Author: Linda

Houston is one of my new favorite cities. The people are friendly, the weather perfect nine months of year, the outdoors are easily accessible and they have amazing ART. I was able to spend a few hours at the Menil Collection which stole my heart. The main building designed by Renzo Piano seamlessly integrates indoor and outdoor spaces with interior gardens and canopies that stretch beyond the roofline. Piano beautifully “suffuses” the natural light into the interior spaces through ceiling louvers. The collection is lovely, especially a gorgeous royal blue & green Rothko.

Dario Robleto’s exhibition, The Boundary of Life is Quietly Crossed, connects the invention of the artificial heart with man’s exploration of space. Scientists and astronauts postulated- should they encounter life in outer space, how would they communicate? The heartbeat was thought to be the universal language. I was most intrigued with the sound of the human heart beat and the first recordings of the human pulse. It was captivating to hear the sound of the human heart pulsing after various emotional stimuli. Something so pure and simple, so integral to every living being. I know what I want for Christmas- a stethoscope!!

I could have stayed for hours in the Twombly gallery. The architecture, also designed by Piano, was in my opinion pure perfection- no base board, no crown molding, no adornment, just simple elegance. Soft ivory cloth tarps draped the ceiling to diffuse the natural light. I found it meditative and calming to my soul. There is something about good art, set in the right context that could make my heart weep and never want to leave.

The Dan Flavin gallery is also meditative but in a totally different way. Colorful and dark with an industrial twist. Lastly the Rothko chapel, a bit somber for my mood but an important part of the collection and history. I left playing yet again with the idea of color and how it moves our soul in different ways from Rothko’s paintings, to Flavin’s neon lights, to Piano’s ability to diffuse natural light in space. One’s experience is further affected by the integration of art and architecture. The Menil Collection champions this notion.

What could be nicer than spending the day in Shanghai exploring private art museums with Chinese artist Chen Hangfeng? Chen Hangfeng has had international shows, speaks perfect English and has an “insider’s perspective” on Chinese art — not to mention, a wonderful sense of humor.

I felt compelled to visit Shanghai at this moment because there are many new private art museums that have recently opened and I was eager to see as many as I could. I was also invited to the opening of the new home of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a beautiful concert hall designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.

The Rockbund Art Museum

The Rockbund Art Museum was our first stop since it was quite near our hotel, The Peninsula. Ugo Rondinone’s “Breathe Walk Die” is on view until January 2015. It features 40 living clowns in various positions throughout the space. It is the artist’s first ever solo exhibition in China. Of the exhibition, Rondinone said: “Since 2007, all my exhibitions were either black and white or had different shades of brown colors. This is one of the reasons that this time I would like to do a very colorful exhibition, where I combine different color works from the past and present into one unifying exhibition.”

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It is wonderful to be able to experience art under the auspices of a museum such as the Guggenheim. The Patrons Circle of the Guggenheim Museum and their International Director’s Council spent the afternoon in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Our first stop was James Turrell’s Baker Pool. This site specific swimming pool is located in a private barn in Greenwich.

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With the upcoming anniversary of the D-Day invasion and liberation of Europe around the corner, we thought it would be a good time to visit Normandy.

We stayed in Bayeux, a charming and ancient town close to the D-Day beaches and American Cemetery. The town has a beautiful cathedral, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux. The cathedral was consecrated in 1077, supposedly in the presence of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England.

 
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There is no better combination than mixing food and art.

Our first dinner in Paris was at Le 114 Faubourg at Hotel Le Bristol. The restaurant has a flair for drama, with its bright orange walls and large extravagant flowers. They know “how to do it.” As we walked by a table that was reserved, we noticed it was decorated with rose petals — maybe a sign of something special to come, an engagement perhaps?

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