Nice interview between Storm Tharp and Bean Gilsdorf on Daily Serving. Longtime readers will know that Tharp is one of my very favorite local artists, and I'm so proud of him for making the cut for the next Whitney Biennial. Click here to read it.
I was, of course, interested to see him talk so much about process in this interview. The technical prowess of his pieces, especially in relation to traditional craft has always been a draw for me. I also smiled at the very end when he talked about Picasso--I recently returned from a trip to Chicago and was enamored with a painting he did in 1959 called Nude Under a Pine Tree.
I don't think I've seen this one before--a rare occurrence since I pretty much immersed myself in his works when I was a budding artist. Probably more than any other artist, his abstraction made a huge influence on me. This painting was made late in his career, which is probably why I wasn't as familiar with it, but it hearkens back to many of his early explorations of human form. I saw the piece on a visit to the new wing of the Chicago Art Institute designed by architect Renzo Piano. A stunning building--a great place to bring new life to that museum. I usually focus my sights on the Museum of Contemporary Art, but this time I lapped up all that AIC had to offer. Click here to see a nice documentation from the New York Times when the building opened last year. And....it's a blogger's delight since they let you take photographs there! Here's a composite picture I took of my sweetie in the Ellsworth Kelly room. Enjoy!
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