KANDINSKY is a vast and thorough retrospective of the artist’s work, organized in conjunction with the museum’s 50th anniversary. Instead of delving into art history, I will let you read more about Wassily Kandinsky on Artnet and Wikipedia and at the exhibition website. Traveling in a sea of tourists, sans audio guide, I had to make extra efforts to read the (occasionally hidden) text panels which ended up being enough background information for me, at least for this visit.

The importance of music to Kandinsky, and how he aimed to create art that used music as a “new visual vocabulary,” is explained and emphasized throughout. This information is a helpful and revealing way to look at his works. The show also emphasizes the way in which his work became less and less figurative as his career progressed. For example, it explains how the use of the “horse and rider” motif is repeated but you can see it literally getting more and more abstract as you look at the paintings in progression. It is written that Kandinsky purposefully went into abstraction transitionally – so the public could follow.

Photos are not allowed above the ground level of the museum – and it is hard to describe such abstract paintings meaningfully – so if you are a Kandinsky fan or interested in his work, I would recommend seeing the show in person. I found myself drawn to works with a focus on the center of the canvas, such as “Improvisation 26” (1912), which also uses black outlines to define certain shapes. Certain works also acquired a bit more monumentality when they were displayed on solo on a wall – this allows more viewing space and also emphasizes the scale.

The experience of seeing these works in the fantastic space of the Guggenheim added another dimension to my visit. I couldn’t help but realize, throughout the exhibit, how much of what I was feeling was a direct result of the physical surroundings and the layout of the museum. Even if I spent a minute focused on a painting, the second I started walking again, I was back into this interactive viewing experience. You can see everyone else going through the progression of paintings, and it is hard not to spend a moment watching that as well – somehow two shows in one?

These observations aren’t unique to my experience – it is pretty clear that the interior of the Guggenheim, all curvilinear and organic, is very different than most other spaces [there are whole courses on the subject of museum space planning.] I wondered if my perception of the works was affected by the space they were exhibited in. This led me to thinking about the challenge of putting a show together in the space, as it can be a burden or a blessing but in the end nothing really compares. Calling all Art History buffs … anyone want to dust off their old Museum Studies textbooks with me?

Also on view is Anish Kapoor: Memory which I unfortunately only caught a glimpse of. More importantly, the Kandinsky show is only on display until January 13th (less than one week from today!), so if your New Year’s resolution involved being more cultural, there’s no time to dilly-dally like I did.

Happy travels!