Cultural Cocktail Hour

Review: Immersive Van Gogh LA: A Balm for the Soul in Uncertain Times

Review: Immersive Van Gogh Los Angeles by Leticia Marie Sanchez The Immersive Van Gogh exhibit transformed this once hesitant audience goer into a true believer. A few weeks ago, this incredible show had encountered a bump in the road to opening day in Los Angeles, due to a delay in receiving their fire permits from the city. The opening few days were postponed, leading some to debate giving the show a second chance. I decided to venture viewing it again; to my delight, taking the chance was definitely worth it. In 2018, in Paris, I saw the Immersive Klimt show by the same producers, which was a revelation; it was the catalyst behind my decision to view Immersive Van Gogh Los Angeles. I didn’t think it could get any better, but it did. I was floored. It became more personally

Hope Springs Eternal: An Afternoon at the Getty Center which opens May 25th!

Just What the Art Doctor Ordered: The Getty Center reopens on May 25th! by Leticia Marie Sanchez (Below, Ariadne Discovers Theseus’ Departure, 1493). Artist: Master of the Chronique Scandaleuse) Nothing can replace seeing a work of art in person. The reopening of the Getty Center on May 25th will be a welcome relief for Angelenos suffering from art withdrawal. Walking through the galleries during the press preview was like a long-awaited reunion with an old friend. A testament to the value of an Encyclopedic museum, my meandering through the Getty Center proved the breadth of offerings for everyone. From the breezy Rococo exhibit on “Silk and Swan Feathers,” to the provocative ”Power, Justice, and Tyranny” in the Middle Ages, one can choose how to spend one’s venture back into the museum. If one is looking for a light-hearted escape from the surreal year

Pandemic Art

LA museums have been closed for the entire pandemic, so yesterday, I took my son on a walk to see some socially distant ladies. Vermeer’s “Girl With A Pearl Earring” was my favorite! Photography and text © 2021 Leticia Marie Sanchez Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark

Flasback to last summer- Color Factory in NYC’s Soho: “Kid-tested mother approved!”

The Color Factory in NYC’s Soho- a treat for the senses! by Leticia Marie Sanchez Visting the Color Factory in NYC’s Soho was like stepping into the whimsical novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even before entering the galleries we were greeted with savory Mochi and once inside treats galore: macaroons, vanilla blueberry gelato, and candies! Left: One of many sweet treats on our visit: Macaroons! But the sweetest part of the day was the stimulating visual lesson on color! At the entrance of the exhibit was 100 colors by Artist Emanuelle Moureax. One of my son’s favorite rooms was “Balloon Wishes” with a welcoming placard, “When you wish upon a balloon/You find yourself in this Ombre Room.” Each balloon had a delightful wish bestowed by a student from 826 NYC.

Flashback to last summer- Painting à la Pollock, East Hampton, 2019

Painting à la Pollock: Child’s Painting Class and Tour at Jackson Pollock’s Home, East Hampton by Leticia Marie Sanchez Photography and text © 2019 Leticia Marie Sanchez Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark Painting with my 4-year-old son underneath the sun dappled trees at Jackson Pollock’s home as we overlooked the abundant natural beauty of the Accabonac Creek proved one of the most treasured moments on my artistic foray to the Hamptons. My son and I participated in the wonderful Imagine That! Tour and art class led by engaging art educator Joyce Raimondo. The class commenced with a tour of Jackson Pollock’s studio, where the children searched for traces of the artist’s footprints in the vibrant floor covered by vestiges of his drip painting. The children then peered through a book showcasing Pollock masterpieces that currently hang at world

Michelangelo’s Broken Nose

by Leticia Marie Sanchez In light of the Getty Center‘s new exhibit, Michelangelo, Mind of the Master, an insight into the maestro that first appeared on Cultural Cocktail Hour a few years ago: As a teenager, Michelangelo Buonarroti suffered a blow at the hands of a green-eyed bully. Two different accounts of the story exist. In Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, Pietro Torrigiano, an artist studying with Michelangelo under the patronage of Lorenzo De ‘Medici, grew jealous of Michelangelo’s undeniable talent. Resentful of his former pal’s new status as teacher’s pet, Torrigiano delivered a blow that knocked the 15-year-old genius out cold. In the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, Torrigiano defended himself by saying that Michelangelo was teasing the other artists working in the Church of the Carmine. He admitted the viciousness of his attack: “I felt bone and cartilage go

Michelangelo: Mind of the Master at the Getty Center – MUST SEE Exhibit

Review: Michelangelo: Mind of the Master- Must SEE Exhibit February 25-June 7, 2020 Getty Center by Leticia Marie Sanchez What does it mean to be a genius? Artists throughout history have sought to mythologize their own personas, creating an aura of mystique around their identities as divinely inspired individuals. As part his self-created flamboyant persona, Salvador Dalí drove a cauliflower-stuffed Rolls Royce and showed up to a surrealistic exhibit dressed head-to-toe in scuba gear. In Michelangelo’s case, the Renaissance maestro tragically destroyed the majority of his 28,000 drawings so that the public would not realize that he had struggled for his art; Michelangelo preferred that people believed that his breathtaking masterpieces, like the frescoes on the Sistine Ceiling, were works that he created spontaneously. On several occasions, Michelangelo ordered his drawings to be burned. His biographer Giorgio Vasari noted that

In the News: Missing Klimt painting discovered in the wall of Italian art gallery

In the News: Missing Klimt painting discovered in the wall of Italian art gallery by Leticia Marie Sanchez The long-lost “Portrait of a Lady” by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was found hidden in a wall of the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery in Piacenza. The gallery announced that experts deemed the painting to be an authentic work by Klimt. Unbelievably, while gardeners were cleaning ivy off a wall, they discovered the Art Nouveau painting concealed by a trash bag. How the painting ended up in the wall remains a mystery. Presumed to have been stolen, the painting disappeared from the gallery during a building renovation in 1997. Adding to the mystery, the painting’s frame was discovered near the gallery’s skylight after the work vanished, leading some to believe that art thieves could have entered and left through the skylight. The

Review: “Egypt’s Lost Cities” at the Reagan Library- MUST-SEE exhibit

Review: “Egypt’s Lost Cities” Uncovering an archaeological mystery at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library On View Until April 12, 2020 by Leticia Marie Sanchez The exhibit “Egypt’s Lost Cities” is intriguing for many reasons. Firstly, the exhibit takes the viewer on a journey to see the forgotten ancient cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, which were discovered by mathematician-economist Franck Goddio and his team of underwater archaeologists. Secondly, the blockbuster exhibition at the Reagan Library contains an astonishing treasure trove of more than 200 artifacts, including gold coins, bronze vessels, jewelry, ceramics, statues of Cleopatra III, and Ptolemy XII as a Sphinx. The works are exceptionally intact, despite having been buried under the sea for more than two thousand years. Prior to the founding of Alexandria in 331 B.C. the harbor of Thonis-Heracleion controlled all the trade into Egypt and was

The 120K Banana At Art Basel Miami

by Leticia Marie Sanchez Has the Contemporary Art world Gone bananas? At Art Basel Miami this week, a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $120,000. Entitled “Comedian,” the piece was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Then, someone ate the banana. Artist David Datuna devoured the banana before being escorted away by security guards. However, according to Lucien Terras, the director of museum relations for Galerie Perrotin, which represented the work, Datuna’s action did not devalue the work. Teras stated. “He did not destroy the art work. The banana is the idea.” You can buy a single banana for 20 cents. You can buy Duct Tape for $4.99 But apparently, foolishness is priceless. Call me old fashioned, but I just don’t get the a-peel, pun intended! For the Full Story please read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/12/08/rogue-artist-ate-duct-taped-banana-art-basel-its-performance-he-said/#comments-wrapper

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Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

Review: Immersive Van Gogh LA: A Balm for the Soul in Uncertain Times

Hope Springs Eternal: An Afternoon at the Getty Center which opens May 25th!

Pandemic Art

Flasback to last summer- Color Factory in NYC’s Soho: “Kid-tested mother approved!”

Flashback to last summer- Painting à la Pollock, East Hampton, 2019

Michelangelo’s Broken Nose

Michelangelo: Mind of the Master at the Getty Center – MUST SEE Exhibit

In the News: Missing Klimt painting discovered in the wall of Italian art gallery

Review: “Egypt’s Lost Cities” at the Reagan Library- MUST-SEE exhibit

The 120K Banana At Art Basel Miami

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