Consider the Frost Art Museum Soon

This past Friday I ventured over to the Frost Art Museum for the opening of The Missing Piece: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama. It’s a wonderful collection with over 40 artists focusing on “the idea of art as an interpretation of, and a catalyst for peace,” according to the Museum’s Web site.

The opening had a large crowd and featured free fortune cookies and white wine to accompany the lust art, which was poignant and palpably rich. My eyes eagerly devoured the images of the Dalai Lama, ancient cross-legged Gods, reclining blue Buddhas and Laurie Anderson!

That’s right folks, the musician, performance artist and all around bad-bass, Laurie Anderson, has a video installation at the show and it’s quite ingenious. But that’s all the commentary I will provide. I don’t want to ‘ruin the surprise’.

Another highlight: a painting by the Spanish artist Salustiano García Cruz called Reincarnation. It was painfully beautiful to look at. Actually, it reminded me of a line from a cheesy TV show I used to watch as a teenager called My So Called Life, where the main character of the series states, “You’re so beautiful, it hurts to look at you.”

In a perfect universe, I would be rich so that I could purchase Reincarnation. The painting is a shade of shocking and absorbing red – a color that evokes passion, violence, blood, desire, etc. What’s more, the far left of the painting bursts into a portrait of a young Asian girl with a slight green undertone to her face, causing the painting's red shade to burn more brightly.

The caveat: the opening was packed so I wasn’t able to fully embrace all the art displayed. In fact, the entire third floor of the exhibit is almost completely lost from my memory - such a shame. It featured the photography of Cuban husband and wife Eduardo del Valle and Mirta Gómez. The couple captures images of Mexico and the Caribbean, often displaying the colors and shapes that adorn those regions.

All in all, it was a wonderful exhibit and experience. I highly suggest hitting it up. Here are some helpful details: entrance is gratis, parking is free on the weekends, the museum is closed on Mondays and the exhibit will run until January 10, 2010.