Caixa Forum Madrid opens major exhibitition on Eugene Delacroix

by Sean McLachlan on


Caixa Forum Madrid has teamed up with the Louvre and several other museums and galleries to host a major exhibition on French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix.

Delacroix (1798-1863) is most famous for his painting Liberté, shown above in this Wikimedia Commons image. This masterpiece commemorates the revolution of 1830 in which French king Charles X abdicated and fled to Great Britain. Absolute monarchy was abolished and a constitutional monarchy was created.

This exhibition brings together more than 130 works of the French master from all phases of his career and explores how he was inspired by Spanish painters such as Goya and later influenced Picasso. Unsatisfied with the artistic life in Paris, Delacroix set off to see the world and paint it. He was an adventure traveler in an age when that really meant something and many of his best paintings are of (then) hard-to-get-to countries. The painting below, courtesy Wikimedia Commons, shows The Women of Algiers in their Apartment.

Caixa Forum Madrid is an amazing free art gallery with three floors of exhibition space, a large bookshop, and a cool vertical garden in front. Visiting it is one of the ten best things to do in Madrid. The show runs until January 15, 2012. It will reopen at the Caixa Forum Barcelona in February.

Austria comes to New York: wine and food pairing at Wallse

by Jessica Festa on

I have a new favorite restaurant in New York, and it is called Wallse. Located one block from the Hudson Promenade at 344 W. 11th Street, this ambient venue puts a modern twist on classical Viennese dishes, all within a dimly lit space that could also be classified as an art gallery, with contemporary pieces from artists like Julian Schnabel and Albert Oehlen on display.

On Tuesday, I was invited to an Austria Gala Dinner held at this restaurant, which included mingling, learning about tourism in Austria, and, best of all, wine and food pairing. Upon arrival, guests were offered glasses of sparkling wine as well as hors d’oeurves like wienerschnitzel and tuna tartare. After networking and meeting people from Austria’s tourism industry, guests sat at arranged seats to begin a wine and food pairing.

The first course included a choice of local market greens with spicy radishes and pumpkinseed oil or spätzle with braised rabbit, wild mushrooms, and sweet corn. I chose the second option, which was paired with a sweet white wine called Neuberger-Tinhof 2008. From talking to the Austrians at my table, I learned that spätzle is basically a type of soft noodle. The meat was tender and mixed with the sweetness of the corn was a perfect combination. Not only was the starter course delicious, but the servers never allowed anyone’s wine glass to be empty for less than a second.For the second course, the choices were between a pan seared brook trout with roasted cauliflower, almonds and raisins or boiled Kavalierspitz with root vegetables and apple horseradish. Once again, I chose the second option, purely based on the fact that I had no idea what it was and love being surprised by ethnic foods. This dish was paired with a red wine that reminded me of Shiraz and was called Blaufraenkisch-Markowitsch 2009. I learned that Kavalierspitz basically means boiled beef, and mixed with the apple horseradish, which reminded me of apple sauce, was definitely an interesting flavor.

For the desert course, the options were between Salzburger Nockerl with huckleberries and sorbet or Schokoladentorte with salted caramel ice cream and whiskey sabayon. Despite the fact that everyone at my table ordered the Salzburger Nockerl, including all the Austrians who kept insisting that it was their favorite desert of all time, I ordered the Schokoladentorte, just to be different and also to see what it looked like. This course was paired with a desert wine that was much lighter than the desert wines I am used to sampling in Long Island, New York, yet still sweet, called Auslese-Kracher 2009. When the deserts came out, I instantly regretted not getting the Salzburger Nockerl. Not only was it much bigger than my desert, it looked so interesting, especially the texture. Made with egg whites, eggs, sugar, flour, and custard sauce (which is what I was told by my dinner companions), the desert looked like crispy yet soft mounds of sweetness. Luckily, the man next to me let me try his, or I probably would have cried, because it was incredible. Not too sweet, but very satisfying.

If you’re interested in learning more about Wallse and Viennese fare, click here. Want to plan a visit to Austria for yourself? Click here.

Winery in France mixes art with nature

by Jessica Festa on

The first thing you will notice when driving by Château la Coste winery in Provence, France, is a bright flash of light. At first, you may think you’ve encountered a UFO. Relax and catch your breath, because what you’re really seeing is winery owner Patrick McKillen’s artistic and cultural visions coming to life.

According to Lanie Goodman of the New York Time’s Style Magazine, some of the biggest names in architecture have helped to bring McKillen’s vision to life, including Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando, and Frank Gehry. Not only are they working as architects at Château la Coste, they’re working as artists. Some of the sites on the 600 acre, woodsy vineyard include:

  • a music pavilion
  • an art center
  • an ancient chapel surrounded by steel and glass
  • a reflective pool that is guarded by an enormous spider that is even bigger than the vineyard’s bookstore
  • a polished, aluminum winery
  • an array of outdoor sculptures, such as “Origami Benches” and “Four Cubes to Contemplate Our Environment”

And, much, much more. Click here to see a map of the entire art and architecture walk, which allows you to fully experience the culture of the land. And, there is still more to come, with more than 20 new projects currently being developed.

The winery is located at 2750 Route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy Sainte Rèparade. You can e-mail them at contact@ chateau-la-coste.com.

Tourism push threatens Turkey’s ancient sites

by Melanie Renzulli on

The age-old battle pitting historical preservation against tourism infrastructure development is coming to a fever pitch in Turkey. In an effort to increase tourism, which is set to earn Turkey $21 billion in 2011, the Turkish government recently transferred some archeological excavation permits from non-Turkish to Turkish universities. This unprecedented move, according to The Art Newspaper, is “a cracking of the whip over foreign scholars regarded as not working fast enough to transform the country’s extensive array of antiquities into tourist attractions.”

Turkey lays claim to an impressive catalog of antiquities, ranging from Greek and Roman ruins to the remains of ancient Hittite settlements to Byzantine and medieval Arab treasures. Its most famous archeological attraction is Ephesus, an ancient Greek and Roman city and the home of the Library of Celsus, one of the most iconic ruins of ancient Rome. Ephesus attracts more than two million visitors each year making it the perfect example for both sides of the preservation vs. tourism debate.

Infrastructure development to handle both the influx of tourists and the increased urbanization of Turkey’s populacealso threatens Turkey’s cultural heritage. For example, seven years ago, workers building a new station for the Istanbul metro system uncovered a Byzantine harbor which included the ruins of 32 buried ships. While a work stoppage was ordered to preserve these artifacts, Turkish officials, particularly Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who complained that “bits of old potsherds” were getting in the way of development, have grown weary with the slow progress of infrastructure projects. Other antiquities, such as the ancient Roman spa town of Allianoi, have already become victims to Turkey’s efforts to modernize. Allianoi now lies buried beneath the Ilya River as part of the Yortanlı Dam project.

In recent years, Turkey has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing economies as well as an increasingly popular destination for tourists. It shall be interesting to see how Turkey’s antiquities fare as these two factors force the country towards more development.

Photo © Melanie Renzulli

Milwaukee Art Museum opens major exhibition on Impressionism

by Sean McLachlan on


An exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum is looking at Impressionism in a new light.

Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper is the first major exhibition to explore the drawings of famous Impressionists. Previous exhibitions have always focused on their paintings, such as Renoir’s Bathers with Crab, which is also part of the show and appears here in this photo courtesy Moira Burke.

The famous Impressionist exhibitions in Paris between 1874 and 1886 changed European art. Not only was the style vastly different than traditional painting, but the Impressionists emphasized drawing as a medium equal to that of painting. The exhibit gathers together more than 100 drawings, watercolors, and pastels by important artists such as Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Van Gogh, and Toulouse-Lautrec.

The Milwaukee Art Museum is one of Wisconsin’s great attractions, besides all the wonderful hiking, camping, and fishing. In addition to offering major shows such as this one, it boasts a collection of more than 25,000 works of art from a variety of different movements, from German Expressionism to Haitian folk art.

Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper runs from October 14, 2011 to January 8, 2012.