Whitney Museum – Real/Surreal, Cubes and Anarchy, Calder’s Circus

There are many reasons to skip out of work for lunch at the Whitney. Top on my list is Danny Meyer’s new restaurant, Untitled, on the lower level. They’re serving up “updated coffee shop classics,” which means matzo ball soup and pastrami reubens but also crispy kale salads and aged gouda grilled cheeses. Oh, and need I mention breakfast all day?! 

This is an exciting time to visit the Whitney. In preparation for its move downtown curators are dusting off the deep holdings and presenting exhibitions drawn entirely from the permanent collection. As Ken Johnson said in the NYTimes, “Seeing ‘Real/Surreal’ … is like visiting your grandmother’s attic and finding it loaded with forgotten treasures.” It’s such fun! 

That said, if you only have time for one show, I’d pick David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy. Smith is considered on of the best American sculptors, and this exhibition of sculptures, drawing and paintings, plus rarely seen sketchbook and photographs, gives you a rich understanding of his masterful work. These geometric abstractions will have you seeing things in a whole new way.

On your way out, do not miss Calder’s Circus. Before he got started on his exquisite mobiles, Alexander Calder invited guests to sit on bleachers, eat popcorn and observe as he enacted the circus using wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps. The video footage is incredible!

With so many great options and so little time, what will you choose to see?

 

Ingredients:

Venue: Whitney Museum of American Art

Artists: David Smith, Alexander Calder, Federico Castellon

Streets: Madison Ave, 74th-75th Sts

Eats: Untitled

Map: