The National Gallery of Victoria

On The Road With Michael Shewmaker

Wassily Kandinsky

YOUR Art
Collection

Sculptor/photographer, Michael Shewmaker has kindly agreed to be our ‘roving reviewer’. Educated and passionate about art, Mike travels extensively and will bring us tastes of exhibitions from beyond our shores to our virtual shore.

Ah! How wonderful it would be to be an art collector! You could gad about finding that perfect painting or print, snag it at an irresistible price and gradually build an assortment of meaningful art experiences. Incredible as it may seem there is a group of people who have been doing so just for you. Since 1922 these earnest friends have collected over 40,000 works of art. You know them as the Honolulu Academy of Arts and they might surprise you.

THE GREAT MACHINE Giorgio de Chirico 1925

Last fall I dropped by the Academy for a Hokusai show (wow!) and while wandering around the other galleries stumbled into Gallery 27. This is in the newer building at the rear of the property that has been used for various shows in the past. Here to my amazement was a complete survey of twentieth century art in one room. There was a broad range of work covering most of the history of modern art and it was displayed extremely well. Immediately it begged the question of who put this body of work together and where was it travelling from. I was absolutely stunned to learn that the show was almost entirely taken from the Academy’s permanent collection and this was a semi-permanent display.

The charm of this exhibit lies in the way it comes into view. There is an outstanding Morris Louis, 'Turning', from 1958, anchoring one wall, a fine Rauschenberg and a Lee Bontecou construction that jumps off the wall. These huge mid-century canvases give way to an alcove of smaller but very important works from the early twentieth century. Picasso, Braque, de Chirico and an outstanding Modigliani entitled, 'Seated Nude' are featured in this section. Wonderful sculptures by John McCracken and David Smith flesh out the center of the room. There is a terrific Nam Jun Paik video installation, a Francis Bacon series of self portraits and a cool Alex Katz portrait. These all tell of some thoughtful collecting. Someone has been paying very close attention.

My favorite piece in the gallery is an Alexander Calder wire sculpture entitled “Hi!”. Calder, famous of course for his incredible mobiles, did a series of circus inspired wire sculptures early in his career. This line drawing in wire stands about five feet in height and depicts a muscleman supporting a feminine beauty doing a handstand on his extended arm. The musculature is so complete with a brevity of line that just sings.

UNTITLED Lee Bontecou 1964

How did this wonderful exhibit come about? Theresa Papanikolas, Curator of European and American Art, came to the Academy from the LA County Museum of Art in October of 2008. A prints and drawings specialist, Papanikolas was attracted by the Academy’s outstanding collection of over 15,000 works on paper. As she began to review the works in the collection she was pleased find some of the outstanding works in Gallery 27 that were not on display at that time. She and the staff did a terrific job mounting this exhibit from the gems of the Academy’s modern collection.

Ms. Papanikolas painstakingly perused the Academy’s extensive collection of prints and drawings and selected just over a hundred of the very best for their latest temporary exhibition. “From Whistler to Warhol; Modernism on Paper” ran through July 3rd. This was another amazing assortment of works that were a great thrill to see.

THE CLOISTERS - BIRTH OF VENUS Masami Teraoka 2002-2005

ADA WITH BLACK SCARF Alex Katz 1966

If you had a collection, oh!, what am I saying….You do have such a collection. It has been carefully gleaned from the best art on the planet and is waiting there just for you. Go see your art at the Academy.