How to nourish yourself with art during the holiday season?
When many galleries take a break from their busy curatorial schedules and go into a refurbishment mode, it can be a little frustrating to get your regular art fix. For example, a couple of years ago on a trip to Versailles, I had the purpose of seeing a particular artwork: “Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley” by Anne-Louis Girodet. Unfortunately, after walking through the massive museum, I still had not seen it yet, and even the floor staff could not help me when I asked them about the artist or the name of the artwork. As it is an unusual Romantic portrait of an African man dressed in a gentleman’s attire, I relied on its uniqueness for the staff to recognise it. I found the portrait in a guide in the gift shop, took a photo of the page, and went back to the staff. Bingo! They immediately recognised this amazing portrait, but then informed me that the wing containing the artwork is closed for renovations.
Alas, this is a common occurrence in European museum around the winter holidays, when the visitor numbers are lower than normal. (On the same trip the entire Impressionist floor of Musée d’Orsay was closed for renovations.) In Australia, the holiday closure happens in smaller art spaces and commercial galleries. While this cannot be helped, what can we do to rejuvenate ourselves with a bit of art when we actually have a bit of time to enjoy it?
Well, in Australia, the national galleries tend to stay wide open over the Christmas period, so if you have not been for a while, this is a good time to visit the permanent exhibits, which are regularly rotated throughout the year. Added bonus is the freezing air-conditioning, which can be a welcome relief in the hot Australian summer.
But what else can you do?
In our post-Covid-crisis environment, a lot of museums have expanded their online programs. Even from Brisbane I can visit selected exhibitions in the Rijksmuseum, the Louvre Museum, or the National Gallery of London. Often large European museums create stories about their major works of art or their artworks currently in focus. Here is a story of the most famous work at the Louvre Museum, the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci, and its theft in 1911. You will also find various podcasts, and interesting information about the architectural history of the palace.
The other thing I like to do is forage the Internet for YouTube stories and documentaries about artists or periods I may not be so familiar with. Perhaps there is an artist you came across a while ago, whom you have been meaning to look up for a while? For me, one such artist is Chiharu Shoita (a Japanese artist who works with the idea of string and whose exhibition I saw a few months ago) and Dora Maar (a photographer, a muse and lover of Picasso, whose surreal photographs are mesmerising!).
In the meantime, if you are looking for an art event over December/January, here are a few options for physical gallery visits:
Beetween Spaces at Woolloongabba Art Gallery
Paula Dunlop at Vacant Assembly
Destiny Disrupted at the Griffith University Art Museum
Heat at Redcliffe Art Gallery