ARTISTS AND POETRY ARRIVE IN SPRING VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin



The Bridge of Sighs, circa 1903-4, John Singer Sargent

There is nothing that engages our cultural pursuits more than art exhibitions and poetry, two elements of creativity that feed our passion for beauty in all that elevates our imagination. This time in Brooklyn, my friends. The very best to date. Here’s the Scoop!!!

JOHN SINGER SARGENT WATERCOLORS Breathtaking, delightful, engaging, colorific are words that describe the first expansive Sargent watercolor exhibition in twenty years combining holdings from the Brooklyn Museum and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Brooklyn Museum’s watercolors feature scenes of Venice, Mediterranean sailing vessels, intimate portraits, and Bedouin subjects. The watercolors in the Boston collection feature subjects from Sargent’s travels to the Italian Alps, the villa garden near Lucca, and the marble quarries of Carrara, as well as portraits.
     Not to be missed, this once-in-a-generation opportunity opens your vista to see Sargent’s oeuvre like you have never seen before. This landmark exhibition of ninety-three, jewel-like watercolors provides an unexpected sampling of Sargent’s most superb watercolor work. Among the most engaging in the Brooklyn collection, is The Bridge of Sighs, a translucent and opaque watercolor with graphite and red-pigmented underdrawing depicts a vigorously painted view of gondoliers at work.
      Bedouins, a work of expressive force and coloristic vibrancy was completed during Sargent’s travels in Syria, while Medici Villa, reveals the artist’s love of formal Italian gardens. The Cashmere Shawl engages your attention and illustrates the virtuosity of Sargent’s grand portraits for which the artist is renowned. Corfu: Lights and Shadows is a brilliant exploration of the colors and tones of sunlight and shadows cast on brilliant white surfaces.
     Select works throughout the dazzling exhibition are paired with videos that show a contemporary watercolor artist demonstrating some of Sargent’s working technique. In conjunction with the exhibition, a number of public programs are offered: April 20, 27, May 4, 18. Saturday, April 27, at 2 p.m. the subject is “Painting Sunlight,” with curator Erica Hirshler. Through July 28, 2013 at Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY Tel: 718.638.5000.

LORCA IN NEW YORK: A CELEBRATION In June 1929, at a time when young writers and painters dreamed of living in Paris, Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain’s greatest modern poet and playwright, broke boldly with tradition and sailed for New York. His nine months, here followed by three months in Havana, changed his vision of poetry, the theater, and the social role of the artist. Lorca came to New York to study English but devoted himself instead to writing “Poet in New York,” a howl of protest against racial bigotry, mindless consumption, and the adoration of technology.
       The exhibition of manuscripts, photographs, letters and personal items on view through July 20, 2013 coincides with Farrar, Straus & Giroux’s publication of a new edition of “Poet in New York,” the poems Lorca wrote during his stay in new York City, from 1929-1930. In 1936, the poet left the manuscript of Poet in New York on the desk of his Madrid publisher with a note saying that he would be ‘back tomorrow,’ probably to discuss final details. He never returned.
       Weeks later, at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he was brutally murdered by fascist elements in Grenada, his body thrown into an unmarked grave. At the New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Gallery. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. FREE. A schedule of events can be found at lorcanyc.com.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! Sargent’s watercolors are a dreamy exhibition that captures the imagination of far off places. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.