Selects From My Postcard Collection
This story was first published in Coronadiet’s old site on April 5, 2020.
Over the past few years, I’ve been collecting postcards from the art museums and galleries I visit in LA, NYC, and London. The result has been a book of 75 cards representing some of the best pieces from my favorite artists. I felt nostalgic looking through from beginning to the end and wanted to share a few selects as I look forward to the time I’ll be able to continue building the collection.
In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Greek king and sculptor Pygmalion completes his creation, a statue he names Galatea, and finds it so beautiful and realistic that he falls in love with it. Pygmalion makes his offerings to Aphrodite, wishing for a bride who takes after his statue. When Pygmalion returns to his studio, he kisses Galatea, feeling the warmth of real lips upon his own. Aphrodite had brought Galatea to life.
As a leader of the Japanese Neo-Pop movement, Nara’s works explore the effects of modernization, war, and culture. While his portraits are often of rebellious girls who represent the intersection of innocence and defiance, they are also self-portraits, conveying Nara’s own emotions and their universality.
Tillmans began his artistic career decades ago photographing nightclubs (specifically the 1990s acid house scene), a practice he continued even after winning a prestigious art prize. The British artist sees it as his duty to preserve queer nightlife, only publishing his work after a bar is on hiatus or closes down.
The painting’s rectilinear composition creates a calming stillness often felt during a sunny California day, contrasting with the detailed explosion caused by what seems to be a swimmer jumping off from the diving board. Over the period of two weeks, Hockney created his painting which depicts a moment that lasted a mere two seconds.
Suda’s first posthumous exhibition in the U.S. showcased works from his monograph Human Memory containing photographs of what Suda viewed as strong reminders of himself. Through observations of the everyday and street scenes, Suda captures spirit-like memories that imbue the familiar with subtle unusualness.
