
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