A river so dirty it caught on fire twice

Cleveland, Ohio, is not a town with a reputation for being an exciting or enlightened place. There's this for starters, and also this. BUT one thing that Cleveland does have, that my current home does not, is an excellent art museum. My family trekked up to the big city to see an exhibit on Paul Gauguin and the Volpini exhibition while I was home over the holidays. I don't think anyone else in the family found it terribly interesting, but I thought it was cool. The exhibit focused on Gauguin's repeated use of figures and motifs throughout his life's work. One of my favorites was this one, a enigmatic red-headed woman playing, bathing, or drowning in green waves. The colors in this one, as in much of Gauguin's work, are gorgeous (Of course I like them, I am the queen of jeweltones): Ondine

The exhibit also featured some of Gauguin's contemporaries. I particularly liked this piece by Louis Anquetin. Similar to Van Gogh's Night Cafe, but a little more raw. I love how everything is dark and muted except the glare of the one window. I like that the colors are unbalanced, and it pulls you in to looking closer.
Avenue de Clichy




We didn't get to see much beyond the Gauguin exhibit due to time constraints. I could have stayed for hours though. In another life I would have loved studying art history. When I settle down for real in this one, it will definitely be in a place with an art museum worthy of visiting more than once.