Yesterday I went to see the exhibition of the graphic works, paintings, watercolors and drawings of Emile Nolde. I had never seen such a large body of his work, and wow, what a great body it was! I loved the fact that he was painting "the exotic"; a family in Papua New Guinea, two people in Siberia. And the painting technique all the while mimicking the environment and the people in his subject; soft, long and slim brushstrokes versus short broad and flat ones, maybe even finger marks? in these examples. What struck me was the strong resemblance between Nolde's work to an artist that I love. If you click on the link you will go to Danny Licul's website. I have one work where the sea is as evocative as some of Nolde's seascapes. And the people! They paint people in these jarring colors in compositions that are at once simple and challengingly complex.
After the Grand Palais I went to La Bastille to see Richard Prince's furniture at Patrick Seguin. As usual I got lost, not on the train, but when I get off the train to try to find where I am going. And at La Bastille there are at least 10 directions you can go in once you get out of any of the 3 or so metro exits. On the verge of giving up and taking a taxi I finally found some streets that looked like the directions I had: right on rue de Lappe, left on rue de Charonne, left on rue de Taillandiers. And who should I see on the street, crossing towards me? Monsieur Seguin himself! This was a lucky chance encounter, but my timing was so right, because who better to show me the work than Mr. Seguin himself? Well perhaps the artist, Richard Prince, or the other dealer collaborating on this show, Larry Gagosian, but neither of them was around. Patrick recognized me and gladly explained the work and how Richard Prince put the pieces together. Apparently Prince is a major book collector and some of these treasures he's embedded in the furniture. There's a whole series of vintage nurse books that are x-rated on the bookshelves. And of course there's the nurse hat chair...
Later I went to my friend's vintage store in Le Marais, called Pretty Box. It's on 46 rue Saintonge and all the designers go there to get inspiration for their collection. There were lots of things I liked but not everything I could afford. Even with a discount! But Nico has been my friend for years and now that his girlfriend and him are having a baby, well. I have to support the venture.
Afterwards I went to Saint Germain des Pres to visit my friend from Bali. She is a fascinating woman. The first thing you notice when you enter her apartment is that a woman lives there; everything about the decoration is very feminine. We talked about all kinds of stuff over champagne and the next thing you knew it was two hours later and time to go to dinner with my boyfriend's parents at Le Coq in Trocadero! Lizzie said one thing that's stayed with me, something that the French say: Il n'ya pas de hasard, There's no chance. Or in other words, nothing happens by chance. I thought about how my getting lost in Bastille had delayed me and how when I arrived at Galerie Seguin, Monsieur Seguin was crossing the street to meet me...
1 comment:
Richard Prince is a laughriot. I got to hang out with him at the Carlisle Hotel when he photographed me and my friend Mary Jordan topless(with a few other girls, as well.) We drank tons of champagne and watched the movie he had just made about teenage boys and cougar porn stars getting it on. That was such a good time.
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