At the Wonderful Chicago Cultural Center, 'Eugene Eda's Doors' Vibrantly Open My Eyes -- Art Exhibition Spotlight

Exhibit Overview

Eugene Eda's Doors for Malcolm X College
Chicago Cultural Center
Thru June 25
Recommended

It feels strange to call the Chicago Cultural Center one of the city's great hidden gems, as it comprises a hulking building--long the main branch of the Chicago Public Library--set rather conspicuously along Michigan Avenue across from Millennium Park (between Randolph and Washington).

And anytime I've gone there, I've encountered a good number of people, whether at tables in the first floor lobby area or perusing the various exhibits, attractions and beautiful rooms--including two astonishing stained glass domes--contained within the Cultural Center.

But perhaps because the temporary exhibitions are always free of charge, the center seems to lack the kind of buzz and appreciation it deserves--even among artsy friends--and often doesn't pull me in with great urgency.

It's something of a backhanded compliment to say the Chicago Cultural Center is the best place to go if you're in the Loop with time to kill, for that shortchanges the quality of the exhibits that are regularly curated there.

But last Sunday, my mom and I found ourselves downtown more than an hour before a Goodman Theatre matinee (see my previous post), and without having planned on it beforehand, just kind of naturally gravitated to and into the Cultural Center.

And spent every minute there we could possibly spare.

Just within the foyer near the Randolph Street entrance, there is a display of banners with sayings such as "I AM SOMETIMES INSECURE ABOUT MYSELF," "I AM QUIET" and "I GIVE UP EASILY," which I imagine are meant to suggest feelings of commonality among those who utilize the common space.

In various spots within the Cultural Center, one can currently find various architectural elements that fell off other buildings, rock 'n roll concert posters, a collection of handmade cloth banners with slogans (many denouncing the president) and much more.

Painting by Candida Alvarez

Through July 30, there is a gallery featuring remnants and remembrances of The Wall of Respect, a black power mural that had adorned a south side building, and until August 6, a nice exhibition of a rather diverse selection of paintings by Candida Alvarez.

As usual, the most prominent exhibition is within the Sidney R. Yates Gallery, a sumptuous space on the building's 4th floor that--per Wikipedia--is a "replica of an assembly hall in the Doge's Palace, Venice, with heavily ornamented pilasters and coffered ceiling."

Dating back to January and running until June 25 is an exhibit titled:

Eugene Eda's Doors for Malcolm X College.

This showcases 32 mural-like paintings the college's artist-in-residence Eugene "Eda" Wade created between 1971-1973 to adorn stairwell doors--on both sides--within the West Side institution, which has moved to new buildings nearby.

As you will see below, and more so via a highly recommended in-person visit, as part of the Black Arts Movement that began in the mid-'60s, Eda depicted "African and African-American heritage, history and culture, as well as social commentary scenes"--in a wide variety of styles.

Especially in having greatly enjoyed the work of Diego Rivera on a trip to Mexico City in 2015--and also in Detroit--I appreciate muralist painting, and imagine there are great examples throughout Chicago, some within public view, some not.

Eda's doors were a great example of the latter, but now--at least for another 6 weeks; I'm not sure where they will go once the exhibition ends--the former. And I think you'll agree, they're rather eye-opening.

Excellent Exhibition Spiritually Showcases the Abstract Passion of Terry Firkins

Art Exhibition Spotlight

The Saddest Happy Ending
The Passion Through the Eyes of Peter
Mixed media abstracts by Terry Firkins
The Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, Chicago
Thru April 2

As much as I love art, and not just at the museum level, I rarely visit art galleries and have almost never attended opening receptions of gallery exhibitions.

But then, I don't recall ever being invited.

So when I was, to an exhibition by Terry Firkins, a friend of a friend, I was happy to be able to get to it last Friday evening.

Dubbed The Saddest Happy Ending and subtitled "The Passion Through the Eyes of Peter," the exhibit--running through next Sunday--features a few dozen mixed media abstracts.

Most of these--per the gallery promo card--"study the final drama in the life of Jesus from the imaginary perspective of his closest disciple. Each work, drawn from Biblical as well as historical references, humanizes an individual event from The Passion."

Crucifixion by Terry Firkins

All of this, and other spiritual influences, may well abet your appreciation of the paintings, but even as a Jew with no clue about the allusions being drawn, I simply liked the dynamism of what I saw at face value.

My sense as I told Firkins, who voiced some validity, was of a catfight on canvas between Kandinsky and de Kooning.

Unfortunately, I am not in a position to buy one of Terry's paintings--even as they seem reasonably priced for an artist long exhibited in Chicago, New York and Milwaukee galleries, and held in collections worldwide--but if I could have I would have.

Though always happy to support the artistic endeavors of friends and not above giving them a plug, I can honestly say these paintings are of a style and quality I would take note of anywhere--from art fairs to major museums (and I've been to well over 150 of the latter).

Accompanying "The Passion" pieces was a smaller selection of smaller works figuratively crucifying our current president--abstractly and rather drolly--with titles such as Donald J. Trump Takes the Oath of Office as a Crazy Rabbit and Donald J. Trump Takes the Oath of Office as a Jackalope (as shown left to right).

The exhibition took place in the gallery space of a beautiful building at 1012 N. Dearborn housing the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, which has existed since 1895.

As seems to be standard per the gallery openings I've seen on TV, a selection of wine and cheese was served.

But I found it to be a rather low key, decidedly unpretentious affair, and enjoyed the chance to speak to Terry about his paintings.

I'll include a few more of the paintings below, but especially with no admission fee--or pushy gallery personnel--it certainly can be worth your while to stop by and take a gander.

The gallery is open weekdays from 11am-7pm and Terry Firkins will be on hand next Saturday & Sunday from 11am-3pm.

You can also see his work--though not yet the current exhibition--on his website, which showcases paintings in a variety of mediums and styles, including several landscapes and city street scenes.

Terry Firkins with The Unforgiven

Detail from Descent from the Cross by Terry Firkins

Palm Sunday by Terry Firkins

Crow by Terry Firkins

Mount of Olives by Terry Firkins

A Dazzling Array of Modern Master Pieces: Milwaukee Exhibit By Way of Buffalo Earns an "A" as Modern Art 101 -- Art Exhibition Review

Art Exhibit Review

Van Gogh to Pollock: Modern Rebels
Masterworks from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery 

Milwaukee Art Museum
Thru September 20, 2015
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Over the years I've visited many renowned modern art museums, including the MOMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, Pompidou Centre in Paris, Reina Sofia in Madrid and the Guggenheim in New York, Venice and Bilbao.

This is in addition to prestigious comprehensive collections with vast modern art holdings, such as at the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Galleries in Washington, DC and London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and many others.

But by virtue of having only been in Buffalo, New York, for less than 2 hours some 22 years ago, I've never been to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and can't say I've ever known that it is regarded as having one of the best modern art collections anywhere.

But it must be pretty astonishing, especially if it can organize a traveling exhibition with prime works from nearly 70 modern art superstars--Van Gogh to Pollack: Modern Rebels--and not deplete its own holdings to the extent that it must demurely shut its doors to hometown patrons.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). La Toilette, 1906

Given that the Milwaukee Art Museum, where this excellent exhibit is on display, has itself temporarily shuttered its fine permanent collection while its older buildings undergo extensive renovation, the possibility came to mind that the Albright-Knox also has currently closed its doors.

But an exhibit guard asserted--and a check of the Albright-Knox website seems to confirm--that the Buffalo museum remains fully open to the public, who presumably aren't feeling too cheated despite how many great paintings have relocated to Milwaukee until September 20.

I like the MAM's multi-genre permanent holdings, but on an afternoon in Milwaukee preceding a Rolling Stones concert on the eve of Summerfest, the Modern Rebels exhibit was particularly perfect in size and scope within the spectacular Quadracci Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Much to its credit, the Milwaukee museum has presented several terrific special exhibits over the past several years, including a truly outstanding Kandinsky retrospective last year and an eye-opening Impressionism show in late 2011.

While showcasing (much of?) the best of what can typically be seen in Buffalo is well-worth anyone's 90 minutes in Milwaukee--the museum is a short lakefront stroll from the Summerfest grounds, if you're heading there this week--the contents are almost exclusively curated by the Albright-Knox, save for a Kandinsky work the MAM owns.

Robert Delaunay (French, 1885–1941) Soleil, Tour, Aéroplane, 1913

And unlike the Kandinsky exhibition, which did a phenomenal job of educating me about the evolution and career arc of the Russian abstractionist, Van Gogh to Pollack: Modern Rebels has a relative sparsity of explanatory text, whether on the gallery walls or accompanying each painting.

Especially given the quality of the artworks themselves, and the swath of artists represented--including some lesser-known painters whose works were among my favorites--the paucity of illuminating contextual explanation doesn't constitute a major detraction, but would certainly be welcome.

Presumably, I could have been better clued in had I opted for an audio guide, but limited time combined with general aversion to regimented pacing precluded my purchasing one.

There are a couple cursory paragraphs introducing the exhibit, serving to note that per the Modern Rebels title, the exhibition:

"...features work by the great disruptors of the twentieth century--artists who questioned artistic and societal norms, threw caution to the wind, and created startling and frequently shocking new forms of art."

Throughout the numerous galleries, there are three panels with brief text on The School of Paris, Abstract Expressionism and Color Field Painting, but otherwise--except for patrons with headsets--the paintings pretty much speak for themselves.

Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)
La Maison de la Crau (The Old Mill), 1888

So other than the suggestion that the artists were "rebels" who broke new artistic ground, any thematic threads between artists and artworks were subject to one's own interpretation or pre-existing knowledge. (There is a brief video of Jackson Pollock's paint dripping technique, and I valued noting how New York replaced Paris as the center of Western Art mid-century, in part due to European artists emigrating because of Nazi persecution.)

Likewise lacking was any acute definition of "Modern Art," and while "Van Gogh to Pollack" in the exhibition's title gives an idea of the time frame, there are actually a good number of works well beyond Pollock's, including one dating to 1980.

Plus, while it was great to see terrific paintings by Van Gogh, Pissarro, Gauguin, Rousseau and Toulouse-Lautrec, I really don't know if these artists are truly considered part of the modern art milieu--I think of them as Post-Impressionists--or merely included as part of the impressive holdings of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

Thus, whereas some art exhibitions shine as exemplary works of artistry in themselves, due to imaginative curation/design and thoroughly insightful text--sometimes even superseding the "wow factor" of the works contained within--this is an exhibit that sparkles simply because it gathers dozens of impressive paintings (plus a few sculptures) from sensational artists.

Max Beckmann (German, 1884–1950)

Hotel Lobby, 1950

With typically just one piece from each artist, excepting the MAM's extra Kandinsky and a pair of paintings each by Ferdnand Léger and Grace Hartigan, the show works as an excellent introductory survey--Modern Art 101, if you will--of several of the prime practitioners of (mostly) 20th Century Art.

For the most part, these were not paintings I had seen before, even in reproductions, but are largely first-rate illustrations of each artist's style, further heightening the exhibit's allure.

While the biggest of the "modern art superstars" are well-represented with exceptional examples--including Van Gogh, Pissarro, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, Gauguin, Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, Modigliani, Braque, Gris, Léger, Matisse, Dali, Miró, O'Keeffe, Ernst, de Chirico, Kahlo, Davis, de Kooning, Gorky, Rothko, Bacon, Motherwell, Diebenkorn, Lichtenstein, Pollock, Warhol, Giacometti and more--I just as much appreciated the paintings by artists with a bit less fame and/or caché.

As showcased in this post, some of my favorite pieces from Van Gogh to Pollock: Modern Rebels are Robert Delaunay's Soleil, Tour, Aéroplane, Max Beckmann's Hotel Lobby, Arthur Dove's Fields of Grain as Seen from Train, Chaim Soutine's Carcass of Beef, Oskar Kokoschka's London, Large Thames View I, Hans Hoffmann's Exuberance, Sam Francis' Untitled and Helen Frankenthaler's Tutti-Fruitti.

And that's leaving out a good number of other great ones--and noteworthy artists, such as Horace Pippin, Yves Tanguy, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, Agnes Martin and Jim Dine--which should provide a rather robust idea as to the depth of this exhibition.

A bit unusual for a special or traveling exhibit, but quite appreciated, photography without a flash is entirely allowed.

So I'll include several more of the artworks below, while strongly suggesting you make the trek to Milwaukee--unless you happen to live there--for this first-rate exhibit, and/or one day shuffle off to Buffalo.

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Arthur Garfield Dove (American, 1880–1946) Fields of Grain as Seen from Train, 1931

Joán Miró (Spanish, 1893–1983) Carnaval d'Arlequin, 1924-1925

Chaïm Soutine (Russian; French, 1893–1943) Carcass of Beef, ca. 1925

Oskar Kokoschka (Austrian; German, 1886–1980) London, Large Thames View I, 1926

Hans Hofmann (American, 1880–1966) Exuberance, 1955

Sam Francis (American, 1923–1994) Untitled, 1956

Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–1956) Convergence, 1952

Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954) Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1938

Amedeo Modigliani (Italian, 1884–1920) La Jeune bonne, ca. 1918

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954) La Musique, 1939

Salvador Dalí (Spanish; Catalan, 1904–1989) The Transparent Simulacrum of the Feigned Image, 1938

Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928–2011) Tutti-Fruitti, 1966

Grace Hartigan (American, 1922–2008) When the Raven Was White, 1969

Alberto Giacometti (Swiss, 1901–1966) Man Walking (Version I), 1960
Robert Irwin (American, 1928) Untitled, 1962-1963

Outstanding Retrospective Takes Kandinsky Out of the Abstract -- Art Exhibition Review

Art Exhibit Review

Kandinsky: a Retrospective

Milwaukee Art Museum

Thru September 1

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A great art exhibition should substantially add to your appreciation of a given artist--or genre--not merely by displaying a large number of pleasing paintings, but in providing biographical and contextual information that furthers your knowledge and understanding.

By that measure, Kandinsky: A Retrospective, at the Milwaukee Art Museum is fantastic.

Aided, perhaps, by the fact that--while a longtime fan of Wassily Kandinsky's art--I was rather ignorant about his life upon entering the exhibit.

Although I might have learned much the same things through a perusal of Wikipedia and WikiArt, not only hadn't I explored his biography, but the Milwaukee Art Museum--with an exhibit organized by the Centre Pompidou in Paris and abetted by some of the MAM's own holdings--showcased and explained Kandinsky in a way that was truly enlightening.

Even before the addition of the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion--featuring a beautiful brise soleil--opened in 2001 and made the MAM the finest architectural work of art among American art museums following in the footsteps of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the main Milwaukee gallery had an impressive collection and was well-worth visiting.

But perhaps in conjunction with increased attendance that has accompanied the exquisite new lakefront structure--the permanent collection remains housed in the adjoining Milwaukee County War Memorial building, designed in 1957 by another famed architect, Eero Saarinen--the MAM has seemingly upped its game in recent years, presenting exhibitions that should be the envy of many more prestigious museums in much larger cities.

These include an Impressionism exhibit that opened my eyes to some terrific, lesser-known Impressionists (as I wrote about here), a fine exhibit about Andy Warhol's last decade that also educated me about Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the displaying of a single Raphael masterpiece that was worth not only a thousand words, but outranked many a more extensive showcase of lesser geniuses.

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866–1944) Fragment I for Composition VII
(Center), 1913 Oil on canvas 34 15/16 × 39 7/16 in. (88.74 × 100.17 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley M1958.12 Photographer credit: Larry Sanders
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

At least in terms of his art, I considered myself far from a Kandinsky neophyte, though far from an expert.

I have seen many of his paintings over the years in various museums, including fairly recently at the Centre Pompidou, which--as the exhibition notes--has one of the world's largest Kandinsky holdings, comprised primarily of works the artist kept for himself, which were donated by his wife Nina after his death.

And as I mentioned in this travel guide, I very much valued a Detroit Institute of Arts' display that deciphered an abstract painting by Kandinsky (among several fine explanatory notes throughout that stellar museum).

But in terms of knowing about Wassily (pronounced Vassily) Kandinsky, who lived from 1866-1944, my wherewithal was essentially: a 20th century Russian abstract painter, who I liked for the colorful commotion of his paintings.

But take, for example, what the exhibition taught me simply about Fragment I for Composition VII (Center), which is owned by the Milwaukee Art Museum and for which an accompanying video explained its veiled symbols. (I've included an image nearby, but you can see this and works beyond those posted here in the Kandinsky exhibition's fine website.)

First of all, though some symbols are more recognizable, or guessable, than others, Kandinsky's paintings--to him--were never random, but always conveyed an inner meaning.

If you know, as I only now do, that from 1896 to 1914 Kandinsky studied and painted largely in Munich, returning to Russia as Europe headed to war, you might see how the crosshatches in the 1913 painting could represent barbed wire, with images of (or symbolizing) cannons, guns, a boat, a serpent also potentially apparent amidst a general sense of unrest.

That said, while appreciating the explanation of this and other paintings in the exhibition, I'm just as happy--if not more so--appreciating Kandinsky's work simply on an aesthetic level. 

I like knowing that there is much more going on than random scribbles and shapes, but it is enough for me to know that he was expressing an inner meaning than for me to know exactly what he was trying to say.

What makes abstract painting fun for me is the exciting sense of disarray, vibrantly expressed, even if not nearly as randomly as it looks.

Considerably more compelling for me to know is that Kandinsky didn't just wake up one day and decide to make haphazard paintings.

In looking at his emblematic works, one may not guess that the Moscow-born Kandinsky studied law, economics and statistics as an undergrad, then became a lawyer and Associate Professor of Law.

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Old Town II (Alte Stadt II), 1902
Oil on canvas 20 1/2 × 30 7/8 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national
d'art moderne, Paris Bequest of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1981 AM 81-65-16
© Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Service de la documentation
photographique du MNAM /Dist.RMN-GP
© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

It was only as he was almost 30 that--inspired by seeing one of Monet's Haystacks paintings and viewing/hearing Wagner's Lohengrin opera--that he decided to devote his life to more artistic pursuits.

In 1896, Kandinsky moved to Munich, where he would study art, teach it, form multiple artist groups, participate in exhibitions and befriend long-time companion Gabriele Münter--with Franz Marc, Alexej Jawlensky and Robert Delaunay also painters in his circles, whether within Phalanx, the New Artists Association of Munich or the Blue Rider group.

He also traveled extensively and spent a year in Paris.

The healthy selection of early works by Kandinsky in the initial galleries of the exhibition reiterated--I knew this somewhat about him, but also of artists like Miro, Mondrian and Rothko--that great artists now seen as abstractionists or minimalists reached their destinations only after mastering the ability to paint landscapes, still lifes, portraits and much more realistic or figural subjects. Their famed works were interpretive reductions, not facile gimmicks. (See this less-than-admiring article I wrote about a noted contemporary artist and his like; even more dismaying is my understanding that many "artists" today learn on a computer, not with a paintbrush.)

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Song (Lied), 1906 Tempera on
cardboard 19 5/16 × 26 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national
d’art moderne, Paris Bequest of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1981 AM 81-65-87
© Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Georges Meguerditchian /
Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

In this vein, one of my favorite pieces in the entire exhibition is a 1906 tempura-on-cardboard painting called Song, that I would never have guessed was by Wassily Kandinsky.

(For the second post in a row, I can say I was somewhat reminded of Maurice Prendergast, such as this work.)

He also had dabbled in neo-Impressionism--there is an enlightening wall devoted to such pieces--and didn't really approach abstraction until his mid-40s, when he created the Blue Rider group with Franz Marc.

"We both liked blue, Marc liked horses, I liked riders. Thus the name came by itself," reads a Kandinsky quote in the exhibit's enlightening text. 

While this retrospective primarily consists of paintings from a single repository--the Centre Pompidou--with just a smattering of Kandinsky works held elsewhere, rather than rue great examples that weren't included, I felt the exhibition paints a rather thorough picture of the artist and his art.  

Along with its own Kandinsky painting, the Milwaukee Art Museum well appends what the Pompidou put together by including works by Münter and Jawlensky from its collection, and Franz Marc's The Large Blue Horses from 1911--on loan from the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and viewable on WikiArt.org--is a cornerstone in showing a key stimulus for Kandinsky's move into abstract painting.

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Impression V (Park), 1911
Oil on canvas 41 3/4 × 62 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée
national d'art moderne, Paris Gift of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1976 AM
1976-851 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Bertrand Prévost /
Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Like that Marc work, Kandinsky's Impression V (Park) from the same year features an equine presence, if you look closely.

Per the accompanying explanation, in his 1911 treatise, Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky referred to three major types of paintings: Impressions, Improvisations and Compositions--with Impressions (such as in this painting) coming from direct observations.

Quoting the placard's text:

"The figure of the horse and rider in motion is highly schematic as Kandinsky had moved toward merging the inner world with an inner expression of veiled symbols."

The exhibit also details Kandinsky's return to Russia from 1914-1921--between World War I and the Russian Revolution, a time of great upheaval--as being a relatively dour period, with the artist feeling at odds with avant-garde Russian artists about the purpose of painting.

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Painting with a Red Mark
(Bild mit rotem Fleck), 1914 Oil on canvas 51 3/16 × 51 3/16 in.
Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris Gift of
Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1976 AM 1976-853 © Centre Pompidou,
MNAM-CCI/ Adam Rzepka / Dist.RMN-GP
© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

During this time in Russia, he ended his relationship with Gabriele Münter and married a woman named Nina, who would remain his companion until his death.

In 1921, Kandinsky was invited to visit Germany by Walter Gropius, the director of the Bauhaus, which led to an 11-years-tenure as a teacher at the famed art school.

One of the true highlights of the exhibition is a gallery of full-wall murals Kandinsky had created shortly after he began teaching at the Bauhaus.

Appointed as the Master of the Wall Painting Workshop, he was commissioned to produce murals for the Juryfreie Kunstschau (nonjuried art exhibition in Berlin), and embraced it as an opportunity for viewers to "stroll within the picture."

Although the murals were subsequently destroyed, his wife Nina supervised their recreation for display in the lobby of the Centre Pompidou in 1977; the Milwaukee retrospective is the first time they have been exhibited in the United States.

Also fun and enlightening are five gouache studies for the murals. In fact, I was surprised by the inclusion of several studies throughout the show, further demonstrating that Kandinsky wasn't being nonchalantly  fanciful, but approached each canvas with a clear sense of purpose.

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Panel design for the “Juryfreie” exhibition, Wall A
(Entwurf für das Wandbild in der Juryfreien Kunstschau: Wand A), 1922 Gouache on black paper
13 11/16 × 23 5/8 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris Gift of
Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1976 AM 1976-889 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/
Georges Meguerditchian / Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Although Kandinsky remained part of the Bauhaus faculty (which also included Paul Klee and Lyonel Feininger)   through moves from Weimar to Dessau to Berlin, the school was shuttered in 1933 due to Nazi oppression.

He would then move to Paris, where he would live until his death in 1944.

Notable about his time at the Bauhaus was the development of a more geometric universe in his paintings, with definable shapes--circles, squares, rectangles, checkerboards--becoming more prevalent. 

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Black Grid (Schwarzer Raster), 1922
Oil on canvas 37 13/16 × 41 3/4 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national
d’art moderne, Paris Bequest of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1981 AM 81-65-44
© Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Service de la documentation
photographique du MNAM / Dist.RMN-GP
© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

In Paris, where he and Nina lived in the suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine as it was recommended by Marcel Duchamp, Kandinsky--who had several paintings seized by the Nazis and included in Hitler's Degenerate Art Exhibition, whose goal was to denigrate avant-garde European art--remarked:

"Paris, with its marvelous light (soft and intense) has softened my palette; there are other colors, entirely new forms and some that I had not used for years."

I also found it interesting to note that after Kandinsky's death in December 1944, the Guggenheim Museum of New York--which opened in 1939 though I never before thought about it pre-existing its Frank Lloyd Wright building from 20 years later--organized a exhibition of his work that traveled to Milwaukee and was displayed at what would become the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Relevant to the Guggenheim, I'd assume many people didn't know of the MAM--or explore it--until Calatrava worked his magic.

And until I went to the museum--in the midst of a visit to Milwaukee's Summerfest at which I would primarily see New Order--I was largely ignorant of Wassily Kandinsky beyond an affinity for his dynamic painting style.

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) On White II (Auf Weiss II), 1923
Oil on canvas 41 5/16 × 38 9/16 in. Centre Georges Pompidou,
Musée national d'art moderne, Paris Gift of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1976
AM 1976-855 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Georges Meguerditchian /
Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Though I remember having seen a number of the exhibit's prime pieces at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, in terms of focusing specifically on a large swath of art--and the life--of this important painter, a jaunt up to Milwaukee was even better.

I now know what Kandinsky looked like, that he was initially a lawyer and eminent teacher and that although he is almost always referenced as a Russian painter (and a pioneering art theorist), his artistic period was predominantly begun and spent in Germany and Paris.

And more than before, I have a clue as to what some his art means.

But even if you just want to look at the pictures--and again, I relish them more in the abstract, uniquely shaped by each viewer's perception--this first-rate Kandinsky retrospective should truly open your eyes.

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Entry to the Milwaukee Art Museum is normally $17, but after having only learned of the Kandinsky exhibit a few days before I went--thanks to a poster in an Evanston hot dog stand (Wiener and Still Champion)--I lucked into a Target Free Thursday and didn't have to pay a dime. On the first Thursday of each month, Target Corporation covers the entry fee for all visitors, even to the special exhibitions. The next of these, and last before the Kandinsky exhibit closes on Sept. 1 is on Thursday, August 7. 

Now for a few more Kandinsky paintings that were included: 
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Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Yellow-Red-Blue (Gelb-Rot-Blau), 1925 Oil on canvas 50 3/8 × 79 5/16 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris Gift of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1976 AM 1976-856 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Philippe Migeat / Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Achtyrka—A Neighboring Dacha on the Pond (Achtyrka—Eine Nachbar-Datscha am Teich), 1917 Oil on canvas board 8 1/4 × 11 5/16 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris Bequest of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1981 AM 81-65-39 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Service de la documentation photographique du MNAM / Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Improvisation III, 1909 Oil on canvas 37 x 51 3/16 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris Gift of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1976 AM 1976-850 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Adam Rzepka / Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) Composition IX, 1936 Oil on canvas 44 11/16 × 76 3/4 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris Attribution by and Purchase of the State, 1939 JP 890 BIS P © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ / Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866 – 1944) In Grey (Im Grau), 1919 Oil on canvas 50 13/16 × 69 5/16 in. Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris Bequest of Mrs. Nina Kandinsky in 1981 AM 81-65-43 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Adam Rzepka / Dist.RMN-GP © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris