Free Afternoons at the Katonah Museum

George Bellows, 'Winter Afternoon', 1909

 

As a California native, living in Westchester, NY, whenever I come back home, my friends and family want to hear all about New York City. In fact, even folks that are in upstate New York want to talk to me about the Big Apple. There is so much energy and attraction that people are enamored at the thought of visiting and treat those who live in around it like we are exotic. It may be for this very reason that the Katonah Museum currently has on view photos and paintings of the city that Americans hold as their pride and joy. They know that nowhere else on earth is like life in New York City and they are proud of it, even if they have never been there.

In the exhibition New York, New York! The 20th Century, one can gaze on a Childe Hassam beside an Edward Hopper beside a Stuart Davis. For those who are living in and around New York City, when looking at each piece, one can reminisce on one’s own memories even though the work of art is a different moment in time. We can relate to the snowy days in Hassam’s painting or the vibrance of the city in Davis’. For those visiting from elsewhere, one will instantly realize the otherly nature of one of the greatest cities in the world.

The Katonah Museum is free to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10am until noon. Please don’t wait to visit this fabulous exhibit! Enjoy!

Free Tuesdays!

"Wonders of the Invisible World", George Nama 2005

Free Tuesdays is back! This week we will be noting 4 galleries that will all be open for free this Tuesday.

The Bruce Museum: Tried and true and always open for free on Tuesdays from 10am-5pm. Right now, they are exhibiting Picasso’s Vollard Suite: The Sculptor’s Studio until October 16th and Saddle Up! Horsing Around at the Bruce Museum until September 25th Don’t forget to check out the Seaside Center!

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum: Another great favorite open for free only on Tuesdays from 12pm-5pm. With quite a few indoor and outdoor installations, including Chelpa Ferro: Visual Sound and MTAA: All the Holidays at Once, as well as the beauty of the architecture itself, this place will keep you enchanted for hours!

 

 

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking is always open for free and is open Monday through Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 12pm-5pm. This is a great place to go if you really want to talk to the artists and staff about the art on display and right now it’s the 8th Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition.

The Bendheim Gallery is a wonderful hidden gem on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut, that will not only peak your artistic interest, it also gives you a refreshing break from all of the shopping in nearby boutiques! Right now you can take a peak at the 2011 Open Juried Show giving way to all types of 2-dimensional art, juried by renowned artist and sculptor George Nama.

Tomorrow is Tuesday so enjoy the free art!

 

Free for the Week

Instead of just doing another ‘Free Tuesday’ post, I wanted to give you something more. So here is a look into this coming week, May 3-May 7, for what is free in the Arts. Not just events, but entire venues that are free. These are venues that typically charge admission, but offer a day of the week or month absolutely, 100% gratis. So here you are! Be sure to get out there and have some fun!

Tuesday, May 3:
Bruce Museum, Greewich, CT 10am-5pm
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT 12-5pm
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY 8am-6pm

Thursday, May 5:
New Museum of Contemporary Art, NYC, NY 6-8pm

Friday, May 6:
Rubin Museum of Art, W. 17th St., NYC, NY 6-10pm
MoMA, NYC, NY 4:30-8:15pm

Saturday, May 7:
Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY 12-5pm
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY 11am-11pm

My Favorite Day of the Week

This Saturday is the first one of the month of April, and you know what that means! The Neuberger and the Brooklyn Museums will be open for FREE! Currently showing The Deconstructive Impulse: Women Artists through April3rd, Sunday will be the last day to see this exhibit at the Neuberger Museum at SUNY Purchase. The Neuberger boasts the Roy R. Neuberger Collection, featuring mid-century modern art, and the African Art Collection with pieces from over thirty cultures. Saturday will be your last day to view Paper Jam with works on paper that will be available for auction that evening.

The lign-up for this month’s Free Target First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Musuem: Fat Cat Jazz Club, Kenny Muhammad, Cocoro Strings, and The Upright Citizens Brigade, just to name a few. I’m really excited for the Hands-On-Art experience with live models emulating Rockwell scenes. The night kicks off at 5:00pm and ends with late night viewing of the gallery from 10:00pm until 11:00pm. So get out there and enjoy some free art events in your area!

Mind, Body, Art

I can’t think of a better way to spend your Saturday morning than in the middle of a space filled with beautiful pieces of contemporary artwork moving through a relaxing and therapeutic vinyasa. Right now the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is offering free yoga classes for all levels 10:30am-11:30am Saturdays.

Come early with your mat because space is limited! Only 20 participants per session. For more information visit http://www.aldrichart.org/events/?id=930.

Free Tuesdays in Connecticut

Did you know that many of those art venues right around the corner are open to the public for free on Tuesdays?

The Bruce Museum, located in Greenwich, CT, is currently featuring works from celebrated artist, Cindy Sherman is on view from January 29 through April 23 is the main gallery. If you enter the main gallery and veer to the right, you will find yourself in the science exhibit with rocks and minerals, bird and mammal mounts and butterflies. Even more exciting is the touch tank in the Seaside Center where visitors can explore animals like starfish and a horseshoe crab.

Our friends to the north can visit the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT.  It is one of the few non-collecting contemporary art museums in the States that feature the work of up-and-coming artists. Its own architecture is itself a piece of art and often allows the viewer a unique experience of some of the beautiful pieces that it houses. Among other fascinating work that is currently on view is that of Timothy White, whose photographs take an unexpected and candid look at some of the great celebrities of our time, including Elizabeth Taylor and Brad Pitt.

So treat yourself to an afternoon at these fantastic spots right next door. And remember: Tuesdays are on them.

http://brucemuseum.org/

http://www.aldrichart.org/