Christopher Wool’s abstract swirls and bold blocky stencils line the walls of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim with commanding grace. The spiral rotunda, in all of its spatial spectacular offers a stunning procession to this retrospective. As the continuous ramp uncoils upwards, meanings and moments emerge. My favorite are Wool’s word paintings with their unfamiliar spacing and stacked lettering, single words and phrases hit you over the head and beg to be deciphered. As one nears the end of the exhibit, the work takes on a new monumentality in scale. Layers, textures, and patterns emerge that seem to blur together then unravel. The act of looking as exploration, the small breakdowns that occur within formal confines, result in a body of work that is grittily beautiful and electric. An endeavor to find an outfit that could hold its own here, I arrived at this silk faille crop top and ball skirt by Tibi. Always magnetic is a classic silhouette with a modern edge such as this paint splatter print. I realize it’s not necessarily a bad thing to command some attention so long as it’s done gracefully.
Tibi crop top & ball skirt, Jimmy Choo heels
Guggenheim, Christopher Wool
Photographs by Tylor Hou