Episode 14: Painted Pop
The fourteenth episode of “The Picture” podcast features a conversation recorded live at Acquavella Galleries in New York on the occasion of the new exhibition “Painted Pop.”
Focusing on Pop art and its adoption of the visual language of mass culture and consumerism, the exhibition features painted works by key figures of the American Pop movement, including Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Ed Ruscha, Marjorie Strider, Wayne Thiebaud and Andy Warhol.
To celebrate the exhibition, gallery director Michael Findlay led a conversation with curator and historian Sarah Bancroft, who previously served as executive director of the James Rosenquist Foundation, and with writer and biographer Bob Colacello, author of “Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up,” his memoir of working closely with Warhol in the 1970s and early ’80s.
“Painted Pop” is on view October 9–December 15, 2023, at Acquavella’s New York location.
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Jasper Johns, "Untitled" (1980)
Acrylic and plastic mounted on canvas
30 3/8 x 54 3/8 inches (77.2 x 138.1 cm)
© 2023 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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© 2023 Acquavella Galleries. All rights reserved.
Listen: Soundcloud / Spotify
Episode 13: Bonnard: The Experience of Seeing
The thirteenth episode of "The Picture" podcast features a conversation recorded live at Acquavella Galleries in New York on the occasion of the new exhibition "Bonnard: The Experience of Seeing."
Featuring twenty still lifes, nudes, interior scenes and landscapes, the new exhibition focuses on works from Pierre Bonnard’s later years, when the Modernist painter was at the height of his powers. In this episode, painter Hayley Barker, art historian Joachim Pissarro and critic Barry Schwabsky have a colorful conversation about Bonnard’s legacy and growing influence on contemporary painting.
"Bonnard: The Experience of Seeing" is on view April 12 to May 26, 2023, at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
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Pierre Bonnard, "La porte-fenêtre (Matinée au Cannet) [The French Door (Morning at Le Cannet)]" (1932)
Oil on canvas
34 7/8 x 44 3/4 inches (88.6 x 113.7 cm)
Private Collection
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© 2023 Acquavella Galleries. All rights reserved.
Listen: Spotify / Soundcloud
Episode 12: Less: Minimalism in the 1960s
The twelfth episode of "The Picture" podcast features a conversation recorded live at Acquavella Galleries in New York on the occasion of the new exhibition "less: minimalism in the 1960s."
The exhibition’s curator, gallery director Michael Findlay, spoke with artist Katie Bell and Robert Slifkin, a Professor of Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Michael, Katie and Robert discussed the origins of minimalism and how, though the term is now widely understood as an artistic and aesthetic style, it was not always so ubiquitous.
The exhibition features work from 19 artists, including Carl Andre, Larry Bell, Judy Chicago, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt and Eva Hesse, each of whom sought an enigmatic simplicity and clarity in their work, which collectively came to define minimalism in the 1960s.
"less: minimalism in the 1960s" is on view February 1 to March 10, 2023, at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
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Sol LeWitt, "#8" (1966)
Aluminum and baked enamel
84 x 84 x 84 inches (213.4 x 213.4 x 213.4 cm)
Private Collection
© 2023 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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© 2023 Acquavella Galleries. All rights reserved.
Episode 11: PICASSO: Seven Decades of Drawing
The eleventh episode of "The Picture" podcast features an enlightening conversation about arguably the most influential artist of the 20th century: Pablo Picasso. Paired with the new exhibition "PICASSO: Seven Decades of Drawing," currently on view at Acquavella Galleries in New York, the conversation shines a light on Picasso’s passion for drawing, which served as the foundation of his practice across seven decades of stylistic development.
Exhibiting over 80 drawings spanning 70 years, the exhibition includes works in an array of mediums, including charcoal, crayon, colored pencil, collage, graphite, gouache, ink, pastel and watercolor—all showcasing the artist’s lifelong quest to innovate and experiment.
Gallery director Michael Findlay hosts the conversation, featuring Picasso expert Christine Poggi and the exhibition's curator, Olivier Berggruen, as they consider drawing as the foundation of Picasso’s singular career.
"PICASSO: Seven Decades of Drawing" is on view October 7 – December 3, 2021, at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
Episode 10: Eva Hesse | Hannah Wilke: Erotic Abstraction
The tenth episode of "The Picture" podcast centers on the new exhibition "Eva Hesse | Hannah Wilke: Erotic Abstraction," currently on view at Acquavella Galleries.
Exhibition curator Eleanor Nairne and art historian Jo Applin discuss Hesse and Wilke's parallel, if not entirely synchronized, lives in New York in the 1960s, and their foundational works in the history of post-Minimalist and feminist art.
"Eva Hesse | Hannah Wilke: Erotic Abstraction" is on view May 5 – June 18, 2021, at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
Episode 9: Jacob El Hanani & Adam Kirsch
In the ninth episode of "The Picture" podcast, Jacob El Hanani speaks with writer Adam Kirsch about the artist's exhibition of recent works on canvas, now on view at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
Jacob El Hanani is often referred to as “the grandfather of micro-drawing.” His exquisitely detailed drawings, each done by hand, serve as remarkable records of his craftsmanship and decades-long dedication to line-making. Born in Casablanca and raised in Israel, he has lived and worked in the same SoHo studio for nearly 50 years.
Guggenheim fellow Adam Kirsch previously served as poetry critic at The New Republic. His recent writings have been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and Tablet, where he is a contributing editor.
"Jacob El Hanani: Recent Works on Canvas" is on view May 5–June 18, 2021, at Acquavella Galleries.
Episode 8: Tom Sachs, Naomi Fry
The eighth episode of "The Picture" podcast features a conversation between artist Tom Sachs and "New Yorker" staff writer Naomi Fry, recorded on a rainy Friday evening over mezcal at Sachs' studio in New York. The two friends spoke on the occasion of the new exhibition "Tom Sachs: Handmade Paintings" at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
Although painting has long been a focus of his practice, this exhibition of conspicuously handmade work is the first to focus exclusively on Sachs' paintings. With an introduction from gallery director Philippe de Montebello, Tom and Naomi's conversation touches on Sachs’ love for the Simpsons, his early years re-creating Mondrian paintings with duct tape, and why, according to Sachs, "Creativity is the enemy."
"Tom Sachs: Handmade Paintings" is on view November 5–December 18, 2020, at Acquavella Galleries.
Episode 7: Joan Punyet Miró, Philippe de Montebello
In the seventh episode of "The Picture" podcast, gallery director Philippe de Montebello is joined by Joan Punyet Miró, grandson of Spanish master Joan Miró, whose solo exhibition "Miró the Sculptor: Elements of Nature" is currently on view at Acquavella Galleries in New York.
Late in a storied career characterized by a lifelong love of experimentation, Joan Miró dedicated himself to sculpture and, in particular, the creation of hundreds of bronzes, 23 of which are on view at Acquavella. From 1966 until his death in 1983, Miró was unflagging in his aim to explore and redefine the medium of sculpture, telling his friend Alexander Calder at the age of 81: “I am an established painter but a young sculptor.”
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Joan Miró and Joan Gardy Artigas in Gallifa, Barcelona, c. 1960; photograph by Francesc Català-Roca © Photographic Archive F. Català-Roca - Arxiu Històric del Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya
In this week's episode of the David Novak Leadership Podcast, Bill Acquavella tells us the story of his family's gallery.
Bill Acquavella is President of Acquavella Galleries, a family-owned gallery founded by his father, Nicholas Acquavella, in the early 1920’s. When Bill joined his father in 1960 selling works from the Italian Renaissance, he expanded the focus of the gallery to include major works of the 19th and 20th centuries, offering paintings by the masters of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Today, the entire scope of 20th century art is represented, including Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. For over ninety years, Acquavella Galleries has sold major paintings and sculpture to private collectors and museums worldwide in addition to presenting museum-quality exhibitions. Over the course of the 1970s and '80s, Acquavella turned the gallery into a leader in the 19th and 20th century art markets, attracting billionaire clients like Paul Mellon, Walter Annenberg, and Henry Ford.
A member of the Art Dealers Association of America, Bill served as president of the ADAA from 1984-86. He is also a past member of the Art Advisory panel for the Internal Revenue Service, a former Director of Bessemer Trust Company as well as a former Director of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. Presently he serves on the Advisory Board for The Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia University. He graduated with a B.A. from Washington and Lee University in 1959. Since his father passed away in 1987, Bill has been joined by his three children, who work as directors at Acquavella Galleries.
Episode 6: Wayne Thiebaud, Michael Thomas, Philippe de Montebello
In the sixth episode of "The Picture" podcast, American painter Wayne Thiebaud speaks with writer and critic Michael Thomas and gallery director Philippe de Montebello on the occasion of the new exhibition "Wayne Thiebaud: Mountains 1965-2019," the artist's third solo exhibition at Acquavella Galleries.
Recorded in front of a live audience at Acquavella Galleries in New York, their conversation touches on Thiebaud's lifelong passion for teaching, his favorite dessert (lemon meringue pie), and the similarities in painting mountainous snowdrifts and mounds of whipped cream.
Episode 5: Michael Auping, David Dawson & Philippe de Montebello
The fifth episode of "The Picture" podcast centers on painter Lucian Freud and his large-scale naked portraits as seen in "Monumental," a major loan exhibition currently on view at Acquavella Galleries in New York. Gallery director Philippe de Montebello speaks with Freud's longtime assistant and friend David Dawson as well as curator Michael Auping in a conversation about Freud's process, his relationship with his models, and the difference between naked and nude in Freud's pursuit of what he called "a more complete portrait."
Episode 4: Wayne Thiebaud
For the fourth episode of "The Picture" podcast, gallery director Philippe de Montebello speaks with painter Wayne Thiebaud about color, cake and the 98-year-old artist's love for the act of painting.
Episode 3: The Art Market, with Judd Tully
In the third episode of “The Picture” podcast, gallery director Michael Findlay joins art critic and journalist Judd Tully for a conversation about the art market. The two friends discuss international auction houses, the changing gallery model, and the growing influence—and pressures—of art fairs.
Episode 2: James Rosenquist
For the second episode of “The Picture” podcast, gallery director Michael Findlay leads a conversation about the legendary artist James Rosenquist, whose solo exhibition “His American Life” is currently on view at Acquavella Galleries in New York. Judith Goldman, who curated the exhibition, and Sarah Bancroft, executive director of the James Rosenquist Foundation, help pick apart Rosenquist’s growing legacy beyond Pop Art and the artist’s love for the act of creating.
Episode 1: Bill Acquavella and David Dawson on Lucian Freud
For the premiere of “The Picture” podcast, Bill Acquavella is joined by artist and author David Dawson in a discussion of their dear friend, the remarkably talented painter Lucian Freud. In his introduction, Philippe de Montebello also recounts a momentous meeting with Brooke Astor, who, as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was transfixed by Freud’s portrayal of what she called “a repulsive mound of flesh.”