so mod

one thing i love about chicago is all the free stuff during the summer. every thursday and friday from 5pm-9pm the art institute of chicago is free to everyone. i've been a few times before and adore the impressionists galleries, the photography section and the thorne minature rooms.

the modern wing just opened in may but i hadn't quite made it over there until yesterday.

it was AWEsome! i dislike using that word because it is so cliché. and the funny thing is i went to the tate modern in london and hated it. well, not hate; didn't get. however, the modern wing of the art institute of chicago was beautiful.


first in the building itself (designed by renzo piano): bright, open, airy, free flowing. felt very form follows function. and the pieces collected for this wing, while some were a bit odd, were no less than extraordinary in my opinion.

my favorite exhibit was the cy twombly the natural world paintings. they looked like sponges filled with paint thrown against a canvas or finger painting; but they were beautiful. the colors and movement. they made me feel good. galleries that interested me included works such as the gerhard richter paintings that looked almost like photographs; european contemporary which included works from picasso, matisse, dalí, and kandinsky; and the surrealism pieces.

i won't profess to be an art expert. but i know what i like. and i liked the modern wing.