Meanwhile, back in the Pacific NW, I went to see a show, Edvard Munch and the Sea, at the Tacoma Art Museum on thorough July 17, 2016.
As mentioned in an earlier post I wrote, I had a rare opportunity to study his works on paper in the print room of the National Gallery in Oslo. I have been very fortunate to see several major exhibitions of his works over the decades as well as group exhibitions that have included his works. The Seattle Art Museum hosted a major survey of his prints sometime in the early 1970s. One of the more memorable exhibitions was in Paris at the Musée d’Orsay. Visiting the Munch Museum in Oslo was also very stimulating, as was seeing some of his early works in their National Gallery as well as his most well known image, The Scream.
The show in Tacoma is intimate in scale and based around the theme of the sea. It was exciting to see how he explored the figure in the landscape, at the edge of the sea, and all the significance that suggests. I’ve always found his re-exploration and refinement of an image provocative, thus it is always rewarding to see various state proofs of some of the images and see how subtle changes can result in a completely different feeling. Further, it was a pleasant surprise to see a few of his images that deal with more challenging themes he is so well known for. Included in the exhibition is, what some regard as his most well known image, The Scream, in this case, a 1984 update by Andy Warhol.
(Note: click on a thumbnail to open the gallery and view the images larger).
Showing at the Seattle Art Museum is another exhibition of works on paper, Graphic Masters: Dürer, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, R. Crumb on through August 28th. I’m looking forward to seeing this exhibition, even though I have had the opportunity to study many these works first hand in other museums, and saw the entire R. Crumb series when they were first shown in 2010 at David Zwirner Gallery in NYC. As noted in a previous post, one can always find something new when viewing works again. I’ve always taken great pleasure in viewing an exhibition that has travelled to another venue, gaining new insights into individual works, while also seeing how a different installation can change the experience of the same artworks. Link to exhibition info at SAM.
