Monet to Dalí

I caught a glimpse of the woman in a red shawl, frozen in time this November day. The muted gray of the drab interior and filmy gray curtains framed the snowy landscape, accentuated by that flash of red.

Where was she going? Why did she seem so pensive? Would she be just a fleeting impression in my life? Or would I see her again?

It turns out that I should have another chance to see Camille Monet. Last year’s “Impressionist and Modern Masterworks” show at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), where I saw Claude Monet’s portrait of his wife, makes an appearance this autumn at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) as the “Monet to Dalí” exhibition.

Seventy-five masterpieces from the Cleveland exhibition comprise this version of the show I saw there, which included some drawings and other pieces too fragile to make the extended road trip. Still, the 75 paintings and sculptures on display at the DIA represent a remarkable selection of modern art, ranging from Gustave Courbet and a then-new style of realism, through popular Impressionists like Claude Monet and on to surrealist works like those of Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Max Ernst.

We’ve found special exhibitions like the CMAs Modern Masterworks, and the fantastic “Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí” exhibition we saw there in November 2006, well worth the trip over to Cleveland. I’m sure others will find “Monet to Dalí” equally rewarding and worth the trip to Detroit’s own newly renovated art museum.

The Cleveland collection comes to Detroit as the CMA shares some of the best pieces from their vast holdings during an ambitious renovation and expansion keeping the Ohio museum largely closed over several years’ time. The CMA closed entirely for six months in early 2006, reopening on a limited basis late that year for the Barcelona show. Construction and renovation continues in Cleveland with gradual gallery re-openings scheduled until the completion of the project in 2012.

The Detroit Institute of Arts closed for several months last year during renovations that included more than 70,000 square feet of expansion, an improved traffic flow through the building and the execution of a shift in the way the museum displays artifacts to create a more visitor-friendly experience. Rather than relying on stuffy and static displays arranged in strict chronological order, the Detroit Institute of Arts espouses thematic arrangements illustrating the big ideas and stories behind groups of art works. The museum’s innovative use of newer technology like touch screen displays and video projections, plus plain-language placards and programs encouraging visitor feedback about the art they’ve seen invites viewers to interact with the work and understand how art speaks to, and reflects, their own lives.

Accordingly, the Detroit museum displays the visiting Cleveland collection in a series of areas illustrating themes like dealing with anxiety in the modern world, taking advantage of an era that encouraged experimentation in art and expressing an artist’s inner life.

Preview the show with the CMA Monet to Dalí catalog book, and then visit Camille Monet in what is sure to be a popular exhibition during its October 12, 2008 through January 18, 2009 stay in Detroit.

© Dominique King 2008

Comments

[Rachel Burton]

I miss the DIA! I've lived in the metro Detroit area off and on for eight years (mostly off, though we do have a place in Dearborn right now). Enjoy the show!

[hana]

That sounds like an awesome exhibit. I saw the Dali exhibit when it came to LACMA and it was pretty amazing.

[visiting you from the AW forum]

[Dominique]

Thanks for reading!

I loved the show when I saw it in Cleveland. Friends here want to see the show, and I assured them I wouldn't mind seeing it again at all!

[sforshner]

That sounds like a great exhibit - I love that your posts are so descriptive.