The subtitle of the
René Magritte exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, "The Mystery of the
Ordinary, 1926-1938," is well chosen. Magritte's surrealism is
characterized by the startling juxtaposition of everyday objects, as seen in
the cloths covering the faces of the couple above in "The Lovers"
(1928). The painting unsettles the viewer, similar to the effect of an dream in
which familiarity and fear intermingle. Magritte also subverted assumptions
about language and representation; in "The Treachery of Images"
(1928-29), a painting of a pipe is complimented by the sentence, "Ceci
n'est pas une pipe" (This is not a pipe). Similarly, a painting of an eye
is entitled, "The False Mirror." Magritte's insistence that our
perceptions are inherently unreliable shows that he was not only a surrealist,
but an early postmodernist.
“Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary” will run through Jan. 12, 2014, at the
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, NYC; (212) 708-9400, www.moma.org.
In 1941, Henri Matisse
underwent a difficult surgery for abdominal cancer, following which he spent
most of his time in a wheelchair or in bed, unable to paint as he had before.
Matisse found a breakthrough method to channel his immense creativity:
paint-washing sheets of paper, cutting shapes with scissors and
pinning–eventually gluing–the cut-outs together to form a composition.
"Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs" at the Museum of Modern Art makes clear
that the French master triumphed artistically in the final years of his life
until his death at 84 in 1954. Matisse said
that he was "painting with scissors" and that "Only what I
created after the illness constitutes my real self: free, liberated."
Indeed, he carrie forward his vibrant colors and appealing lines and shapes
into a bold new artistic medium. "Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs" is a
must-see aesthetic delight.
"Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs" continues through February 8, 2015, at the
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY, (212) 708-9400, www.moma.org.
