1. GUSTAV KLIMT AT THE NEUE GALERIE - We were really looking forward to seeing the Klimt painting - Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) - that Ronald Lauder bought for $135 million and that is prominently displayed as the centerpiece of the current exhibition of mostly prepatory drawings at the Neue Galerie.

Gustav Klimt: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907. Image: cosmopolis.ch

But with all the glitz and sparkle of today’s contemporary art – thanks, Chris Ofili – we were expecting something awesome, like a glittering, sparkling mosaic. By comparison the mannered work in oil on canvas with gold and silver plating and vaguely Egyptian detail was a beautiful work, but it was if the slick production values of much of today’s contemporary art had dulled our senses.

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Chris Ofili, The Upper Room, 1999 - 2002. Image: tate.org.uk

The rest of the show was mostly prepatory drawings – some of which were outstanding – as well as a small exhibition of Weiner Werkstatte jewellery.

2. UNMONUMENTAL AT THE NEW MUSEUM - Unmonumental, indeed. We paid $15 entrance and had seen all three floors of the sculpture exhibition in 15 minutes, if that.

Urs Fischer, Untitled Candle, 2003, pigment, wax, wick. Image: artfacts.net

With a few notable exceptions – particularly a slowly melting candle in the shape of a life sized woman by Urs Fischer, a large bronze modeled cube by Rebecca Warren and some intriguing mixed media pieces (about the war, we thought) by Matthew Monahan, the show seemed utterly empty and lacking in importance.

Matthew Monahan, The Seller and the Sold. Photo: Courtesy of Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London

The best art, or perhaps magic, is that they managed to create a hefty hard cover catalogue for the exhibition.

3. THE DARK ART FAIR - VoCA never thought we’d see the day, but yes, it has finally arrived:

The art fair is the new nightclub.

Last night at 11:30 pm, we found a queue of over one hundred hopefuls waiting to get into the Dark Fair, the new, faddish art fair showcasing work “using candlelight, flashlights, oil lamps, work that glows in the dark, light sculpture, battery powered film and video, and unplugged performances…”

VoCA wonders if any art is able to live up to such high expectations? Needless to say, we didn’t find out.

More info on the fair right HERE.