'Colour & Lights: Impressionism from France and America' exhibition at Te Papa

On Friday night another big international exhibition opened at Te Papa, following the recently opened Andy Warhol exhibition. What could be Pop Art's polar opposite; Impressionist paintings by the movements' greatest artists fill the large Te Ihomatua gallery. 

Works by French Impressionists Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, and their American followers Whistler, Homer (etc) feature - a combination of large paintings, sketches, sculptures and prints, all from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 

Impressionism was brought to prominence amongst the French art scene during the 1870s and 1880s as Claude Monet's work gained recognition. Followers of his popularised the movement with their obvious brush strokes of non-blended colour, focussing on accurate lighting and its changing qualities to suggest movement amongst quite ordinary subject matter (often landscapes or common people). 

Although few major works featured in the exhibition, it was incredible to see work of such a stark contrast to Warhols work, where many of the pieces showed barely any sign of the artist's mark or hand-work. The typical impressionist method came as a reaction to the growing interest in photography as an art form, which too didn't show the artists mark in a way painting could.

The Japanese Bridge - Monet (1899)

The exhibition is on until January 2014

MB xx

Newsworthy: fashion and art news and links from the last few days

• If you happen to be in London, Kensington Palace opened it's latest exhibition last week 'Fashion Rules', offering a peak inside the royal wardrobes from all different styles and eras. Read The Telegraph's write-up for it here
  
  
• Trinity is a performance show using interactive technology by Electronic Performers. The stage is transformed into a blank canvas; the dancer's bodies the paint brush. The result is hauntingly beautiful, accentuating movement and heightening senses. See a bit more info on My Modern Met here or see the full clip here

• Vogue Australia wrote an interesting article explaining the importance and difference between pre-collections (resort & cruise) and ready-to-wear. I was pleased to see a mention of the true reason for the increase in the number of fashion seasons and the corporations responsible, and an increased interest in the industry overall. The speed of high-street distribution and turn-over influences consumers to want more, faster - an interesting article for a more in-depth discussion of this side was published back in January by The Guardian here
  
  
• NZ brand Huffer released a video a couple of weeks back to "celebrate our culture, diversity and peoples different takes on old and new ideas" by exploring the infamous Karangahape Road in Auckland, speaking to different personalities about the significance of denim - an interesting way to explore the notion of high vs. low, both bums on the street and wearers of the highest designers wear denim jackets and jeans. Denim fits with every personality and environment

K Road Denim / Huffer from Huffer1997 on Vimeo.

Warhol Exhibition: Te Papa, Wellington

Yesterday I made my way down to Te Papa on Wellington's waterfront to see the recently opened Andy Warhol exhibition, 'Warhol:Immortal' (1June-25August). After seeing some of the top art works in some of the top galleries around the world, I have to admit I had become a bit of an art snob, and assumed (although I have been completely obsessed with Warhol and the 60's for as long as I can remember) the only works to feature at Te Papa would be a small selection of sketches and unimportant silkscreen prints.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Set in the Visa Platinum Gallery, the exhibition was as multidisciplinary as Warhol's work. Sketches, personal photographs, wallpaper, films, MTV clips, books, iPad apps and major silkscreens - both self portraits and of celebrities - featured in a range of set-out rooms and hallways. The yellow and pink cow print wallpaper covered a central room, filled with the infamous silver foil helium balloons to play with. Screen tests of Edie Sedgwick and the likes could be watched in the film room, while you created a Warhol-style screen test of your own. 

I was overwhelmed by the quality of work on show at the exhibition. Even though you 'weren't supposed to take photos' (something I found very un-Andy-esque), I had to take some sneaky hip-height snaps.

Opening this weekend is the American/French Impressionism exhibition 'Colour & Light' - another impressive list of artists to feature. Te Papa is upping their game, which I think could be to do with the similar game-up from the Auckland Art Gallery and their California Design exhibition, which has just opened. I'm sure they'll battle it out for a while longer, and I'm definitely not complaining.

p.s. and yes, the Marilyns are there :)

MB xx