American Sublime April 27, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Amy Sherald, art, Art exhibit, Breonna Taylor, Christine Sum Kim, Michelle Obama, NYC, Whitney Museum
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Our visit to the Whitney’s Amy Sherald’s exhibition was uplifting. Most of us were introduced to her when she was chosen to paint the portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama but there is so much more to discover. “Amy Sherald is a storyteller. She creates precisely crafted narratives of American life, selecting, styling, and photographing her sitters as the foundation for her nuanced paintings. Thus, while Sherald (b. 1973; Columbus, Georgia) bases her works on specific people, they are more than traditional portraits. They center everyday Black Americans, compelling in their individuality and extraordinary in their ordinariness, inviting viewers to step into Sherald’s imagined worlds. In this exhibition, paintings of such ordinary Americans join her iconic portraits of First Lady Michelle Obama and, heartbreakingly, Breonna Taylor, to produce a resonant ode to the multiplicity and complexity of American identity.” There is also a wonderful video which I encourage you to watch about her life and technique. This wonderful exhibit is on thru August 10. While at the Whitney I highly recommend Christine Sum Kim’s ‘All Day All Night’ . She is a deaf artist with a brilliant wit. I found myself laughing out loud at her insightful work.
The Frick Returns April 13, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Breuer, Frick Museum, Gilded Age, Neue, NYC, photography, Rembrandt, Sothebys, Vermeer, Whistler
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After a $220 million dollar renovation I would look good too. The Frick Museum reopens to the public this week after a five year absence. I have kept my membership thru these years as their collection (or some of it) was exhibited at the old Whitney (now called the Breuer and soon to be home of Sothebys – whew! It is hard to keep track). We had the opportunity to visit a week ago for Member’s Preview. Long story short – it was money well spent. After 100 years visitors are allowed to ascend their glorious staircase and see where the Frick family lived and slept. The collection of art is glorious. They have three Vermeer’s, Rembrandt’s, Whistlers, Ingres and so much more. They also have art that I find meh. I have never been a fan of Fragonard (girls on swings) type of art. There are several wonderful articles that appeared this past week from writers more talented than me for you to read. I found the articles about the artisans who worked on the renovation fascinating. My pet peeve has always been when museums do not allow photos. I never understood those silly rules. Flash cameras have gone the way of the steam engine yet those silly rules still exist. The Neue Museum and The Frick are two of the museums in the city who have that rule. However – for the previews, they allowed as much photography as you wanted to shoot. I am not sure if this rule has been lifted or if it was only for the previews. The other rule that I do like is that the Frick still does not admit children under 10. So that means no strollers (and that’s a good thing). Their cafe will be open soon. I encourage you to visit this glorious home and see how they lived in the Gilded Age.
All That Glitters… April 6, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: anniversary, art, Art exhibit, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum, lunch, NYC, photography, Solid Gold, Toms
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The Brooklyn Museum’s 200th Anniversary is being celebrated with a dazzling, glitzy, all encompassing exhibit entitled Solid Gold. With over 500 works, taking up almost the entire fifth floor, we spent two hours enjoying this wonderful exhibition. The majesty of gold in a shimmering exhibition dedicated to the element that has inspired countless works of art, fashion, film, music, and design. As a material and a color, gold has symbolized beauty, honor, joy, ritual, spirituality, success, and wealth throughout history. It has also taken on myriad forms: from millennia-old depictions of an idealized world to opulent 13th- and 14th-century Italian altarpieces and intricate Japanese screens, to contemporary artwork and haute couture marvels. With a sweeping range of objects and a global perspective, this exhibition traces the many odysseys of the metal that has influenced cultures and legacies worldwide to this day. This exhibit is on through July 6th, 2025. An important part of our ‘arting’ days is lunch. The Brooklyn Museum recently closed their delicious dining experience on the first floor. Instead they have a cafeteria style unappetizing section near the front door. Since art makes us hungry we ventured out to Washington Place and found Tom’s Restaurant, established in 1936. I would imagine that not much has changed since 1936 (even the prices). Long story short…it is now our ‘go to’ lunch experience when at the Brooklyn Museum.
Orchids: A Dance of Color March 30, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, flowers, Mexico, nature, NYBG, NYC, Orchids, photography
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New York Botanical Garden presents its 22nd annual Orchid Show. Their yearly celebration of all things orchid spotlights the vibrant setting of Mexico for The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism. The show this year was conceived as a tribute to the great midcentury Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902-88). If you enjoy color (and I do) this show will delight your eyes. NYBG’s orchid show is always a welcome diversion from the grays of winter. It is on thru April 27th. Visit and feast your eyes.
A First Class Fool March 23, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Grolier Club, Mark Twain, NYC, photography, Samuel Clemens
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Mark Twain remains a national treasure. This wonderful exhibit at the Grolier Club of the private collection of Susan Jaffe reminds us of Mark Twain‘s brilliance and charm. A First-Class Fool: Mark Twain and Humor examines the humorist Samuel Clemens, who crafted the great “Mark Twain” persona. Twain identified as a “first-class fool,” capturing his dual literary role as a simple, folksy author and speaker on the one hand, and an intelligent, cultured, and nuanced literary craftsman on the other. Twain worked carefully to construct his public persona, and his legacy continues to influence humorists to the present day. With more than 120 works drawn from the private collection of Susan Jaffe Tane, A First-Class Fool presents first and rare editions of Twain’s published works, including presentation copies, first periodical appearances, and uncommon variants; books from Twain’s library and other personal effects; autograph letters and manuscripts; photographs; and a wide variety of ephemera. This free exhibit is on through April 5th.
Irish Breeds March 16, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: animals, art, Art exhibit, Benny the dog, dogs, Irish Breeds, Madison the cat, Mr. Pepe, Museum of the Dog, NYC, photography
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Top o’ the morning to all. There are nine Native Dogs of Ireland. Two Hounds – Irish Wolfhound and Kerry Beagle, three Gun dogs – Irish Water Spaniel, Irish Red Setter and Irish Red & White Setter, four Terriers – Irish Terrier, Irish Glen of Imaal Terrier, Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and Kerry Blue Terrier. The Museum of the Dog featured these nine breeds in their latest exhibit. It is on through March 30th. There are also cats with Irish roots. Namely the Manx cat as well as the Cymric cat. Both of these cat types have very short to entirely absent tails as a mutation to the usual cat body structure. The Cymric cat is the long haired variety of the Manx. Today’s photo montage features all of these splendid breeds. You might notice that I took the liberty of including some of my own cherished pets in all their Irish splendor. The bottom photo is a feature of the Museum of the Dog. There’s a booth where you snap your photo and the Museum pairs you up with your dog match. This visit I was matched with a Maltese who is part of the ’toy group’ and is gentle, playful and charming. Perfect!
The New Yorker at 100 March 9, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: 100 years, art, Art exhibit, L'Alliance Gallery, New Yorker Magazine, NYC, NYPL, photography
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We are so very lucky to have two, count ‘em, two exhibits showcasing the 100th year of the New Yorker magazine. The New York Public Library’s main branch exhibit which we saw last week is on thru April of 2026 so there is no rush to check it out but today’s photo montage features the free exhibit at the L’Alliance Gallery and is only on thru March 30, 2025. This exhibit features their cover art only. There are controversial covers, political covers, funny covers and a wall of rejected covers. I found the original art next to the actual cover to be the most fascinating part of the exhibit. On a few of todays photos you can see the original art and the cover inserted into the photo. Full disclosure, I have been a New Yorker subscriber for many years. Sometimes two months of issues piles up on my coffee table. I made a New Year’s resolution to finish each issue the week it arrives. So far I have failed each week. The beauty of the New Yorker is that their brilliant writing has a shelf life and you can pick up a magazine months later and still enjoy reading it. 
The Gates – Part Two March 2, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Bloomberg Connects, Central Park, Christo, Jeanne Claude, NYC, photography, The Gates Project, The Shed, Virtual reality
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We decided to visit the two venues that are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Jeanne-Claude and Christo’s The Gates in Central Park. The Shed (in Hudson Yards) features photos, videos and scale models of The Gates. Some of the videos of old town hall meetings are hysterical. People both pro and con were very funny. This exhibit is on through March 23. The other venue is in Central Park itself. By downloading the free Bloomberg Connects app you are able to experience The Gates yourself. We started at Fifth Avenue and 72nd street. The path runs through the park, Bethesda Fountain, around the lake and up to Cherry Hill. It was lots of fun and if you did not experience The Gates 20 years ago, I encourage you to experience them now. The top half of today’s photo montage features photos from The Shed and the bottom half are photos of our walk as we virtually experienced The Gates.
Making Waves February 23, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Lanscapes, Making Waves, photography, Seascapes
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I take a lot of photos. I take photos as I wander the streets, museums and galleries of NYC. What do I do with all of my photos? I create blue photo folders that remain on my desktop until I decide to create a photo montage and share it with all of you. The longest running folder that hung around my on my desktop was,12 years. You can check that out here – I noticed a folder this week on my cluttered desktop titled, ‘Making Waves‘ and opened it. Apparently I had collected quite a few photos of paintings and prints I had seen in art venues as I traversed NYC. I was inspired to create today’s photo montage and I get to remove that photo folder from my desktop. Check out these fabulous works of art. Be inspired and go out there and make some waves. 
The Gates Project – 20 Years Later February 9, 2025
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: 2005, Art exhibit, Art instalation, Central Park, Christo, Jeanne Claude, Mayor Bloomberg, NYC, photography, The Gates Project
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Twenty years ago, I was lucky to work at The Gates Project when Jeanne-Claude and Christo created their fabulous site-specific work of art in 2005. The artists installed 7,503 vinyl “gates” along 23 miles of pathways in Central Park. From each gate hung a panel of deep saffron-colored nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12, 2005 through February 27, 2005. Even though the exhibit officially ran for two weeks the installation and deinstallation of the project stretched out this work for almost two months. I believe this community work of art, was the beginning of the recovery for our wounded City from the devastation of 9/11 (thanks to Mayor Bloomberg for his decision to go ahead with this project). As a Gate Watcher, I held a long pole with a tennis ball on the end of it so that I could unfurl the saffron curtains if the wind wrapped them around their stanchions. I had the good fortune of speaking to thousands of visitors from all around the world about the project, about New York City, about life, art and politics for two weeks. It was an experience I will never forget. Many of you who are reading this blog came to visit me at my Gates post to share the experience. Every morning that we worked we would meet Jeanne-Claude and Christo at the Boat House for free breakfast where they would talk to us, both individually and as a group.They also were generous enough to take the time to sign our souvenir posters, books or whatever – every Friday afternoon – with their signature orange crayons. I have my signed prints proudly hanging in my living room. May they rest in peace and may their memory be a blessing, dear Jeanne -Claude and Christo. I created all of the photo montages seen here 20 years ago as a way to remember that singular experience.
While at the Zoo 