Recommended by Dr Javier Molins
Javier Molins, originally from Spain, has curated exhibitions internationally in leading venues across the globe such as San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale and Valencia’s City of Arts and Science. He has worked with some the 20th and 21st centuries most esteemed artists including Picasso, Sean Scully, Tony Cragg, and Jaume Plensa. Well versed in curatorial projects, Javier is often called on his expertise in the press and by foundations to advise on programming and acquisitions.
LA CASA AZUL. FRIDA KAHLO MUSEUM. MEXICO DF
WEBSITE: www.museofridakahlo.org
If someone wants to enter in the universe of Frida Kahlo, he has to visit her Casa Azul in México. There you can see the intense interrelations between the artist, her work and her house, the place where she was born and where she died. Located in the beautiful neighborhood of Coyoacán, this house preservs the personal objects that reveal de univers of this celebrated artist and also contains some importants works as “Long Live Life” (1954), "Frida and the Caesarian Operation" (1931) and “Portrait of My Father Guillermo Kahlo” (1952). The visitor can also see the studio of Frida and the big bed where she lyed for a long time because of her accident. An unique way to experience the work of this mexican artist.
SOROLLA MUSEUM. MADRID
WEBSITE: www.culturaydeporte.gob.es
Joaquin Sorolla was born in Valencia in 1863 and he is well known for his beautiful sea landscapes of the beaches of this Mediterranean town, but he lived a big part of his life and died in 1923 in this house located in the city center of Madrid. His widow donated the house and many of his works to the Goverment that transformed the house into a museum. There, the visitor will find some of the most popular paintings by this artist that in Spain is known as the painter of light. Definitely, this museum and the Hispanic Society of America in New York are the places to see the work of Joaquin Sorolla.
NEUE GALERIE. NEW YORK
WEBSITE: www.neuegalerie.org
A piece of Austria in the middle of New York. This could be the definition of the Neue Galerie. This museum, promoted by the collector Ronald S. Lauder, hosts one of the best Austrian art collections out of Austria with works of Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka or Alfred Kubin. But the masterpiece of this collection is the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer painted by Gustav Klimt (1907). This painting was recovered by the original family after the nazi ocupation and was acquired by Ronald S. Lauder to be displayed in this beautiful house located near the Guggenheim museum in the Upper East Side.
NOGUCHI MUSEUM. NEW YORK
WEBSITE: www.noguchi.org
Located in Queens, the Noguchi Museum was founded and designed by Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), for the display of what he considered to be representative examples of his life’s work. The visitor will find an industrial building with indoor-outdoor galleries and a beautiful sculpture garden with all the serenity that one needs to enjoy the works of Noguchi. The collection also contains furniture, ceramics, designs, architecture and set designs of one of the most important and critically acclaimed sculptors of the twentieth century.
SEAN SCULLY CHAPEL. MONTSERRAT, BARCELONA
WEBSITE: www.santaceciliamontserrat.com
There are in the world only three artists that have his name associated to a chapel: Henri Matisse in Vance (France), Mark Rothko in Houston and Sean Scully in Barcelona. Santa Cecilia de Montserrat is a small chapel founded more than one thousand years ago. After the restoration of the Romanesque church, Sean Scully started to design the interior with various paintings displayed throughout the church, eight stained-glass windows in different colours, three frescoes and three glass crosses. A place for spirituality and for art designed by one of the most prestigious contemporary artists of XXI Century.