Open HeARTS Inc. Presents #GoingMobile

I am showing a couple of Instagram photos at the Open HeARTS Inc. "Going Mobile" exhibit tonight from 6-8:30pm if anyone is able to drop by!

NYC: The Guggenheim: Picasso, Black and White

While in NYC I took in Picasso's Black and White exhibit at The Guggenheim, a museum I hadn't been to in years, remember THIS throwback Monday?

The exhibit is expressive, robust and void of color, as Picasso claimed,

Color weakens.

Thus, I present my vision of the Guggenheim in black, white and shades of gray....(with a bit of Central Park thrown in for good measure).

Black and White runs until January 23, 2013

New Haven, Connecticut

24 hours in New Haven, started with breakfast, then the Yale Center for British Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Old Campus, Sterling Library and ended with tea at Claire's....

Boston: Blogger Meetup at the ICA

Last night I met up with some Boston Bloggers at the ICA in Boston, in the seaport district. The ICA is a beautiful structure completed in 2006, airy and minimalist in its style much like the art it houses. Some of the works were particularly interesting such as the paintings by Sue Williams, which I think we may have enjoyed a little too much!

Then we were off to Anthony's Pier 4, a charmingly old and nautically inspired resturant on the water. Reminded me very much of Toronto's similarly named and decorated, Pier 4 Storehouse. Can't speak for the food but I liked that they had Earl Grey and that too, loose leaved! Also the service was friendly at the bar!

Here are a few captures from the evening, with Emily, Sarah, Anna, Aubrie, Danielle, Clair and Melanie.

Some via Instagram.

NYC: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The rainy weather in NYC one morning called for a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I spent a good 8 hours. I didn't know where to start it's so enourmous. At the end of the day after N met me there, we were also able to view the Stein Collection prior to it's opening on February 29. 

At times I was more fascinated by the people at the museum than some of the works themselves, seen via Instagram 1 2 3. 

Amsterdam: Rembrandt's House

If you were a fine art student like I was, you would have dreamt of the day you got to visit Rembrandt's house. Now, years later, even with much of my Rembrandt knowledge residing only in the far recesses of my memory, I was still pumped to check out his digs.

I'll spare you all of the history, which you can read here, but will tell you that Rembrandt bought this house in 1639 and lived there until he went bankrupt. All of his belongings were auctioned off - of course they were - but since then, it's been turned into a museum. The new wing was created for exhibition purposes and the old house restored and set up as it would have appeared in the 17th century.

Come see!

Boston: New Wing Photo Contest Winner

Between Jan. 19 and 21, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum asked visitors to help tell the story of the opening of the new wing by posting photos on their Facebook page or on Twitter (@gardnermuseum).

I'm happy to announce that I won first prize (jazz concert tix!) for Thursday Jan 19 with the following shot (via Instagram and posted on Twitter: @hoggerandco).

You can see the rest of my photos from the day, here.

Thank you ISGM! 

Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opened a new wing on January 19 and I was there to capture the spirit of the day. Loved spending time in the gorgeous and retro Richard E. Floor's Living Room.

One of the highlights was meeting artist Cesare Pietroiusti and taking part in his workshop which took place in the Claire and John Bertucci Education Studio. The artist's project is the production and distribution of free drawings - 3500 to be exact. Using varying mediums (from salt-water to tea, coffee and ink) the idea is to create a work of art that you leave behind for someone else to take home the following day. Each sheet of paper had a different condition on the bottom. That day it was:

"The holder of this drawing commits to give it away, three months after having received it, to a person of their choice who lives south of them"

The medium of the day was dark Boston beer, how perfectly. And at the end of the day I was so happy to come home with both coffee and salt-water art created earlier this week. I loved how the adults and elderly who took part in the workshop sat at the tables in child-like wonder playing with the medium, totally engrossed in the whole process. I certainly spent a long time in 

The 2nd floor's Special Exhbition Gallery is absolutely stunning with it's magnificent high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A wonderful place to have work exhibited, to be sure. I also sat in on a fun performance in Calderwood Hall, the new space for acoustic events.

The gorgeous exterior and beautiful brightly lit Cafe G complete the new wing. 

It was my first time visiting The Palace, the original Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum which opened back in 1903. Photography was not allowed which allowed me to really immerse myself in the iconic works of art as well as be enveloped in lavish antiques and their history. 

I could have been there longer, and I was already there the whole day! :) Time flew by, it's a mesmerizing place to be in Boston. 

I Amsterdam

One of my favourite outdoor sites in Amsterdam was the "I Amsterdam" sign in Museumplein, behind the Rijksmuseum and near the Van Gogh Museum.  The Van Gogh Museum, btw, was by far the best museum I went to. The Anne Frank House was incredibly moving as well, but more on that later.