Art Talk: Tour of the Modern section of the NGA

While in DC, I ALWAYS go to the West building of National Gallery of Art and often go on a tour. This trip I did just that and I ALSO went to one a tour of the east building or modern art.

Alexander Calder

This stunning mobile was made for the opening of east building in 1978 and is 76x30 feet and weighs 920 lbs. It is named Untitled because when asked to title the National Gallery's object, Calder replied, "You don't name a baby until it is born." He died one year before it was installed so it is called Untitled.

Alexander Calder Untitled, 1976 National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Diego Rivera

We started our tour with the famous Mexican artists Diego Rivera. I was very excited to see Rivera's work. I know a lot more about his wife Frida Kalo. We spent a good amount of time at this painting discussing it and what the we saw and what it might mean. A very interesting thing is the depth of field and how Rivera purposely distorted the depth of field. He also played with the density of the objects.

Diego Rivera
No. 9, Nature Morte Espagnole, 1915
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Wassily Kandinsky

After the Kandinsky exhibitat the The Guggenheim I went to in 2022 I was happy to see an artist I recognized. The picture, much like Rivera's, required some time and discussion to understand it a bit better. If you look closely you can see sails on sail boats. Which makes sense considering the the title of the piece.

Kandinsky is a Russian born artist and is considered one of the pioneers in abstact art. This piece is abstract. Although I am learning to appreciate modern art more, it is pieces like this that I don't understand.

Wassily Kandinsky
Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle), 1913
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Three Triangles
Next to Kandinsky there were two other paintings that had a triangle as one of the main motifs. They are all very different and yet have the similarity of the triangular shape.


Gustav Klint	Wassily Kandinsky	Francis Picabia

Next on the tour

Rene Margritte

I learned about Belgian artist Rene Margritte through a YouTube series called Great Art Explained. And was fascinated by this picture. The more you look at it the more it plays with your mind. Fascinating. I like that there are elements that I understand, like the woman, the horse and the trees. Then Margritte alters them in such an interesting way.

Rene Magritte
The Blank Signature, 1965
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

If you would like to learn more about Margritte Great Art Explained is an EXCELLENT Youtube video about art.

Piet Mondrian

There were some in the group that really didn't care for this piece. I totally like it. It has so much structure. I feel safe looking at it. The tour guide did point out that the lines are different sizes. That throws the balance and structure off a little for me. The tour guide also mentioned that the light colors are all a little different shades of white/ grey. Interesting.

Piet Mondrian
Tableau No. IV; Lozenge Composition with Red, Grey, Blue, Yellow and Black, 1924/1925
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Jackson Pollock

One of the most famous modern artists. The National Gallery had three of his pieces all on one wall and they are so different from each other. The tour guide mentioned that the acquisition of Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) was a very big deal for the museum!


Number 7, 1951	Reitual (1953)	Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)

Faith Ringgold

This is the only piece on the tour we saw by a living artist, so I guess you could call it contemporary, even though we were on a Modern tour. The ways the people are shown overlapping the flag is the first thing I noticed. We also discussed how much of their eyes are shown. There is so much symbolism and politics/ social commentary on this piece. I think I could take a whole class on this piece and Faith Ringgold.

Faith Ringgold
The American People Series #18: The Flag is Bleeding, 1967
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Here is a short video to see some more of her work and her thoughts on her art.

Hope you enjoyed that tour of the Modern section of the National Gallery of Art. I enjoyed it and gained a better appreciation of modern art. I also learned that it takes more time with the piece to understand it, a knowledgeable tour guide also helps!

Sources:
Untitled- NGA