Art Minded

In this episode of ART Minded, curator of European art, Guillaume Kientz discusses the origins of the Baroque art movement in Italy, the cultural and political context that helped to shape patronage, and the influence of important painters such as Caravaggio, Carracci, and Ribera. This program highlights paintings featured in the special exhibition Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum, moderated by education manager Connie Barganier. 

In this episode of Art Minded, eminent Italian Renaissance and Baroque scholars discuss a selection of masterpieces featured in the special exhibition Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum. The paintings discussed in this podcast, by El Greco, the Caracci brothers, and Caravaggio, embody the contrasts of this exhibition: beauty and violence, seduction and reverence, tradition and modernity, classical renaissance composure and baroque dynamism.   Guillaume Kientz, curator of European art at the Kimbell Art Museum, begins the discussion with Babette Bohn of Texas Christian University and Keith Christiansen, John Pope-Hennessey Chairman of European Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

This episode of Art Minded focuses on the curators’ process of creating the special exhibition Renoir: The Body, The Senses. From the inspiration for the show and decision to include other artists to worldwide travels and last-minute loans, the exhibition curators discuss their most memorable behind-the-scenes moments.    George Shackelford, deputy director of the Kimbell Art Museum, moderates a conversation with exhibition co-curator Esther Bell, Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Senior Curator of the Clark Art Institute.  

“His nudes . . . the loveliest nudes ever painted: no one has done better—no one.” – Henri Matisse   This new episode of “Art Minded” focuses on the Kimbell’s current special exhibition, Renoir: The Body, The Senses, the only exhibition to celebrate the centenary of the artist’s death and the first major exhibition to focus on Renoir’s nudes.   The Kimbell’s deputy director, George Shackelford, discusses the exhibition with co-curator Esther Bell, the Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Senior Curator of the Clark Art Institute. The two discuss the conception of the exhibition, key works and themes, the evolution of Renoir, and the artist’s enduring legacy in modern art.   

“I am only good at two things, gardening and painting.”- Claude Monet   This new episode of Art Minded focuses on the Kimbell’s acclaimed exhibition, “Monet: The Late Years,” dedicated to the final phase of Claude Monet’s career.   Kimbell curator Nancy Edwards sits down with Dr. Edward Schneider, President of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas and water-lily expert. Dr. Schneider discusses the evolution of water lilies and the challenge of acquiring and cultivating them in Claude Monet’s native France. While Monet spent his last decades painting his garden in Giverny, he devoted much of his attention to perfecting his sanctuary, his water-lily pond and garden.

The second episode in the meditation series focuses on a Mandala from the Sam and Myrna Myers Collection. The practice in ancient Indian monastic communities of recycling donations of cloth and clothing gave rise to techniques of patchwork and appliqué that characterized textiles used by the clergy and in worship as the Buddhist faith spread across Asia. In Tibet, imported silks were always in short supply; the practice of making patchworks of luxury silks became a pious act born of necessity. Mandalas were used by Tibetans in daily and religious life. Numerological diagrams were important systems for calculating horoscopes and forecasting the future. In the context of Tantric Buddhism, geometric patchworks evoked the matrix of time and space in which the soul was caught in the web of existence.  The recordings are meant to be enjoyed anywhere—in the comfort of the listener’s home or in the exhibition itself. Downloadable MP3 files are available on the Kimbell’s website, kimbellart.org.

The first episode in this meditation series focuses on a 12th-century Japanese sculpture of the Amida Buddha in the Sam and Myrna Myers Collection. The Buddha, cast in bronze and slightly smaller than life-size, is seated in meditation. Amida Buddha, in the Japanese esoteric Buddhist tradition, is the “Buddha of the Western Paradise”; his followers believe that they can enter into this paradise by chanting Amida’s name and meditating upon the Buddha. Throughout the guided meditation, listeners will focus on gradually and methodically relaxing the body, controlling their breathing and using the inward senses to study the Buddha and visualize an interaction with him. The recordings are meant to be enjoyed anywhere—in the comfort of the listener’s home or in the exhibition itself. Downloadable MP3 files are available on the Kimbell’s website, kimbellart.org.

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, presents “ART Minded," a podcast produced by the Museum that offers new perspectives on the works in the Museum's permanent collection and special exhibitions. Each episode will provide unusual viewpoints that enhance and sometimes even challenge our customary engagement with artworks.