Big Sister and I went to the Andrew Wyeth exhibition called Emotion and Creation. It was at the Bunkamura in Shibuya. The 23rd will be the last day.
The collection included studies he made of the objects or subjects (people, animals) of his paintings. There were some studies of Christina from his most famous work, "Christina's World". It was interesting to see that he would sketch or even paint some of the areas of the painting before he painted the whole painting. So, he didn't just sit down and paint a picture from start to finish.
There was a short video of an interview with him from August 2008. He is 91 years old. He said he would sometimes start with watercolor, but then decide to start over and use egg tempera.
He said he hoped people could see the love he had for the objects in the paintings. He also thanked the Japanese people. He said he could feel their warmth. He appreciated it. There were many people there on Monday. They slowly moved from one painting to the next. Many got up really close to see his craft. I watched people enjoy his work.
The last paintings near the exit were "The Crescent" and "The Doorbell". They were painted in 1990. I think they are my favorites along with the one on this poster. I sat on a stool in front of them and waited for Big Sister. She rented an audio guide, and it took longer for her to go through the exhibition.
I felt really grateful to see these recent works! I have been outside the U.S. for a long time and haven't kept up with his work. At this exhibition, I learned that there is a Andrew Wyeth museum in Saitama, Japan. That is very close to our house!
