Abstract art exhibitions

Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond (Claude Monet, c. 1920)

In the Black Square (Vasily Kandinsky, 1923)

Abstraction White Rose (Georgia O’Keeffe, 1927)

Some adults may find it mysterious, but abstract art is often enchanting, even coherent, to kids. That’s because all those mishmashes of color and seemingly random lines are meant to appeal to the imagination—every child’s favorite playmate. This September, three major exhibitions by master abstractionists are opening: Vasily Kandinsky at the Guggenheim (Sept 18), Georgia O’Keeffe at the Whitney (Sept 17) and Claude Monet at MoMA (Sept 13). Make sure your whole family brings along a childlike tendency to think fantastically and react from the gut. There’s much to learn, and dream up, at each museum.

O’Keeffe is best known for her paintings of flowers, skulls, seashells and other objects, but she was also gifted beyond that realm. The paintings on view at the Whitney’s “Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction” are logical extensions of her representational work; a painting such as Abstraction White Rose—a gossamer vortex of feathery whites and grays—uses the outline of a flower’s petals as a starting point for a swirling, circular composition. As O’Keeffe said in a 1916 letter to her eventual husband, Alfred Stieglitz, the point of such an approach was to express “things I feel and want to say, but haven’t words for.” Ask your kids what these paintings remind them of: Flowers, ocean waves and the sky (particularly in the evocative Sky Above Clouds III, from 1963) may all come to mind, and the beauty of interpreting abstract art is that there is no single correct answer.

The Guggenheim is, of course, one of the great kid-friendly buildings in New York, but the paintings in “Kandinsky” would be appealing even if they weren’t mounted along a spiral ramp. Bursting with color and energy, shattered by exploding angles and lines, paintings like In the Black Square, with its tilted rainbows and grids and triangles, have an inherent vibrancy that grabs young and old alike. Kandinsky’s paintings had a sophisticated theoretical basis, but what stands out to the novice viewer is their playfulness and inventive use of colors and geometry. He held eccentric ideas about how different colors corresponded with particular sounds and tones, which helps explain the jaunty, brash effect of the aptly titled Improvisation 28.

At MoMA, the exhibition “Monet’s Water Lilies” has a special appeal for youngsters. As curator Ann Temkin points out, the paintings provide “a close-up view of the pond”; since there is no sky and no foreground, “you’re not looking at a painting of a pond, you are in a pond.” Kids tend to be impressed by the big, and the Water Lilies panels are immense, with the central triptych checking in at a length of 42 feet. Try this game: Have your kids stand about three feet from one of the paintings and then slowly back away to a distance of about 12 feet, all the while remaining focused on one small section. As the viewer backs up, the brushstrokes will dissolve into the soupy mist of the pond. It’s a great way to appreciate the subtle power of Monet’s masterpiece. Even better, proximity to these serene paintings, especially in the dim, hushed confines of the Special Exhibits Gallery on the second floor, may make both you and your children feel a million miles away from the clamor of midtown.

See more...

• Museums & Sights articles
• Articles from this issue