I Heart Art

I honestly felt like I was in another city tonight, doing one of my favorite things when I travel: exploring a museum I've never been to. With the grand reopening of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (after, what, five years?), there are so many new galleries and pieces of art on display that I actually had the pleasure of first-time discovery, something I haven't had there for years.

It started with entering the museum. I made damn sure I began my visit by entering through the 1936 Boulevard entrance, something I'd never been able to do in the two decades I've lived in Richmond. I wasn't surprised that that area just inside the door felt more like a museum should feel on entering and it just got better from there.

I knew I couldn't possibly take it all in, even allowing myself four hours to try, but I did want to at least walk through as much of it as possible. I began at the top to check out the new restaurant Amuse and its views. They weren't open for business, per se, but they had a Mediterranean buffet and a cash bar, so eating was possible, if limited. I chose a table with a view and look forward to a proper meal there soon.

And then I wandered among the masses, guessing that for some of these visitors, this may have been their first visit to VMFA. "Oooh, that's pretty," an older woman said about a Georgia O'Keefe. "Mommy, why did he paint dead fish?" about a William Merrit Chase still life. "Dad, look at that statue of a man," pointing directly at the nude's genitalia. A woman was taking a picture of her husband, who was standing in front of a huge painting of a horse and pretending to rest his hand on the horse's neck.

I was thrilled to see one gallery hung salon-style but I heard some complaints about it from others in the room at the time. The "Matisse, Picasso and Modern Art in Paris" exhibit had pieces from the VMFA collection as well as UVA's and it's the first time they have all been hung together. The Japanese woodcut print gallery was a must-see. I've already told a friend that we need to plan a day to really check it all out.

When I arrived, Mariachi Las Americas was playing to the delight of the crowd. At 9, my local favorites Marionette took over the stage and sounded great in the new space. Guitarist Adam looked especially dapper in a suit and bare feet. As I stood there waiting for them to begin, a guy came over, asked me what they sounded like and who they were. I shared my opinion, told him I'd seen them many times and he introduced himself.

Now understand, I was amongst fifty other people waiting for the band to start and yet I was the one being asked band specifics. How in the world did this guy know that I'd seen them before or knew anything about them? I'm happy to spread the gospel of Marionette (after all, I did it at The National show before they came on) but it's not written on my forehead or anything.

But weird stuff always happens to me, so I don't dwell on it. After hours of art admiration, I was content to to just listen to music as my evening wound down. It was a perfect vantage point to say hello to people I knew as they walked by. Amy gave me a hug, Charlie mumbled his usual low-key "How are you?" and Dan was off to see his favorite Remington and suggested meeting up for pie at Ipanema later.

And my new "friend" James made sure to let me know that I was right on and Marionette was impressing him. Apparently he was having the pleasure of first-time discovery, too.

VMFA, it's terrific to have you back. And I say that from the bottom of my medium-sized American art-geek heart.