by Alex Gladden
Van Gogh to Rothko,” an exhibit featuring the celebrated artist, Vincent Van Gogh, arrived at Crystal Bridges last Saturday providing art fans throughout the area an extra excuse to make the voyage to Crystal Bridges despite the wintery weather.
While entrance to the permanent collection at Crystal Bridges is free, there is a small supplemental payment of $10 to enter the “Van Gogh to Rothko” exhibit. The exhibit showcases the multiple eras of art that make up what is called abstract art, said Beth Bobbitt, the Crystal Bridges media relations manager.
The exhibit includes work from 73 artists and 76 actual pieces, Bobbitt said.
“The exhibition marks the first time many of these works have toured in decades, and Crystal Bridges is one of only four institutions that will host ‘Van Gogh to Rothko,’” Bobbitt said.
The exhibit is a part of the collection at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, and it spans art created over 150 years and 16 movements – including modernism, abstract expressionism, pop art and post-impressionism, according to the Crystal Bridges website. “Van Gogh to Rothko” will stay until June 31.
Some, like UA art history professor Leo Mazow, said they are very much looking forward to seeing the highly anticipated exhibit. Mazow praised the Albright-Knox Art Gallery as one of the most prestigious galleries of American art. The “Van Gogh to Rothko” exhibit adds to Crystal Bridges’ already impressive art collection, Mazow said.
Beth Owen, a nontraditional art history student, said she is also really looking forward to seeing the “Van Gogh to Rothko,” exhibit. Owen specializes in mesoamerican art history and said she really likes being able to see the comparisons between contemporary work and the pre-Columbian art work.
In particular Owen said she was really excited to see Rothko’s “Orange and Yellow.” Owen said she had previously not been impressed with his work until she took a studio class and attempted to imitate the art.
“I have now come to appreciate work of artists like Rothko,” Owen said. “I can not wait to have my previous doubts confronted and actually be proven wrong when I actually do get to see my first Rothko.”
Although many UA students have not been able to visit “Van Gogh to Rothko,” some students have been able to see the exhibit. Senior Andrew Schalk has been able to see the exhibit twice.
Schalk said he really admired how the museum really focused on education. The museum had commentary beside each piece to inform audiences about how each work influenced its time and even other works in the exhibit.
“Crystal Bridges balanced nicely the ability to make the viewer feel exuberantly overwhelmed and able to understand all at the same time,” Schalk said.
“Van Gogh to Rothko” is designed so that viewers can see how the different artists influenced each other. The exhibit also shows how the artists evolved.
For example, the Picasso featured at the exhibit, referred to as “La Toilette,” is a part of Picasso’s “Rose Period,” of art. This piece is very different from some of Picasso’s later work, which would fall into the category of art that Picasso helped to pioneer, cubism.
The exhibit also includes information about the different artists attached by the artists’ work. By “La Toilette,” the museum included information about artists Picasso was influenced by, including the artist famous for his use of geometrics – Cezanne.
As Picasso continued to develop his style into cubism, he based some of his technique off of Cezanne’s work.
There are, of course, works of art by the artists for whom the exhibit is celebrated – Van Gogh and Rothko. The piece featured by Rothko is one of his celebrated pieces, “Orange and Yellow.” The work presents two squares: one of orange and one of yellow. The piece that is included in the exhibit by Van Gogh is “La Maison De La Crau,” or “The Old Mill.”
Van Gogh did not rely so much on reality to complete “The Old Mill,” as much as he represented his emotions through colors, museum curator Manuela Well-Off-Man said.
The colors Van Gogh used to paint “The Old Mill,” suggest happiness. The colors in the work are mainly light and lead viewers to think on subjects of joy, Well-Off-Man said.
“This is a theme that we will see throughout the exhibit today,” Well-Off-Man said. “Many of the artists featured used color to express their emotions.”
Mazow also highlighted on this theme when discussing the exhibit. The exhibit highlights a later work by Pollock called Convergence. Crystal Bridges has already acquired several of Pollock’s earlier works. Mazow said that this will allow audiences to see the artist mature.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, and the museum is closed Sundays.
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