Trip to San Diego Museum of Art

Wow, I can’t believe it is August already.  I was able to visit the San Diego Museum of Art in July and see two incredible exhibitions.  On the first floor we were treated to “Brush and Ink” with works selected by Chinese painter Pan Gongkai, President of China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.  The exhibition has selections dating from the 15th century to the present.  The delicate and light application of ink on silk scrolls and fans transport the viewer to a time and place like no other.  The seemingly effortless brush strokes belie the years of practice it takes to achieve these expressions of feelings.  This runs through September 4,2016. 

​Zhang Daqian  Lotus, 1958 

​The other show, “Brueghel To Canaletto: European Masterpieces From the Grasset Collection” includes some of the 40 works that SDMA has on loan from the Grasset family of Spain for the next three years.  Artists from Floris Claesz van Dyck, Balthasar van der Ast, to Giovanni Antonio Canal let viewers experience daily life and the changing attitudes shaped by science as well as a fascination with Asian and American luxury items during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe.  The attention to detail, some of these paintings are small, is exquisite.  I was mesmerized by the painting techniques that transported the viewer into the scenes.   This show closed August 2, 2016 but check in with SDMA frequently for further exhibitions.  

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​Osias Beert the elder, (Antwerp) 1580-1624) Still Life of Flowers in a Stone Vase in a Niche, Oil on panel