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Modification of Shawn Huckins, Evening Glow at Lake Louise: Hey Siri, How Do I Leave the Planet?, 2019 In Bloom Courtesy of TIA Collection

InBloom

Leave a Comment / Art Review, with gallery / By / / 2 minutes of reading

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, In Bloom

One of the great art offerings among the Las Vegas casinos can be found at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. The gallery is small and often offers uniquely curated shows. It’s a nice bit of culture to add to one’s Las Vegas stay between sunny days of sipping one’s favorite beverage at the pool, gambling play, exquisite dining, and evening entertainment. 

One of my past favorite exhibits there introduced me to the large photographs of one of the great portrait photographers ever, Yousuf Karsh 1908-2002—having photographed portraits professionally, I found that show to be quite impressive (and unexpected).

Currently there is an excellent exhibit at the Bellagio Fine Art Gallery ongoing until September 10, 2023.

In Bloom is curated from the TIA Collection of Santa Fe, New Mexico. TIA is a global art collection that actively supports artists & museums through acquisitions, loans & publications. This show is one such loan and was curated specifically for the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, featuring works by Regina Bogat, Nick Cave, Salvador Dalí, Robert Mapplethorpe, Alex Katz, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Ai Weiwei, Terry Winters, Earl Biss, Karla Black, Martine Gutierrez, Dan Colen, Lois Dodd, Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Nicholai Fechin, Shawn Huckins, Rachel Kneebone, Tamara Kvesitadze, James Lavadour, Ralph Meyers, B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Michelangelo Pistolleto, Miron Schmückle, David Simpson, and Judy Tuwaletstiwa. 

Usng the metaphor of Spring, the show presents themes of rebirth, abstraction, and humanity in general. It is an eclectic gathering of artists and art that expresses various perspectives through painting, sculpture, and photography to offer considerations of seasonal change in culture and life.

I always buy show catalogs if they are available. Unfortunately, this show did not have a catalog at the time of my visit. I was allowed to photograph everything. So, courtesy of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art press photos mixed with my own iPhone photos, I present my In Bloom review in pictures.

Installation View of Exterior Floral Entry to BGFA of In Bloom, 2023, Courtesy of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Exterior Floral Entry to BGFA of In Bloom, 2023, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Floral Entry to BGFA of In Bloom, 2023, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Floral Entry to BGFA of In Bloom, 2023, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Floral Entryway of In Bloom, 2023, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Floral Entryway of In Bloom, 2023, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Entry of gallery including works B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Ralph Meyers, Nicolai Fechin, and Robert Mapplethorpe, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Entry of gallery including works B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Ralph Meyers, Nicolai Fechin, and Robert Mapplethorpe, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946 - 1989) Rose, 1977 Gelatin silver print 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm) Courtesy of Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM - A formally arranged and very dramatically lit rose in a vase casts a prominent shadow to the photo center. The shadow becomes a weighted focal point in what is predominantly empty space otherwise, initiating a sense of isolation and loneliness.
Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946 – 1989) Rose, 1977 Gelatin silver print 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm) Courtesy of Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM – A formally arranged and very dramatically lit rose in a vase casts a prominent shadow to the photo center. The shadow becomes a weighted focal point in what is predominantly empty space otherwise, initiating a sense of isolation and loneliness.
Michelangelo Pistoletto (Italian, b. 1933) Color and Light, 2017 Jute, mirrors, and gilded wood frames 8 Panels: 70 7/8 x 47 1/4 inches (180 X 120 cm). Pistoletto's controlled breaking of mirror creates a puzzle that expands and combines across eight panels. One panel showcases a network of cracks that come together to create a solid fractured mirror, while each of the remaining seven panels repeat the network of outlines, placing a single form on a deeply saturated background. "...every person is a piece of the mirror, just as every person is a piece of society. Society is like a big mirror."
Michelangelo Pistoletto (Italian, b. 1933) Color and Light, 2017 Jute, mirrors, and gilded wood frames 8 Panels: 70 7/8 x 47 1/4 inches (180 X 120 cm). Pistoletto’s controlled breaking of mirror creates a puzzle that expands and combines across eight panels. One panel showcases a network of cracks that come together to create a solid fractured mirror, while each of the remaining seven panels repeat the network of outlines, placing a single form on a deeply saturated background. “…every person is a piece of the mirror, just as every person is a piece of society. Society is like a big mirror.”
Left two panels of Michelangelo Pistoletto's Color and Light, reflecting artworks by Yinka Shonibare CBE and Salvador Dalí (and someone's iPhone).
Left two panels of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Color and Light, reflecting artworks by Yinka Shonibare CBE and Salvador Dalí (and someone’s iPhone).
Fully mirrored panel of Michelangelo Pistoletto's, Color and Light, showing all the pieces as fracture (those pieces are recreated and individually placed one upon each of the other seven artworks that make up Color and Light). Reflecting in the mirror are artworks by Salvador Dalí, Regina Bogat and Karla Black.
Fully mirrored panel of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s, Color and Light, showing all the pieces as fracture (those pieces are recreated and individually placed one upon each of the other seven artworks that make up Color and Light). Reflecting in the mirror are artworks by Salvador Dalí, Regina Bogat and Karla Black.
Installation View of Salvador Dalí, Colen, Katz, and Pistoletto —courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Salvador Dalí, Colen, Katz, and Pistoletto —courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Dan Colen (American, b. 1979) Mother (Distant Town), 2018-2021 Oil on canvas 59 x 151 x 2 inches (149.9 x 383.5 x 5.1 cm) Courtesy of Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. Colen expands a Disney animation cell from "Lady and the Tramp" (1955) to conflate binaries such as nature and culture, light and dark, and comfort and isolation. Mother (Distant Town) (2018-21) is staged at the edge of the wilderness, far in the distance.
Dan Colen (American, b. 1979) Mother (Distant Town), 2018-2021 Oil on canvas 59 x 151 x 2 inches (149.9 x 383.5 x 5.1 cm) Courtesy of Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. Colen expands a Disney animation cell from “Lady and the Tramp” (1955) to conflate binaries such as nature and culture, light and dark, and comfort and isolation. Mother (Distant Town) (2018-21) is staged at the edge of the wilderness, far in the distance.
Looking at the back of Salvador Dalí's, Alice in Wonderland, c. 1977-1984 Bronze 46 1/2 x 18 1/16 x 86 1/8 inches (118 x 46 x 219 cm), out of focus in the background is Yinka Shonibare CBE's Bling Painting
Looking at the back of Salvador Dalí’s, Alice in Wonderland, c. 1977-1984 Bronze 46 1/2 x 18 1/16 x 86 1/8 inches (118 x 46 x 219 cm), out of focus in the background is Yinka Shonibare CBE’s Bling Painting
Yinka Shonibare CBE (British-Nigerian, b. 1962) Bling Painting, 2013 Acrylic on Dutch wax printed cotton textile, toys adorned with colored diamantes and metallic gold emulsion 98 3/8 x 244 1/8 x 2 3/4 inches (250 x 620 x 7 cm). Twenty-seven round disks atop a golden mural backdrop radiate bejeweled miniatures showcasing representations of war, luxury, and religion. Through this collection of objects, Shonibare explores contemporary worship of commodities and western "colonialism" in general.
Yinka Shonibare CBE (British-Nigerian, b. 1962) Bling Painting, 2013 Acrylic on Dutch wax printed cotton textile, toys adorned with colored diamantes and metallic gold emulsion 98 3/8 x 244 1/8 x 2 3/4 inches (250 x 620 x 7 cm). Twenty-seven round disks atop a golden mural backdrop radiate bejeweled miniatures showcasing representations of war, luxury, and religion. Through this collection of objects, Shonibare explores contemporary worship of commodities and western “colonialism” in general.
A close-up of a Bling Painting disc replete with thickly textured hypnotic spiral and bejeweled fighter planes
A close-up of a Bling Painting disc replete with thickly textured hypnotic spiral and bejeweled fighter planes
A close-up of more Bling Painting discs with their symbolic miniatures.
A close-up of more Bling Painting discs with their symbolic miniatures.
A close-up of a Bling Painting commercial commodities disc (purses and a possible reference to child labor in third world countries).
A close-up of a Bling Painting commercial commodities disc (purses and a possible reference to child labor in third world countries).
Installation View of Terry Winters, Ai Weiwei, Rachel Kneebone, Alex Katz, and Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Terry Winters, Ai Weiwei, Rachel Kneebone, Alex Katz, and Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Terry Winters (American, b. 1949) Cobalt (Blue), 2013 Oil on linen 77 x 98 inches (195.6 x 248.9 cm). As an abstract painter, this may be my favorite painting in the show. Cobalt (Blue) is energized by a combination of conscious composition and color fields generated by free brush strokes. The palette of primary colors patterned on top of grey-scaled shapes reflects Winter's experimentation with materials.
Terry Winters (American, b. 1949) Cobalt (Blue), 2013 Oil on linen 77 x 98 inches (195.6 x 248.9 cm). As an abstract painter, this may be my favorite painting in the show. Cobalt (Blue) is energized by a combination of conscious composition and color fields generated by free brush strokes. The palette of primary colors patterned on top of grey-scaled shapes reflects Winter’s experimentation with materials.
Alex Katz (American, b. 1927) Jean on Horse, 1976 Oil on linen 75 x 120 inches (190.5 x 304.8 cm). Katz's figurative paintings depict motifs of a well-heeled leisure society, almost exclusively presenting friends, literary figures, and those of his art world circles, within the landscape of Maine. Jean, and her horse, was a neighbor of the Katz family living in Maine
Alex Katz (American, b. 1927) Jean on Horse, 1976 Oil on linen 75 x 120 inches (190.5 x 304.8 cm). Katz’s figurative paintings depict motifs of a well-heeled leisure society, almost exclusively presenting friends, literary figures, and those of his art world circles, within the landscape of Maine. Jean, and her horse, was a neighbor of the Katz family living in Maine
Ai Weiwei, Bicycle Basket with Flowers, 2014, Porcelain 11 x 14 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches (28 x 37 x 34 cm) with Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Untitled #4, 2015 in the background. Bicycle Basket with Flowers is Weiwei's porcelain reference to his 600-day brilliant silent social media protest "With Flowers." It was his artistic response to his travel ban by the Chinese government. This colorless bouquet of flowers stands in memoriam of the artist's loss of a right to life, freedom, and humanity. Ai states, "Expressing oneself is a part of being human. To be deprived of a voice is to be told you are not a participant in a society; ultimately, it is a denial of humanity."
Ai Weiwei, Bicycle Basket with Flowers, 2014, Porcelain 11 x 14 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches (28 x 37 x 34 cm) with Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Untitled #4, 2015 in the background. Bicycle Basket with Flowers is Weiwei’s porcelain reference to his 600-day brilliant silent social media protest “With Flowers.” It was his artistic response to his travel ban by the Chinese government. This colorless bouquet of flowers stands in memoriam of the artist’s loss of a right to life, freedom, and humanity. Ai states, “Expressing oneself is a part of being human. To be deprived of a voice is to be told you are not a participant in a society; ultimately, it is a denial of humanity.”
A look down from the top of Ai Weiwei, Bicycle Basket with Flowers, 2014, Porcelain 11 x 14 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches (28 x 37 x 34 cm).
A look down from the top of Ai Weiwei, Bicycle Basket with Flowers, 2014, Porcelain 11 x 14 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches (28 x 37 x 34 cm).
Rachel Kneebone (British, b. 1973) At the Edge of Dawn and Darkness, 2009 Porcelain 22 1/2 x 20 1/16 inches (57.2 x 51 cm) with Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Untitled #4, 2015 in the background. Fragments of human bodies merge and cascade, unfurling around a tableau of organic and geometric forms, play with the notion of human renewal, transformation, life cycles, and the experience of inhabiting the body. A bit of the grotesque with hints of a Boschian after orgy.
Rachel Kneebone (British, b. 1973) At the Edge of Dawn and Darkness, 2009 Porcelain 22 1/2 x 20 1/16 inches (57.2 x 51 cm) with Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Untitled #4, 2015 in the background. Fragments of human bodies merge and cascade, unfurling around a tableau of organic and geometric forms, play with the notion of human renewal, transformation, life cycles, and the experience of inhabiting the body. A bit of the grotesque with hints of a Boschian after orgy.
A close-up detail of Rachel Kneebone's at the Edge of Dawn and Darkness, 2009 Porcelain 22 1/2 x 20 1/16 inches (57.2 x 51 cm).
A close-up detail of Rachel Kneebone’s at the Edge of Dawn and Darkness, 2009 Porcelain 22 1/2 x 20 1/16 inches (57.2 x 51 cm).
Another view of, At the Edge of Dawn and Darkness, 2009 Porcelain 22 1/2 x 20 1/16 inches (57.2 x 51 cm) by Rachel Kneebone
Another view of, At the Edge of Dawn and Darkness, 2009 Porcelain 22 1/2 x 20 1/16 inches (57.2 x 51 cm) by Rachel Kneebone
Installation View of Rachel Kneebone and Miron Schmückle. Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo Jenks Imaging.
Installation View of Rachel Kneebone and Miron Schmückle. Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo Jenks Imaging.
Another Installation View across rooms of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art's In Bloom show courtesy of the Tia Collection of Santa Fe, NM. (from my iPhone)
Another Installation View across rooms of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art’s In Bloom show courtesy of the Tia Collection of Santa Fe, NM. (from my iPhone)
Installation View of Martine Gutierrez from In Bloom, 2023 Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Martine Gutierrez from In Bloom, 2023 Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Nick Cave, Judy Tuwaletstiwa, James Lavadour, Earl Biss, and David Simpson. Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Nick Cave, Judy Tuwaletstiwa, James Lavadour, Earl Biss, and David Simpson. Courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Shawn Huckins (American, b. 1984) Evening Glow at Lake Louise: Hey Siri, How Do I Leave the Planet?, 2019 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 84 inches (152.4 x 213.36 cm). In Huckins' work, Huckins postures whether the devolution of language in the face of technological advancement weakens our ability to empathize and connect to one another meaningfully. Huckins pulls imagery from public domain records and museum collections. This painting is from Evening Glow at Lake Louise, Rocky Mountains, Canada (1850) by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). By layering the landscape with text taken directly from the Internet, Huckins confronts the priorities of our tech-saturated society compared to simpler times of enjoying nature before us. Another favorite of mine in the show for its humor.
Shawn Huckins (American, b. 1984) Evening Glow at Lake Louise: Hey Siri, How Do I Leave the Planet?, 2019 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 84 inches (152.4 x 213.36 cm). In Huckins’ work, Huckins postures whether the devolution of language in the face of technological advancement weakens our ability to empathize and connect to one another meaningfully. Huckins pulls imagery from public domain records and museum collections. This painting is from Evening Glow at Lake Louise, Rocky Mountains, Canada (1850) by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). By layering the landscape with text taken directly from the Internet, Huckins confronts the priorities of our tech-saturated society compared to simpler times of enjoying nature before us. Another favorite of mine in the show for its humor.
Judy Tuwaletstiwa (American, b. 1941) text. shards 5, 2020 Kiln-fired glass on canvas 48 x 84 inches (121.92 x 213.36 cm). This is glass, not fabric. Remarkable, really. By firing sand at relatively low heat, 1250°F/677°C, Tuwaletstiwa formed opaque shards with a matte finish. Separate color patches of shards were intuitively glued to this diptych canvas as they were removed from the kiln. The ripples and clumping of the sandy texture create the illusion of a soft, plush fabric from a distance, but this is glass. Quite unique!
Judy Tuwaletstiwa (American, b. 1941) text. shards 5, 2020 Kiln-fired glass on canvas 48 x 84 inches (121.92 x 213.36 cm). This is glass, not fabric. Remarkable, really. By firing sand at relatively low heat, 1250°F/677°C, Tuwaletstiwa formed opaque shards with a matte finish. Separate color patches of shards were intuitively glued to this diptych canvas as they were removed from the kiln. The ripples and clumping of the sandy texture create the illusion of a soft, plush fabric from a distance, but this is glass. Quite unique!
Earl Biss (Apsáalooke, 1947 - 1998) Charging Through a Rainbow Storm, 1997 Oil on canvas 36 x 89 inches (91.4 x 226.1 cm). Made alive in imagination by flowing, textured paint strokes is a landscape of Plains Indigenous horsemen, Charging Through a Rainbow Storm.
Earl Biss (Apsáalooke, 1947 – 1998) Charging Through a Rainbow Storm, 1997 Oil on canvas 36 x 89 inches (91.4 x 226.1 cm). Made alive in imagination by flowing, textured paint strokes is a landscape of Plains Indigenous horsemen, Charging Through a Rainbow Storm.
James Lavadour (Walla Walla, b. 1951) Sunflower, 1999 Oil on panel 72 x 96 inches (182.88 x 243.84 cm). Sunflower features five panels of glowing mountainous perspectives arranged to form four flower petals. A blazing crimson fire at the foot of the mountain in the central panel carries a white haze of dissipation over to the four other scenes, the hazy glow of a sunset like the orange of a sunflower.
James Lavadour (Walla Walla, b. 1951) Sunflower, 1999 Oil on panel 72 x 96 inches (182.88 x 243.84 cm). Sunflower features five panels of glowing mountainous perspectives arranged to form four flower petals. A blazing crimson fire at the foot of the mountain in the central panel carries a white haze of dissipation over to the four other scenes, the hazy glow of a sunset like the orange of a sunflower.
Installation View of Nick Cave, David Simpson, Shawn Huckins, Martine Gutierrez, and Michelangelo Pistoletto, courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Installation View of Nick Cave, David Simpson, Shawn Huckins, Martine Gutierrez, and Michelangelo Pistoletto, courtesy Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Photo: Jenks Imaging
Nick Cave (American, b. 1959) Soundsuit 8:46, 2021 Vintage textile, sequined appliqués, silk flowers, acrylic buttons, metal, and mannequin 98 x 34 x 28 inches (248.92 x 86.36 x 71.12 cm). Cave's Soundsuits mask and create a second skin that conceals race, gender, and class, forcing the viewer to look without judgment, which is often not the case for the life the suits represent. Soundsuit 8:46 represents the lost life of George Floyd. At over eight feet tall, Soundsuit 8:46 features bright floral and patterned textiles, sequins, and acrylic buttons (suitable for a Spring birthing of new life and change - in this case, change is one of social justice). The additional marker of "8:46" in the title refers to how long it took for Floyd to die under Minnesota Officer Chauvin's knee on May 25, 2020.
Nick Cave (American, b. 1959) Soundsuit 8:46, 2021 Vintage textile, sequined appliqués, silk flowers, acrylic buttons, metal, and mannequin 98 x 34 x 28 inches (248.92 x 86.36 x 71.12 cm). Cave’s Soundsuits mask and create a second skin that conceals race, gender, and class, forcing the viewer to look without judgment, which is often not the case for the life the suits represent. Soundsuit 8:46 represents the lost life of George Floyd. At over eight feet tall, Soundsuit 8:46 features bright floral and patterned textiles, sequins, and acrylic buttons (suitable for a Spring birthing of new life and change – in this case, change is one of social justice). The additional marker of “8:46” in the title refers to how long it took for Floyd to die under Minnesota Officer Chauvin’s knee on May 25, 2020.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.
Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgian, b. 1968) Man and Woman, 2017 Stainless steel, mechanics 37 x 23 1/2 x 37 inches (94 x 60 x 94 cm. This kinetic sculpture is a never-ending story of love, pleasure, and suffering between man and woman. Each sculpture is on a rotating disk. As the disk rotates, the wire statues come together, passing into one another, becoming one, and then separating to eventually face away from one another only to enjoin again perpetually.

External Links:

In Bloom / Bellagio website: https://bellagio.mgmresorts.com/en/entertainment/gallery-of-fine-art.html

Yousuf Karsh website https://karsh.org 

TIA Collection website: https://tiacollectioncatalogues.org

History of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellagio_Gallery_of_Fine_Art

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Art Review: Chihuly

2 Comments / Art Review, with gallery / By / / 3 minutes of reading

Chihuly Glass: Oklahoma City, OK and Las Vegas, NV

I was recently in Oklahoma City with my long-time friend, Brian Nixon. Whenever we are together, museums and galleries are on the itinerary. 

Oklahoma City Museum of Art has an extensive Dale Chihuly Glass collection and was showing the Chihuly Then and Now: The Collection at Twenty  exhibit, featuring five decades of Chihuly works and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the museum’s collection of Chihuly glass and paintings.

Chihuly’s innovative and intricate glasswork is inspired by organic shapes of nature, colorfully intense, world-renowned. The Oklahoma collection exhibits works ranging from small glass bowls and vases to more extensive, complex installations that fill entire rooms. Some notable artworks are the “Persian Ceiling” installation, composed of hundreds of hand-blown glass pieces arranged in an array of colors and shapes, “Mille Fiori,” a massive, colorful chandelier comprising thousands of individual glass pieces, “Macchia,” a series of vibrant, abstract glass vessels, and the enchanting: “Ikebana Boat” and “Float Boat,” two actual rowboats filled with Chihuly Glass.

Of course, I took some iPhone photos, and some are presented below.

For more information on the show at Oklahoma, here is a link about the collection:

https://www.okcmoa.com/collections/dale-chihuly/

As a new blog about creativity and art making, I have also decided to highlight the museum-quality art hidden around Las Vegas for those who wonder where the Las Vegas Museum of Art is located: it is hidden in plain sight around the Hotels and Casinos. I will tag these as “Art Reviews.”

The first place I want to mention is the Bellagio’s famous Dale Chihuly Glass ceiling, which looks like a sky of glass flowers (or jellyfish if you are ‘tripping’)—”Fiori di Como.” It is a showpiece and perhaps the most famous of glass artworks by Dale Chihuly. 

The 1998 glass sculpture “Fiori di Como” hangs from the ceiling in Bellagio’s lobby and took two years to complete with the help of 100 artisans under the direction of Chihuly and in collaboration with Steve Wynn. The sculpture consists of 2,000 hand-blown glass blossoms that weigh about 40,000 pounds and are supported by a 10,000-pound steel armature. That’s all overhead. The piece covers 2,100 square feet and is seen by over 15,000 people daily. Every morning between 2 and 5 a.m., a team of engineers cleans and maintains the sculpture, which answers the question of dust and bugs.

But there is another beautiful Chihuly “fiora,” and most people never notice this. Yet, it is rich and seductive with its blue glass flowers and yellow twisty horns. It sits middle square in the lounge of the Baccarat Bar under a gold-leafed ceiling. Beautiful. Stop in and have a drink while drinking in the beauty to be found around the Bellagio. More to come on that. 

I will highlight where in Vegas you can find museum-caliber art by Blue Chip artists, so art lovers can easily find them. In the meantime, here are some pics of the Chihuly glass mentioned above.

Chihuly in Oklahoma City Museum of Art and in the Bellagio, Las Vegas

“Mille Fiori,” Lin the lobby of the Oklahoma City Museum Of Art as seen reflected in hte escalator steel.
“Mille Fiori,” close-up.
“Persian Ceiling” installation close-up of glass cherub
Chihuli Fiora at Oklahoma City Museum Of Art.
“Reeds” by Chihuli at Oklahoma Museum of Art.
“Baronet Blue Basket Set with Iron Black Lip Wraps,” close-up at teh Oklahoma City Museum of Art
View one of a Chihuli boats at the Oklahoma Museum.
View two of a Chihuli boats at the Oklahoma Museum.
“Fiori di Como.” A crazy iPhone panorama photo of the 2000 sq.ft. Bellagio lobby ceiling.
A shot of the middle of “Fiori di Como.” at the Bellagio.
“Fiori di Como.” close-up.
teh Chihuli vase of Fiori at the Baccarat Bar
The Chihuli vase of Fiori at the Baccarat Bar
  • Hello & Welcome
    Greetings to the new blog portion of lefever.com
  • In The Beginning
    Curiosity bred invention that became quite the creative journey and developed an understanding of human perception.
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  • Circumstances 1
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  • Circumstances 2
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  • Circumstances 4 (conclusion)
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  • AKHOB
    Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, presents a wonderful show, In Bloom, curated from the Santa Fe TIA Collection.

Art Review: Chihuly Read More »

Another Type Of Seeing

Leave a Comment / Reflections On The Creative Process, with gallery / By / / 3 minutes of reading

Another Type of Seeing

Building on my previous post and making a memoir of how this style developed—this “seeing differently” of considering how the brain pieces together data and forms an understanding of the world we occupy, identify, and claim as familiar. These photographs of mine are less scenic and more a mental capture.

Like many new things, the following understanding came to me due to limitations. My camera was the limitation. When set to shoot in multiple exposure mode, my camera reverts to single shot mode if and when the camera goes to sleep (due to a lapse in time for not tapping the shutter button). As a result, and not wanting to continually tap the shutter button in the middle of a sequence (or set the camera never to fall asleep), I would only photograph things within my proximal purview within a 30-60 second window. I would capture a document as my eyes dart around, mapping the environment, looking for elements of interest, and stitching them together as a pictorial representation of my visual experience: of the process of capturing data to my brain and how my brain might see the scene. I was at that time – at that moment, collecting a picture of my surroundings based on my eye reading a location and stitching together a relevant expression. The resulting image would mark my memory of that moment in that place—a mental shorthand.

It is important to note here that this is ‘selective’ seeing. Bias dictates my “seeing .” We only ever seem to see what we are looking for. My mental perspective, my motive for looking, is to make something artful in composition and, in some cases, contextually. My final multiple exposures represent the information I am proximal to at any given time, as led by my particular bias to make an artistic result. We all see what we are looking for among the data to which we are in approximation, and our bias influences that which we look for in that data. Not just what we see but also what we think. Chicken/Egg. Confirmation Bias? Nature, nurture, either, or both?

This process of how we form our perceptions of our world fascinates me. We see and make sense of the world we live in, good and bad, in how we stitch things together as our eyes dart about collecting data to our mind’s eye, according to some bias or programming we hold to—but I am ‘waxing.’ Excuse me. My thoughts tend to run away.

And in the running, as all ideas do, this idea evolves with consideration and the continued activity of the creative process. And that is something for my next blog post.

Below is a small gallery of works from walking around Las Vegas back at the beginning when my subject matter was less cerebral, social, or historical—before it became about memory, experience, and personal knowing. Then it was about buildings and noise and the vibrant energy of Las Vegas. And this style was a great way to capture it all.

Early Triple Exposures Around Las Vegas

Architecture 2
Architecture
Caesars TFS Black
134 (Monorail Track)
NJOY
Fashion Astronaut
What Drugs Are You On?
The Famous Flamingo
Pool
  • Hello & Welcome
    Greetings to the new blog portion of lefever.com
  • In The Beginning
    Curiosity bred invention that became quite the creative journey and developed an understanding of human perception.
  • Another Type Of Seeing
    Building on my previous post and making a memoir of how this multi-exposure style developed.
  • Circumstances 1
    I, for one, need stability in which to create. Sometimes circumstances dictate the course. This is a short story of an art in development.
  • Circumstances 2
    Sometimes a “NO” can be a blessing needed for new life. But who knows when in the middle of outrage?
  • Circumstances 3
    With 2020 an existential freakout and restriction like dark clouds break for a beam of light and new direction.
  • Circumstances 4 (conclusion)
    This is how some creative ideas develop as the developmental course gets blocked and altered by circumstance—but then: lightning.
  • Bob Dylan Didn’t Say That!
    This is a fine example of memory conflation. Bob Dylan didn’t say that! What did Bob Dylan say?
  • Art Review: Chihuly
    Chihuly Glass: Oklahoma City, OK and Las Vegas, NV I… Read more: Art Review: Chihuly
  • Julian Schnabel Untitled (Zeus Duende) at the Aria
    Art Review: Schnabel
    My Favorite Painting in Aria, Las Vegas–And A Cup Of… Read more: Art Review: Schnabel
  • Robert Rauschenberg at the Bellagio
    Art Review: Rauschenberg
    Robert Rauschenberg artworks to be found in plain view at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas – A review.
  • Modification of Shawn Huckins, Evening Glow at Lake Louise: Hey Siri, How Do I Leave the Planet?, 2019 In Bloom Courtesy of TIA Collection
    InBloom
    Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, presents a wonderful show, In Bloom, curated from the Santa Fe TIA Collection.
  • AKHOB
    Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, presents a wonderful show, In Bloom, curated from the Santa Fe TIA Collection.

Another Type Of Seeing Read More »

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