I don’t get really excited by many exhibits.  Been to a lot of museums, seen a lot of curation done over the years.  I spent a month this summer visiting 31 great houses in England in 21 days as part of the Attingham program.  But in NYC last week I had the chance to see two exhibits that I think everyone should see.  Two very different shows from two very different time periods… you get the picture.  The Tudors at the Met and Wolfgang Tillmans at MOMA.

First, The Tudors at the Metropolitan Museum www.metmuseum.org.  They really pulled out all the stops, bringing some priceless tapestries

made on commission of Henry VIII, loaned by the Musée national de la Renaissance, château d’Ecouen, France.  Using Gold and Silver threads throughout, it is likely that the set of ten panels would have cost as much as a warship. 

And Henry’s own armor and his own Psalter. 

And a large number of Holbein portraits. This portrait of Sir Thomas More borrowed from the Frick www.frick.org. 

But they also had smaller sketches of Holbein from the Queen’s Royal Collection (now I guess it should be referred to as the King’s Royal Collection?) like this one of Anne Boleyn.

And the Sea Dog Table, which I missed seeing when I was at Hardwick Hall this summer, since it was being worked on for transport to this exhibit.  Probably the most important piece of 16^th century furniture in England.  And I see in at The Met in NYC!!! 

Wolfgang Tillmans

But that is not the only thing to see in NYC this month.  At MOMA is a show of Wolfgang Tillmans’ work, Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear that is exceptional in every way. Not only for his photography,

but in the way he curates the installation over multiple spaces on the 6^th floor, ranging from huge prints of his, high on the walls and on doors,

to tiny, pocket-sized prints, to experiments with collage and work in and on tables.

Which also made me think about the table and its use – in this case using very common woods and fastenings . 

It made me think about my work, the low intrinsic value of this object, and what it would look like if I used the same design – simple, straightforward and transparent – with some of the materials I use – gold, ebony, mahogany, rosewood.  Transforming it into a table with this low/high intrinsic value dichotomy.  Maybe I’ll work on that.

Not to be missed, this is one of the most thought provoking shows I’ve seen in a long while. Both of these are exhibits that I think everyone should see.

Enjoy your trip to New York.

R.