Went to see Hilma af Klint exhibit at the Guggenheim this week. Went with Arthur Rivers and visiting British friends, Sian Murray, Fliss and Helen. Walking past these paintings lining the walkway from first to fifth floor of the Guggenheim, I was struck by their warmth and sense of serenity. Passing by, I enjoyed their colors, their seeming calmness and symmetry, their scale, from small drawings to enormous canvases. But when we stopped to look, suddenly, while remaining serene and calming, they exploded into vital, alive, shimmering emotional experiences. The symmetry was not symmetry at all, but unusual breaks within that, while maintaining the equilibrium, upset its conformity and delivered a feeling ones gets looking at the creativity in nature. And it did this over and over as we stopped. Loved it!!
Also we saw the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit, which flowed from his portraits, his flowers, and his more controversial sexual images in a stunning sequence of forms and shapes, electrified by his framing and the way he uses light and shadow. However, we were a bit disappointed by its small size, an adjective not usually equated with Mapplethorpe. Sill wonderful to see.