• Nice! Opened tonight, runs 2/1 – 3/15. William Stone: Apperception, an exhibition of mixed media work, ranging from paintings to kinetic sculpture. Visual artist William Stone traffics in word play to create provocative and humorous works utilizing woodworking, sculptural and painting techniques. Stone plays with audience expectations and subverts the utilitarian purpose of functional objects, like desks and chairs, to imbue them with layered meaning beyond their formal ideal. Presented in this exhibition of both old and new work is a cross-section of Stone’s keen visual wit and expert craftsmanship representing work that ArtForum referred to as “endgame conceptualism with a bite.” #williamstone #hudsonhall #hudsonhallny #conceptualart #hudsonny
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    Nice! Opened tonight, runs 2/1 – 3/15. William Stone: Apperception, an exhibition of mixed media work, ranging from paintings to kinetic sculpture. Visual artist William Stone traffics in word play to create provocative and humorous works utilizing woodworking, sculptural and painting techniques. Stone plays with audience expectations and subverts the utilitarian purpose of functional objects, like desks and chairs, to imbue them with layered meaning beyond their formal ideal. Presented in this exhibition of both old and new work is a cross-section of Stone’s keen visual wit and expert craftsmanship representing work that ArtForum referred to as “endgame conceptualism with a bite.” #williamstone #hudsonhall #hudsonhallny #conceptualart #hudsonny
  • In West Egg, at Steppingstone Park, is perhaps the last phone booth in America. Feeling a bit Gatsbyesque on my field trip today. Phone home, ET 📞. #kingspoint #westegg #steppingstonepark #steppingstoneparkbeach
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    In West Egg, at Steppingstone Park, is perhaps the last phone booth in America. Feeling a bit Gatsbyesque on my field trip today. Phone home, ET 📞. #kingspoint #westegg #steppingstonepark #steppingstoneparkbeach
  • Hiroshima - A Reflective Throwback Thursday. The Contemporary Art Center’s theme “2020 Hiroshima” exhibition at the #tokyometropolitanartmuseum proved to be a poignant, sobering and sharp contrast to the beauty, serenity and harmony kimono 👘 one was wrapped in viewing the stunning “Vilhelm Hammershoi and Danish Painting of the 19th Century” exhibit hung just a three minute walk and a million miles of humanity’s folly away. How does one interpret war? From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, the bookends of just one brutal chapter of one war in the millennia of warring humans have engineered, how does one make sense of that which is inherently without fathomability? Art...visual and tactile, literature, theater, music, poetry, dance, film...all art... can shine light and understanding while holding up mirrors in the dark recesses and chapters of our...humanity. And exhibitions like this provide opportunities for reflection, and hope. Having just viewed a “blockbuster exhibit” packed with hundreds of admirers dutifully shuffling from one masterwork to the next in silence, I found myself in this exhibit alone, save for one well dressed elderly Japanese couple who I’d guess were in their mid-80’s...thus children when the atomic bomb was used to end a war, and ostensibly save lives. Gray areas don’t get much grayer - and military, social and political historians have argued this from the moment the mushroom cloud rose until...today. We passed each other in the exhibit numerous times, exchanged a nod, and in the end ended up the escalator and on the landing with sweeping views above the exhibit. He turned to me in broken English and said “I don’t understand much of the art”. I replied “Maybe, like war, we can never really understand.” He thought, nodded, his wife nodded, I nodded...and we went our separate ways. I don’t usually shed tears in museums, but a few just slipped out. A reminder of my humanity... #2020hiroshima #hiroshimacity #atomicbomb #hiroshimabombing #nagasakicity #tokyomuseum #arttokyo
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    Hiroshima - A Reflective Throwback Thursday. The Contemporary Art Center’s theme “2020 Hiroshima” exhibition at the #tokyometropolitanartmuseum proved to be a poignant, sobering and sharp contrast to the beauty, serenity and harmony kimono 👘 one was wrapped in viewing the stunning “Vilhelm Hammershoi and Danish Painting of the 19th Century” exhibit hung just a three minute walk and a million miles of humanity’s folly away. How does one interpret war? From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, the bookends of just one brutal chapter of one war in the millennia of warring humans have engineered, how does one make sense of that which is inherently without fathomability? Art...visual and tactile, literature, theater, music, poetry, dance, film...all art... can shine light and understanding while holding up mirrors in the dark recesses and chapters of our...humanity. And exhibitions like this provide opportunities for reflection, and hope. Having just viewed a “blockbuster exhibit” packed with hundreds of admirers dutifully shuffling from one masterwork to the next in silence, I found myself in this exhibit alone, save for one well dressed elderly Japanese couple who I’d guess were in their mid-80’s...thus children when the atomic bomb was used to end a war, and ostensibly save lives. Gray areas don’t get much grayer - and military, social and political historians have argued this from the moment the mushroom cloud rose until...today. We passed each other in the exhibit numerous times, exchanged a nod, and in the end ended up the escalator and on the landing with sweeping views above the exhibit. He turned to me in broken English and said “I don’t understand much of the art”. I replied “Maybe, like war, we can never really understand.” He thought, nodded, his wife nodded, I nodded...and we went our separate ways. I don’t usually shed tears in museums, but a few just slipped out. A reminder of my humanity... #2020hiroshima #hiroshimacity #atomicbomb #hiroshimabombing #nagasakicity #tokyomuseum #arttokyo
  • Shadows & Light. Windows & Walls. #shadowsandlight #windowsandwalls #hudsonny
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    Shadows & Light. Windows & Walls. #shadowsandlight #windowsandwalls #hudsonny
  • Sunday morning drive... #sundaydrive #pompeyny
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    Sunday morning drive... #sundaydrive #pompeyny
  • Serendipity Strikes! Yesterday was my last day in Japan. And sitting here in the JAL departure lounge I’m reflecting on attending the opening day of a major and unexpected exhibit. I first saw the announcement on a subway light box advertisement and realized serendipity had favored me with a mind blowing treat: “Vilhelm Hammershøi and Danish Painting of the 19th Century” until March 26. The skinny: “One of Denmark’s most celebrated painters, Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) quietly and resolutely painted close acquaintances, landscapes, and subdued interiors. Influenced strongly by 17th-century Dutch genre painting, Hammershøi is sometimes called “the Vermeer of the North.” His work, while recalling in atmosphere the classics of Western art, evinces a nostalgia peculiar to modern urban dwellers. Recent years have seen Hammershøi’s international popularity grow, with major Western art museums acquiring his paintings in succession. In Japan, as well, a first Hammershøi exhibition in 2008 drew large crowds of admiring viewers despite his relative obscurity in this country. Now, just over ten years later, Vilhelm Hammershøi’s finest works will return along with masterpieces of 19th century Danish art in their first comprehensive exhibition in Japan. FORTY works by Hammershøi! Masterworks of the Skagen School. And the antecedent painters going back to 1810. So happy my last day in 🇯🇵was this stellar exhibit’s first day! My photos are of tickets, flyers, gift shop and one of the exhibit interior from beyond the “No Photos” line. What a cherry on the cake 🍰!!! #vilhelmhammershøi #metropolitanartmuseumtokyo #tokyometropolitanartmuseum #nationalgallerydenmark #tokyoartmuseum
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    Serendipity Strikes! Yesterday was my last day in Japan. And sitting here in the JAL departure lounge I’m reflecting on attending the opening day of a major and unexpected exhibit. I first saw the announcement on a subway light box advertisement and realized serendipity had favored me with a mind blowing treat: “Vilhelm Hammershøi and Danish Painting of the 19th Century” until March 26. The skinny: “One of Denmark’s most celebrated painters, Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) quietly and resolutely painted close acquaintances, landscapes, and subdued interiors. Influenced strongly by 17th-century Dutch genre painting, Hammershøi is sometimes called “the Vermeer of the North.” His work, while recalling in atmosphere the classics of Western art, evinces a nostalgia peculiar to modern urban dwellers. Recent years have seen Hammershøi’s international popularity grow, with major Western art museums acquiring his paintings in succession. In Japan, as well, a first Hammershøi exhibition in 2008 drew large crowds of admiring viewers despite his relative obscurity in this country. Now, just over ten years later, Vilhelm Hammershøi’s finest works will return along with masterpieces of 19th century Danish art in their first comprehensive exhibition in Japan. FORTY works by Hammershøi! Masterworks of the Skagen School. And the antecedent painters going back to 1810. So happy my last day in 🇯🇵was this stellar exhibit’s first day! My photos are of tickets, flyers, gift shop and one of the exhibit interior from beyond the “No Photos” line. What a cherry on the cake 🍰!!! #vilhelmhammershøi #metropolitanartmuseumtokyo #tokyometropolitanartmuseum #nationalgallerydenmark #tokyoartmuseum
  • #nowordsneeded #visualpoetry #kyotojapan
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    #nowordsneeded #visualpoetry #kyotojapan
  • Another excellent exhibit: “Treasures from Budapest: European and Hungarian Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest and the Hungarian National Gallery celebrates the Japan-Hungary Friendship 150th anniversary with the loan of 130 masterpieces, spanning four hundred years from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century to The National Arts Center, Tokyo. In the 150 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Hungary the two countries have maintained close relations. The works of European and Hungarian painting, drawing, and sculpture, represent 400 years of artistic achievement from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. In addition to works by such great masters as Cranach, Titian, El Greco, Renoir, and Monet, there are many superb pieces by Hungarian artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries rarely seen in Japan. The exhibit was excellent. My only suggestion was the confusion over the taking of pictures with no flash. The exhibition entrance seemed to show “pictures okay with no flash” icon, but I received a polite and gentle reprimand on my last photo in the last room. Asking at the information desk I received two opposing viewpoints from the clerks seated side by side. My answer and interpretation translation: YesNo. So I rounded off to “Maybe”. At the very least, I’m hoping to promote an exhibit which was very quiet for a Sunday. I was alone in most rooms, which is very pleasant. Thank you Japan 🇯🇵 and Hungary 🇭🇺! #treasuresfrombudapest #hungariannationalgallery #museumoffineartsbudapest #tokyomuseum #nationalartcentertokyo
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    Another excellent exhibit: “Treasures from Budapest: European and Hungarian Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest and the Hungarian National Gallery celebrates the Japan-Hungary Friendship 150th anniversary with the loan of 130 masterpieces, spanning four hundred years from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century to The National Arts Center, Tokyo. In the 150 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Hungary the two countries have maintained close relations. The works of European and Hungarian painting, drawing, and sculpture, represent 400 years of artistic achievement from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. In addition to works by such great masters as Cranach, Titian, El Greco, Renoir, and Monet, there are many superb pieces by Hungarian artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries rarely seen in Japan. The exhibit was excellent. My only suggestion was the confusion over the taking of pictures with no flash. The exhibition entrance seemed to show “pictures okay with no flash” icon, but I received a polite and gentle reprimand on my last photo in the last room. Asking at the information desk I received two opposing viewpoints from the clerks seated side by side. My answer and interpretation translation: YesNo. So I rounded off to “Maybe”. At the very least, I’m hoping to promote an exhibit which was very quiet for a Sunday. I was alone in most rooms, which is very pleasant. Thank you Japan 🇯🇵 and Hungary 🇭🇺! #treasuresfrombudapest #hungariannationalgallery #museumoffineartsbudapest #tokyomuseum #nationalartcentertokyo
  • Thought provoking exhibit: “Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life - How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow” consisted of five sections: i.e. “New Possibilities of Cities;” “Toward Neo-Metabolism Architecture;” “Lifestyle and Design Innovations;” “Human Augmentation and Its Ethical Issues;” and “Society and Humans in Transformation,” will showcase over 100 projects/works. The exhibition will aim to encourage us to contemplate cities, environmental issues, human lifestyles and the likely state of human beings as well as human society - all in the imminent future, via cutting-edge developments in science and technology including AI, biotechnology, robotics, and AR (augmented reality), plus art, design, and architecture influenced by all these. It was an intriguing mix of emotions which the exhibit incited: Hope, fear, melancholy, awe, inspiration, and disbelief. Is humanity headed for utopia, dystopia, greater things, or our own demise. Exhibits like this ask many more questions than they answer, but perhaps that’s exactly why they are so moving and powerful. #moriartmuseum @moriartmuseum #futureandthearts #tokyolife #tokyoartmuseum
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    Thought provoking exhibit: “Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life - How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow” consisted of five sections: i.e. “New Possibilities of Cities;” “Toward Neo-Metabolism Architecture;” “Lifestyle and Design Innovations;” “Human Augmentation and Its Ethical Issues;” and “Society and Humans in Transformation,” will showcase over 100 projects/works. The exhibition will aim to encourage us to contemplate cities, environmental issues, human lifestyles and the likely state of human beings as well as human society - all in the imminent future, via cutting-edge developments in science and technology including AI, biotechnology, robotics, and AR (augmented reality), plus art, design, and architecture influenced by all these. It was an intriguing mix of emotions which the exhibit incited: Hope, fear, melancholy, awe, inspiration, and disbelief. Is humanity headed for utopia, dystopia, greater things, or our own demise. Exhibits like this ask many more questions than they answer, but perhaps that’s exactly why they are so moving and powerful. #moriartmuseum @moriartmuseum #futureandthearts #tokyolife #tokyoartmuseum
  • Shibuya Station Crossing. The Times Square of Tokyo. Swipe for insanity. But no one jaywalks! And regarding the sneakers which followed me back to my room...oops! I had to buy at least one souvenir trinket for myself on this trip. Buttery soft kicks made (and only available) in 🇯🇵 seemed like a good idea last night when I ducked into the Tiger flagship to escape the manic hordes... #shibuyacrossing #shibuyastation #shibuyamadness #onitsukatigernipponmade #tokyolife
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    Shibuya Station Crossing. The Times Square of Tokyo. Swipe for insanity. But no one jaywalks! And regarding the sneakers which followed me back to my room...oops! I had to buy at least one souvenir trinket for myself on this trip. Buttery soft kicks made (and only available) in 🇯🇵 seemed like a good idea last night when I ducked into the Tiger flagship to escape the manic hordes... #shibuyacrossing #shibuyastation #shibuyamadness #onitsukatigernipponmade #tokyolife
  • Reflecting on yesterday while planning today. Tokyo delivered temps near freezing, with rain, slush, and snow battling for supremacy. And having achieved the rank of Foreign Subway Neophyte allowed me to move throughout the underground warren of trains and tunnels which - due to mall-like food, shopping, hotel, and office access, suggest one could live in Tokyo and never walk outside. A bit surreal! Yesterday found me attending Tokyo’s current blockbuster exhibit at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan - “Impressionism and Beyond” - just before it closes. All of the usual suspects, with some exceptional examples. My favorite? Van Gogh’s 1884 “Wood Gatherers in the Snow”. Haunting, and somewhat brutalist in an almost figural expressionist way 70 years before the movement began in earnest. Moving. After a lunch consisting of a wood fired Neapolitan pizza of surprising scrumptious-ness, I visited the famous ceramics collection at the Idemitsu. Ceramics are a casual interest of mine, and this collection was lovely. No photos allowed, so no images. But some of the glazed fired vessels 1500 years old looked like modern works from today’s best ceramics. One particular work from the modern era ~1875 was so intricate and complex and elegant I couldn’t compute how it was created. The mysteries of creation! Today it’s off to hip and happening Roppongi for more museum madness. But first, an onsen soak to start the day right (coffee already on board). #mitsubishiichigokanmuseum #idemitsumuseumofarts #tokyomuseums
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    Reflecting on yesterday while planning today. Tokyo delivered temps near freezing, with rain, slush, and snow battling for supremacy. And having achieved the rank of Foreign Subway Neophyte allowed me to move throughout the underground warren of trains and tunnels which - due to mall-like food, shopping, hotel, and office access, suggest one could live in Tokyo and never walk outside. A bit surreal! Yesterday found me attending Tokyo’s current blockbuster exhibit at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan - “Impressionism and Beyond” - just before it closes. All of the usual suspects, with some exceptional examples. My favorite? Van Gogh’s 1884 “Wood Gatherers in the Snow”. Haunting, and somewhat brutalist in an almost figural expressionist way 70 years before the movement began in earnest. Moving. After a lunch consisting of a wood fired Neapolitan pizza of surprising scrumptious-ness, I visited the famous ceramics collection at the Idemitsu. Ceramics are a casual interest of mine, and this collection was lovely. No photos allowed, so no images. But some of the glazed fired vessels 1500 years old looked like modern works from today’s best ceramics. One particular work from the modern era ~1875 was so intricate and complex and elegant I couldn’t compute how it was created. The mysteries of creation! Today it’s off to hip and happening Roppongi for more museum madness. But first, an onsen soak to start the day right (coffee already on board). #mitsubishiichigokanmuseum #idemitsumuseumofarts #tokyomuseums
  • Established in 1952, the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (MOMAT) is a great museum right across from the Imperial Palace. The museum encompasses the National Craft museum, houses a large permanent collection, and has regular major traveling and theme exhibitions. A current show ending in a few weeks was exceptional and thought provoking: “The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture through Windows. About: Windows are all too familiar to everyone. They let light and wind in the room while protecting us from coldness and heat. Through them we can have a fresh view of the outside world while indoors. This exhibition, organized jointly with the Window Research Institute that advocate “windowology,” focuses on windows from various viewpoints. In addition to Henri Matisse’s paintings and cutting-edge contemporary art, the contents will include non-art topics such as the global history of windows. The galleries will showcase cross-genre exhibits including scenes by window loved and painted by artists, and useful tips about windows.” The exhibition galleries are serene and uncrowded, and it was great to see artists I’ve never heard of tackling this theme alongside more familiar European and American names. Really enjoyed this show, as well as the selections from the permanent collection on view. #momatokyo #museumofmodernarttokyo #tokyoart #tokyomuseum #nationalmuseumofmodernarttokyo #visittokyo #tokyoartscene #windowsandart
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    Established in 1952, the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (MOMAT) is a great museum right across from the Imperial Palace. The museum encompasses the National Craft museum, houses a large permanent collection, and has regular major traveling and theme exhibitions. A current show ending in a few weeks was exceptional and thought provoking: “The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture through Windows. About: Windows are all too familiar to everyone. They let light and wind in the room while protecting us from coldness and heat. Through them we can have a fresh view of the outside world while indoors. This exhibition, organized jointly with the Window Research Institute that advocate “windowology,” focuses on windows from various viewpoints. In addition to Henri Matisse’s paintings and cutting-edge contemporary art, the contents will include non-art topics such as the global history of windows. The galleries will showcase cross-genre exhibits including scenes by window loved and painted by artists, and useful tips about windows.” The exhibition galleries are serene and uncrowded, and it was great to see artists I’ve never heard of tackling this theme alongside more familiar European and American names. Really enjoyed this show, as well as the selections from the permanent collection on view. #momatokyo #museumofmodernarttokyo #tokyoart #tokyomuseum #nationalmuseumofmodernarttokyo #visittokyo #tokyoartscene #windowsandart
  • I’ve woken up in Tokyo after skiing in Hokkaido. Sampling the Japanese alps on skis was amazing. Time to sample the culture and energy of the planet’s 🌎 most populous city (38,000,000). Still procrastinating my first subway ride. Hoping I don’t end up in New Zealand...!!!#tokyo2020 #tokyolife
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    I’ve woken up in Tokyo after skiing in Hokkaido. Sampling the Japanese alps on skis was amazing. Time to sample the culture and energy of the planet’s 🌎 most populous city (38,000,000). Still procrastinating my first subway ride. Hoping I don’t end up in New Zealand...!!!#tokyo2020 #tokyolife
  • Fond farewell to Furano, Otaru, Sapporo and Hokkaido. Such beauty, scenery, skiing, snow...and friendly people. Tokyo next... #hokkaidotrip #otaru #sapporoskiing #japow #japanpowder
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    Fond farewell to Furano, Otaru, Sapporo and Hokkaido. Such beauty, scenery, skiing, snow...and friendly people. Tokyo next... #hokkaidotrip #otaru #sapporoskiing #japow #japanpowder
  • Swipe for serenity. If you don’t ski off piste, you mingle with the herd. Human pinball...or zen birch forests. I chose the road less traveled by... #japanesebackcountry #japowhokkaido #japow #outdoorofficeday
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    Swipe for serenity. If you don’t ski off piste, you mingle with the herd. Human pinball...or zen birch forests. I chose the road less traveled by... #japanesebackcountry #japowhokkaido #japow #outdoorofficeday