I've Got the Fever

All of Connecticut has been gripped by Sol LeWitt fever.

That's not really true, is it? Too bad. He's a treasure.

OK, so I spent this morning at the Atheneum where I parallel parked with great effort despite the fact that there was no one on the street in front of or behind me. The Atheneum has a Sol LeWitt exhibit running through August 15th. Honestly, I went because I felt sort of obligated. It's not like I haven't ever seen a cube before, but Sol was a Hartford guy and I do love the Atheneum so there I was in my green sundress and inappropriate flip flops- because I still haven't resolved the shoe issue. I had the whole gallery to myself, y'all. So sad. One lady did come into the gallery briefly. She looked at approximately one work before beating a hasty retreat. Too bad. I feel strongly that, based on her sweater, she would have really enjoyed Sol.

The exhibit is small, but it's just enough. My favorite work was the enormous wall drawing, Whirls and Twirls, installed in The Great Hall that's being used on the promotional materials. The crazy bold swirls of color are not at all what you'd expect in such an ornate, formal space. The contrast is beautiful. Additionally, while I stood gazing up toward the ceiling, I noticed the sweetest little putto gazing right back down at me. He was leaning down from a cornice with his chin resting on his little baby hand. I laughed out loud when I noticed him. It was the sweetest surprise. And, frankly, it was nice to have a little company. What do people do with their Saturday mornings? I just don't get it.

Back inside the gallery, I also loved the pictures of spheres lit from different directions as well as the scribble drawings. I can't get too excited about the concept part of Conceptual Art, but, regarding the material art, I did find the spheres and the scribbles pleasingly meditative. I wish I could give you the real names of the works I'm referring to, but in an attempt to be more stylish, I've abandon my LL Bean Bag for a teeny tiny adorable little clutch and now travel without a pen and notebook. Or a backup pen and notebook. Or reading material. Or my lip gloss collection. Or about a million other essentials.

I wasn't planning on staying for too long so, after Sol, I quickly breezed by a few of my favorites on the first floor: the Thomas Coles, the Caravaggio, the Giacometti, etc. then grabbed an Earl Grey Tea Latte and went home to do not much of anything.

The exhibit runs though August 15th. Go see it. You can read about it here or here.