Monday, January 16, 2006

In Dallas, at the tony islet called the Nasher Sculpture Center, next door to the DMA


Nasher / Serra / photo Talbot
Originally uploaded by trudeau.
The Women of Giacometti is the road show (Jan 14 - Ap 9) at the Nasher Sculpture Center, downtown Dallas.

It's a low-key display - who can tell the difference between the women and the men in Giacometti's gaunt figures? But the Nasher is a spacious venue and I felt like I was walking round inside the magnified movement of an enormous watch, and the Giacometti's were the pivots.

The best part of the exhibit was downstairs, where we were able to see the Swiss sculptor's entrancing early work and view a film - well, part of it - on his life. He was a charming man and worked in some charmingly funky ateliers in Geneva.

The sculptures that kept drawing me back for an additional taste were gaunties about 3 cm tall.

The Nasher's steel-studded garden was easily the greenest spot in parched Dallas. The theme is not monumental coolness, as in the Dallas Museum of Art's concrete-and-water sculpture garden. At the Nasher it's mortality and vanity. We all look like damned sculptures when we're wandering among the witty and frozen but expectant figures of this collection.

See the Talbot Hopkins photo of the Richard Serra steel for an idea of the Nasher's grand view.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Alan's favorite sculpture at the Nasher is the oversized Miro with the huge phallus protruding from the front. The Kimball in Fort Worth has on display what appears to be the other half of the couple - an obviously female form complete with a gaping hole in the center. I'll bet they're a perfect fit!