Closing out my Crawl with Picasso on Paper

Since I've already seen the Picasso show at the VMFA twice, it was like shooting fish in a barrel to get me to check out the Reynolds Gallery show of "Pablo Picasso: Works on Paper."

Today's opening featured nineteen works on paper, two vases and one plate and spanned the years from 1905-1972. I arrived in the last hour of a five-hour opening and was quickly followed by a half dozen other art lovers, some of whom may have come for the bubbles and sweets, but several of whom were clearly just art geeks like me.

The works on paper ranged in size and medium while spanning 67 years. The artist was nothing if not prolific.

The first etching in the show "Tete de Femme, Madeline" from 1905 was of a classic Gibson Girl; there was nothing strikingly Picasso about it. And 1905 was when Picasso first began printmaking.

"Femme Couchee," a lithograph from 1924 showed a delicacy of line that later gave way to his thick black outlining.

Being Picasso, his humor and intent are made clear on "Sculpteurs, Modeles et Sculpture," an etching from 1923 that shows classical figures posing but the piece of sculpture next to them is  a multi-breasted and buttocked Cubist figure. Statement?

The etching "En la Taberna, Pecheurs Catalans en Bordee" was a study in body hair. One particularly hirsute man is covered in curlicues and loops. Crosshatching is used throughout the engraving to show clothing, skin and sculpture. Active lines are everywhere.

Anyone looking at "Tete de Femme" with its multiple viewpoints of the face (profile and straight-on)  would know that Picasso had journeyed through surrealism, although this was done with purely lines, not color or paint. If I were going to take one piece home, it likely would have been this one.

The show at Reynolds is a great companion piece to the VMFA show; its overview of the artist's long career on paper is a glimpse into a master's evolving talent, much the way the other show's painting and sculpture are.

Unfortunately, now that the opening is over you can't expect bubbles or sweets, so you'll have to go for art's sake.

Then I decided to pick up where I left off last night, with the Riesling Crawl. I'd been told that it was fortunate that I'd not stopped at Can Can because apparently their staff had dropped the ball and knew nothing of the event and had nada prepared.

Confident that that would not the the case at Secco, I dropped in to see if they could finish off my evening in RieslingLand. They could; there was one glass left in the last bottle of 2008 Von Beulwitz Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Spatlese Alte Reben. One glass of its nice acidity and long finish was all I was after anyway.

I could have left then, having officially finished my Riesling crawl , but of course I didn't. I was introduced to an effusively in-love couple who raved about each other and made me long for the same. They gushed, they touched, they were adorable, everyone agreed.

I had an enthusiastic discussion of etiquette and manners with Miss Julia, a subject on which I harbor strong opinions, as did she. Don't mothers teach civilized behavior anymore? As Sunday's New York Times asked, when did it become socially acceptable to not make eye contact in social situations (A: when hand-held devices became more important)?

The fuel for such conversation and others came in the form of Domaine Rouge Bleu Mistral and Chef Tim's highly unique farro salad (smoked farro with shaved carrot, raisins and almonds, garam masala and orange blossom honey creme fraiche). If there's a salad with more complementary flavors and textures, I haven't had it.

More pink followed as did more conversation with assorted people about the glory of Crossroads (two blocks from my house and supposedly the best open mic night in the entire city), the necessity of containing curly hair in humidity and how rva's strength being that it continues to get better, no matter how slowly.

Let's just say that Bird in Hand came up. And what a big deal it was to expect nice people to go to the Bottom back then. And how diverse Jackson Ward is compared to back then. It's true, the whole city has improved step by step.

Back in those days, you couldn't expect to see a blockbuster show like Picasso at the VMFA. And you certainly couldn't expect to walk into Reynolds Gallery and buy a Picasso work on paper.

I can't buy, so I gawk. And I love a city that gives me the gawk-able.

Can I Show You Around?

When I'm entertaining a visitor from out of town, I try to find the right balance between catering to their taste and showing them the town my way. I like to think that I can help anyone enjoy their time in Richmond.

Yet again, I was playing host to a beer geek, but this one didn't have a prescribed list of beer places to visit, so that made it easier for me to choose some places to do double-duty.

The first stop was River City Cellars so that my visitor could custom-create a six-pack. David was doing a beer tasting of holiday micro-brews, but took time to make some recommendations to a hophead. Beer safely stowed in a plain brown bag, we slipped next door to Secco for some imbibing.

The place was in the calm-before-the-storm mode so we got the full attention of the staff, including having Karen's mix on the sound system.

My friend went straight for the Bells Two Hearted IPA while I enjoyed the Domaine Rouge Bleu "Mistral," a Southern Rhone blend not yet on the wine list but sure to be added soon. It hasn't been that long since I was happily drinking their Rose.

We were so busy catching up that we didn't even realize that the place had filled up around us. Now that all the four tops have been reduced to two-tops, the place fairly bustles with someone in every seat.

I love the European-style closeness of the tables, although clearly some people don't get it. Not that it matters because someone else is always willing to take their vacated seats the moment they stop warming them; we saw it happen more than once.

We'd lingered so long at Secco that our eating options were limited to someplace quick and good; the obvious choice was 821, although I did have to explain to the out-of-towner why 821 is located at 825. There's a story to everything in this town.

We'd barely hit our bar stools when our server asked what we wanted to drink. That we hadn't decided, but I immediately ordered my favorite black bean nachos. "You don't need to see the menu?" she asked. Actually no, and if it weren't for her being fairly new to 821, she'd have known my order on sight. Oh, it's black bean nacho girl again.

My friend's heartier appetite dictated that we add chicken to the nachos as well and when the plate arrived, I was teased about the size of it, which I get when solo dining. But I don't finish the plate by myself and today the two of us made short work of it all.

Friend was especially impressed with the fresh-tasting salsa that accompanied the dish...and as always the cost of everything here. Visitors continue to be amazed at RVA's restaurant prices ($5 for Bells Two Hearted Ale? $3 for a draft? Really?).

After inhaling our food, we had no problem making it to Gallery 5 in time for the Silent Music Revival. Tonight's double feature was a can't-miss because Brooklyn's Ghastly City Sleep were improvising the soundtrack. And they were behind the movie screen, so all we could see of them was their busy feet.

These guys have a dark overall sound, angular vocals and powerful guitar presence; after a particularly strong guitar part, the guitarist was heard to say, "I just broke string!" from behind the screen. Not that that stopped him for a second, but it was the perfect punctuation to what we had just heard.

The first film, Diagonal Symphony, was completely abstract with lines and forms mutating as if in a time lapse. The second, Lot in Sodom, was a homo-erotic take on the biblical tale of Sodom and Gomorrah, full of dream imagery, beautiful dancing men, and fire. Given the sexuality of the film, its censoring in 1933 was hardly surprising.

Seeing it tonight with Ghastly City Sleep improvising along was pretty spectacular. There were moments when their angelic vocals so perfectly synced up with the angels on-screen as to be eerie. Other times, the intensity of the on-screen action was mirrored by their playing.

Best of all, my visitor was blown away by the concept and execution of the entire show. Welcome to Richmond, where we have free events like this. Impressed yet?

Afterwards, I suggested one last stop, but my visitor had been up since 5:15 and was ready to call it a day, at least for today.

Like I said, when I'm playing guide, I have to tailor the tours to my audience, even if it means focusing on beer or an early night for me. A good Richmond hostess aims to at least please and hopefully impress.

I only have to do part of the work and the city does the rest.