Lee Bontecou, Untitled, 1960 @neuenationalgalerie Berlin. This is one of the best constructions by the American mid-century master. The work strikes a balance between two large voids—with an internal black color that absorbs all light—and the highly detailed canvas construction with Bontecou’s signature stained canvas secured to a steel frame with copper wire. Unlike other, more complex works from this period, the simplicity of the composition, limited to two apertures, allows for a greater focus on the painterly surfaces and dimensional purity of the work. #leebontecou #berlin #1960
The impact of Georg Baselitz on my early life as an art school student is immense. I was curious about every facet of the last 20,000 years of painting and my hours in the library at the University of Michigan led me to pull his vividly illustrated book published by Taschen. It’s was a revelation for me. Baselitz represented creative freedom, revolt, atonement, individualism and pure invention. I won’t excuse his sexism and the late work became too loose and repetitive for me. However, his 20th century paintings will continue to be positively judged against the precedents set forth by Munch and Picasso and his visceral surfaces owe a debt to Mitchell and De Kooning, but as a punk rock individualist, he will forever remain a guide for what painting (and sculpture) can be. #georgbaselitz
I visited the home of Hank McNeil while working at Wright in 2012. Hank was always an astute collector—he would return half of what he bought from our auctions, it seemed, because it was not flawless. He wanted perfection in his art and design collection, but it was out of deep respect for all of the artists and their creativity, and he wanted it just as they intended it. You can tell by the demeanor of Hank’s kids, Calder and Cole, that this was a collection about love and not lacking in any humanity. It was a celebration of human ability and the collection represented freedom. Hank pursued beauty and that beauty vibrated through you when you experienced the collection in person. It was highly stimulating to the mind and body—sensual in every way. His early Judd Stack from 1969 is nearly erotic in its color. Hot pink translucent inside and reflective petal pink metal on the outside, standing at attention and reflecting your eye’s desire. His rooms contained Dan Flavin and Carl Andre, Sol Lewitt and Richard Tuttle, and Donald Judd most of all. Hank also collected other American masterworks in Design. From Nakashima and Maloof to American silver tankards, Hank’s collection celebrated America across centuries, 18th to 21st century. Great memories of that visit and I’m glad to see his collection presented thoughtfully for sale by my alma mater @christiesinc in “Defined Space: The Collection of Henry S. McNeil, Jr.” May 20th, 2026. #donaldJudd #danFlavin #carlAndre #solLewitt #richardTuttle
This was a beautiful and large buck that my daughter and I found during a winter walk in the woods. I feared the gnawing animals would make quick work of these points as we waited until spring to check on the felled beast. When I ventured back six months later, the antlers were untouched and the flesh of the carcass was deteriorated enough to harvest the head. It’s not easy to remove a head with only one simple hand tool, but eventually I relieved the noble skull from the body. After a prayer of gratitude to the animal, I walked out of the woods. It took another year, being tied in a tree, for all of the remaining tissue to loosen and fall away. This spring, while everything remained wet in the woods, I pulled the final shreds of hide away from the animal’s facial features, finally revealing the perfect skull. The asymmetry of the seven-point rack is extremely beautiful to me and this is the greatest find I ever made in the woods. After decades of walks and eyes moving about, looking for interesting things to capture my attention, whether fleeting or portable, this creature’s demise presented itself to us for a new beginning. Hard not to feel that being immersed in nature is where we all belong. I try not to make it an uncommon experience for myself. #michigan
Thinking back to the amazing chairs by Frank Lloyd Wright in the excellent exhibition by @thomszol at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. #franklloydwright
Noguchi “I am Not a Designer” curated by @monica_obniski and @sculpturalthings at the @highmuseumofart . A no limit survey of Isamu Noguchi’s sculptural pursuit that oscillates between the hand-held and the monumental. Nothing less than a total sensory survey of Noguchi’s inventiveness across decades, with each work having its own distinctive language and function. Noguchi may claim to not be a designer, but he designed a world that has reverberations beyond his life, resonating now more than ever before. A fantastic exhibition, among the best I’ve seen. #isamunoguchi
