Recoleta

Categories: Accommodations · Argentina · Art · Buenos Aires · TravelTags: · · · · · · · ·

Adopted by upper-class porteños (or locals) after yellow fever broke out in San Telmo in 1871, the barrio of Recoleta has grown into a model of bourgeois refinement as one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. Recoleta has a distinctly European feel with its French and Italian architecture, tree-lined streets, big-name international brand stores, restaurants and galleries and of course, the barrio’s famous cemetery — the Cemeterio de la Recoleta.   Cemeterio de la Recoleta has earned its reputation as one of the world’s great necropolis. Occupying an area of 14 acres, the Recoleta Cemetery is a labyrinth of more than 6,400 tombs and mausoleums…

MCASD

Categories: Art · California · Carlsbad · San Diego · USATags: · · · · ·

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego  was founded in 1941 and  has a collection of more than 4,000 works created after 1950 in its location in La Jolla, California  and it’s second location in downtown San Diego. The MCASD reflects an artistic program that encourages promising emerging artists and recognizes mid-career artists whose works need more visibility.

Botero + Street Art

Categories: Art · Bogota · Colombia · TravelTags: · · · · · 2 Comments

One highlight of my trip is the visit to the Museo Botero. Colombia’s world famous artist, Fernando Botero, is well known for his figurative artworks of sculptures and paintings that depict people and figures in large and exaggerated volumes that are viewed as satire, caricature or political commentary. The widely recognized collection of gordas and gordos (or “chubby women and men”) are brilliant and at times, humorous. His monumental public sculptures adorn squares and parks in cities around the globe, including Paris, Madrid, Florence and New York. The Museo Botero in Bogotá exhibits several of his sculptures, paintings and drawings which…

According to What?

Categories: Art · Canada · Toronto · TravelTags: · · · · 2 Comments

Ai WeiWei’s current exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto is a powerful yet emotional, at times, commentary on society. Modern art that is relevant and one can easily relate to. The exhibit runs until Oct. 27, 2013 and is highly recommended. The Snake Ceiling is made of backpacks to commemorate the more than 5,000 school children who were killed due to the collapse of the shoddily constructed schools in the May 2008 massive earthquake in China’s Sichuan province. Moon Chest is comprised of seven chests made from quince trees. The circular openings align to show every…

Toronto: Ai Weiwei

Categories: Art · Canada · Toronto · TravelTags: · · · · 2 Comments

I am welcomed back to Toronto by summer and Ai Weiwei’s installation at Nathan Phillips Square (running until October 27). Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most prolific, provocative and significant artists of today. Circle of Animals / Zodiac Sculpture is his reinterpretation of the twelve bronze animal heads of the Chinese zodiac that once stood in the gardens of the Yuanming Yuan, an imperial summer palace in Beijing. Designed in the 1700’s, the animal heads originally functioned as a water clock fountain, but in 1860, the palace was ransacked by French and British troops and the heads were…

Museums (More!)

Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Art · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: · · · · · · ·

There seems to be no end to the astounding line up of museums in Amsterdam. Aside from the Big Four museums (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum and Anne Frankhuis), there are the Canal House mansions turned museums, historical museums, and many other specialty museums. I noted a sign for a Tulip museum, one for a Cheese museum, and another for a Torture museum. Whatever your interests may be, likely there will be one that will cater. Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum (Maritime Museum) – once the arsenal of the Dutch Navy, the classical building was designed by Daniel Stalpaert in 1655…

Van Gogh Museum + More Art

Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Art · Europe · Netherlands · Photography · TravelTags: · · · · · ·

The other “must see” museum in Amsterdam is the Van Gogh Museum. Opened in 1973 to house the collection of Vincent’s younger brother Theo, it is home to 200 paintings and 500 drawings by Vincent and his contemporaries such as Tolouse-Lautrec, Monet and Gaugin. The original building  was designed by Gerrit Rietveld and opened after his death in 1973 (with renovations undertaken in 1998 by Martin van Goor) and a new exhibition wing designed by Kisho Kurokawa was added in 1999. This year marks the 40th year of the opening of the museum and the 160th anniversary of Van Gogh’s…

Terug in Amsterdam

Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Art · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: · · · ·

“Back in Amsterdam“ The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam’s modern art museum, was expanded with a new building designed by Dutch architect Mels Crouwel. Opened in late 2012, the new building has been dubbed as “The Bathtub” by locals due to its exterior oblong shape and entirely smooth white volume. The original structure was built in 1895 and has direct connection on all floors to the new building. The Hermitage Amsterdam is a satellite museum of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia opened in 2004. ArtZuid 2013 – International Sculpture Route Amsterdam Started in 2008 to bring attention to the…

Berlin ist Wunderbar!

Categories: Accommodations · Architecture · Art · Berlin · Europe · Germany · TravelTags: · · · ·

Berlin is wonderful! Close to 25 years after the fall of the Wall, Berlin is a mix of trendy and grit. The city welcomes its future as an international centre for avant-garde culture, art and media while it enjoys a major re-birth post-communism. As its mayor famously quipped “Berlin is poor, but sexy!” Gemaldegalerie is Germany’s must-see art gallery housing a vast collection of European art, including many by the Old Masters. One will certainly enjoy viewing pieces by Boticelli, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer and many more without the crowds. The Wall and its Art I stayed at the…