I got off of work today at 2 in the afternoon and ran downtown to catch the last hour of Trisha O'Brien singing in the courtyard of the art museum. I frequently used to go listen to Ms. O'Brien about ten years ago when I last lived here, and I was thrilled to see that she was still around.
It was an absolutely perfect afternoon - the trees in the courtyard were shady, there was a luscious breeze, and the music (jazz ballads, standards, and a bossa nova) were exquisite. Ms. O'Brien's quartet (piano, upright acoustic bass - yes!-hollowbody jazz guitar, drums and flugelhorn) was fantastic. As for O'Brien, she has a most acceptable and agreeable voice, unabrasive but lacking in real range and power, which was only evident on the final notes of the songs.
I will give her this - no real jazz singer is even awake at 3 in the afternoon, let alone performing. And she looked great in a cool green patterned silk dress. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon.
After the show, I went inside and caught some of the "masterpieces" they are featuring as they close the museum for seven years. Maybe it was that the paintings were out of context, not being in the usual galleries, but I swear I have never seen two before which I loved: Dora Wheeler, by William Merritt Chase and Woman in the Waves by Gauguin, an artist I usually don't care for. Then they had the good taste to feature one of my all-time favorite works, Twilight in the Wilderness by Frederic Edwin Church. Simply astounding. It was nice to see the Hopper, Hills, South Truro, again. They also had the ubiquitous Stag at Sharkeys by Bellows and Eakin's The Biglin Brothers up.
But, the most mesmerizing painting of all was Dali's The Dream from1931. He has to be the best technical painter of all time. When you actually see one of his works, you are humbled by the delicacy of his brushstrokes and intricacy of the detail, and by the incredible vibrancy and intensity of his colors. I have never seen a reproduction anywhere that does his paintings justice. I couldn't tear myself away from this one.
Upstairs at the NEO show, there were many works I was quite taken with. The three standouts for me were James Seward's amazing enormous portrait of his father, an incredible construction of oak and sandstone by Palli Davene Davis and a huge, gorgeous watercolor by Mary Lou Ferbert. Honorable mention must go to Eva Kwong's wall of light blue ceramic tears which I was moved by, and the exquisite portrait of a pelican by photographer Steve Cagan.
Next door to that was the Michaël Borremans exhibit, which I was looking forward to simply based on the title: Hallucinations and Reality. I was expecting big paintings, and I'm not sure why. His works are very intricate, detailed, and disturbing in subject matter - almost creepy. They are executed on scraps of paper and cardboard, and definitely refer to a rich inner life of the artist. Most are "annotated" with indecipherable pencil scribblings and other notations. The works seem to be a window into a private landscape.
Driving home late in the evening, the sun was setting, and the sky looked exactly like the sky in Church's painting. It was fantastic.
I stopped in to the new Indian restaurant that just opened near my home, Raj Mahal. The interior decor was very pleasing, and the service impeccable. I continue on my quest for the perfect vindaloo - this one was served with tiny pearl onions, something I have never encountered before. The naan was very, very good. I wanted kheer for dessert and they were out - my only disappointment for the day.
It was a great start to my weekend. Outstanding.
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If you ever happen to be in St. Petersburg, FL, go to the Dali Museum. It is a small building with a small exhibit space, but the collection is broad and beautiful. Aside from small
and medium-sized paintings, it includes drawings, A group of large masterworks, and a little display about Dali's work with holograms. The masterworks are incredible... when I think of Dali, I think of rather small canvases and perfect precision.. he had the most delicate hand and the intricate brushwork boggles my mind every time. Well, the masterworks are the size any lover of Dali would want all of the works to be enlarged to (at least briefly) like using a magnifying glass. They have the same meticulous and beautiful brushwork and the same "treasure hunt" feeling as you notice small details. But the enormous scale makes the contents of each masterwork just seem to swirl off the wall and wrap around you, holding the viewer somewhat captive. They are initially jolting, but totally deserving of the term "masterwork." ...Then again, maybe I'm just a nutter who spends too much time standing in front of paintings. All the same, if you're ever in St. Petersburg and have nothing to do, go check it out. There's a deli near the museum that has wonderful food but avoid the seafood bisque, it tastes like there should be a pirate warning on it somewhere.
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