Two major art exhibits you can only see in Columbus
Both shows feature avant-garde work from their era.
Two outstanding special exhibits — one currently on view at the Columbus Museum of Art, the other at the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University — focus on artists who forged new artistic expression for their times. One features a group of French breakaway artists of the late 19th century; the other celebrates the work of a cuttingedge contemporary photographer.
Together they make a day in Columbus a great art outing if you’re looking to entertain out-of-town visitors or if you find yourself with a free day over the upcoming holidays. Between art visits, you can enjoy lunch at Short North, the trendy neighborhood filled with a variety of restaurant options and galleries. High Street is conveniently located between the two art venues.
You won’t see these two excellent shows in any other American cities. Columbus is the only American city for “Beyond Impressionism – Paris, Fin de Siècle: Signac, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec and Their Contemporaries.” The exhibit, created by the CMA in partnership with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, runs thorough Jan. 21. The French term refers to “the end of a century, especially the 19th century.”
“Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life” is at The Wex through Dec. 31. Organized by The Broad museum in Los Angeles — which houses the largest collection of Sherman’s photos in the world — Columbus the only venue outside of Los Angeles for a show that focuses on an artist known for her edgy work behind and in front of the camera. Over this past calendar year, the Wexner has highlighted women artists in all of its special exhibitions.
Visiting 19th century Paris
If you like exhibits that offer a wide variety of artists, style and subject matter, you’ll enjoy this CMA show. Because the
Parisian “fin de siècle” was a time of political upheaval and cultural transformation, it was an era that saw the development of a number of new artistic movements.
You’ll learn that the 100 works of art on display served as a bridge between Impressionism with its “brightly colored, loosely brushed” style and the abstract art that followed which was often much less recognizable. You’ll see beautiful examples of Pointillism ( also known as Neo-Impressionism), a technique in which tiny dots and strokes of color are applied to a canvas. The symbolist artists of the time are represented by Odilon Redon, who created images such as floating, disembodied heads, creeping spiders and an egg with two huge eyes peeking out of an egg cup. Eerie!
The Nabis, a group of artists influenced by Japanese woodblocks and by Gaugin’s work, are represented through prints, posters and illustrations.
Subject matter includes the landscapes, modern city and leisure-time activities for which the Impressionists were well known as well as the fantastical visions favored by many of them. Well-known artists in the exhibit include Paul Signac, Maximilien Luce, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Félix Vallotton, Odilon Redon, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The exhibit also includes one of Monet’s “Water Lilies,” and a selection of Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters. The artwork on display ranges from paintings, drawings and prints to works on paper. The CMA staff does a great job of adding interactive elements to their shows. In this case, in addition to excellent wall text, you can use your cell phone to hear curators discuss specific works of art. In one of the galleries, you’re invited to use colorful magnet tiles to experiment with color combinations like the Neo-Impressionists. In the final gallery visitors are encouraged to don costumes and hats and imagine you’re strolling the streets of Paris in the late 19th century. The photos you take, which transports you to Paris streets, can then be posted to a digital gallery via Instagram or Twitter . You can also design a poster to promote an upcoming event in your own life, using inspiration from the advertisements on display. Fun! The CMA’s Melissa Ferguson says patrons may initially come to see the Claude Monet “but they leave with a new appreciation and love for lesser-known artists like Paul Signac and Maxmilien Luce.”
Be forewarned
Cindy Sherman’s edgy photos aren’t for everyone: they can be provocative and disturbing. The Wexner Center’s current exhibit features 100 of her works reflecting the four decades of her groundbreaking career.
Sherman, who has been posing as her own model since college, visits vintage stores and flea markets to assemble the various pieces of the outfits she wears in her portraits. By the time she’s finished with makeup, costumes, sets and lighting, it’s hard to believe these photos are all of the same individual.
Wexner curator Bill Horrigan says one of the hallmarks of Sherman’s work is that she was always determined to do everything herself, without a crew, without assistants. “I think one part of why she became so widely admired has to do with that rigorous self-sufficiency,” Horrigan says.
The show is arranged chronologically beginning in 1976 with Sherman’s Murder Mystery works and Untitled Film Stills. There are history portraits in which she references the paintings of the old masters — often making use of exaggerated prosthetics. In other galleries you’ll see her clowns and her portraits of invented glamorous aging film stars. Though a series may be identified (such as “Centerfolds” or “Hollywood/ Hamptons”) Sherman’s individual work is typically given an Untitled number but no name. Sherman’s comedy/horror film, “Office Killer” plays continuously in the galleries. The film was made in 25 days, was released in 1997 and stars Carol Kane, Molly Ringwald and David Thornton.
There’s an exhibit audio guide with commentary by artists and actors, and the catalog includes a conversation between Sherman and filmmaker Sofia Coppola.
Says Sherman in the interview: “As a kid I was always into the idea of transforming and costumes and make up. It started with regular kids playing dress-up, but — I know this from looking back at snapshots — I tended to be more grotesque. I wasn’t just trying to be the ballerina, bride, or whatever little girls usually want to be, I’d be the ugly old witch or the old lady.”