The Collages of John Ashbery

If you're able to make it to New York before October 4th, I suggest checking out John Ashbery's small exhibition of collages at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery. I attended the show's opening at the beginning of September and really enjoyed his pieces. They're playful, silly, strange, haunting, and gorgeous. Much like the poetry he's famous for. If you think, however, that gazing at these works of art will give you an access key to Ashbery's dense poetry, think again. They won't. Though, the collages are quite fun to look at. I'm particularly fond of "L'Heure Exquise", which shows an elegant blonde woman in the middle of a desert lightning storm, either scolding or flirting with a Macaw parrot on her knee. What does it mean? Does it matter?

Read an article about the exhibit from The New York Times here.

And if you can't make it into the city, don't fret, check out a slide show of some of Ashbery's collages (including L'Heure Exquise) here.