{"id":132807,"date":"2019-01-23T13:03:03","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T18:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=132807"},"modified":"2019-01-23T15:23:24","modified_gmt":"2019-01-23T20:23:24","slug":"nature-redescribed-the-work-of-vija-celmins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2019\/01\/23\/nature-redescribed-the-work-of-vija-celmins\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature Redescribed: The Work of Vija Celmins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Although she\u2019s been friendly with artists from both coasts of the United States throughout her five-decade career, Vija Celmins has remained agnostic regarding trends and movements; like nature itself, her discipline operates on its own terms. \u201cWhen I\u2019m working,\u201d she says in a 1992 interview with Chuck Close, \u201cmy instinct is to try to build and to fill. To fill something until it is really full.\u201d She has referred to her meticulous, overflowing portraits of the natural world as \u201credescriptions,\u201d a word that implies paraphrasing rather than pure invention. But this perhaps minimizes her genius\u2014nearly as expansive and awe inspiring as the night skies and desert floors they depict, Celmins\u2019s works demand to be experienced firsthand. In that setting, they close the distance, enveloping the viewer in gloriously rendered detail. The first major North American exhibition of her work in more than twenty-five years is <a href=\"https:\/\/sfmoma.org\/exhibition\/vija-celmins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art<\/a> through March 31, after which the show will travel to the Art Gallery of Ontario (May 4\u2013August 4) and the Met Breuer (September 23, 2019\u2013January 12, 2020).\u00a0Below, we present a selection of images from the book<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300234213\/vija-celmins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory<\/a>,<em> which accompanies the\u00a0show.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132976\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132976\" class=\"wp-image-132976 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/09-untitled_big-sea-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/09-untitled_big-sea-2-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/09-untitled_big-sea-2-1-300x248.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/09-untitled_big-sea-2-1-768x634.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Untitled (Big Sea #2)<\/em>, 1969, graphite and acrylic ground on paper. Private collection. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132977\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132977\" class=\"wp-image-132977 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/08-clouds-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/08-clouds-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/08-clouds-1-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/08-clouds-1-768x574.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132977\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Clouds<\/em>, 1968, graphite on paper. Private collection. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132971\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132971\" class=\"wp-image-132971 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/13-web-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"884\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/13-web-1-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/13-web-1-1-300x265.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/13-web-1-1-768x679.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132971\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Web #1<\/em>, 1998, charcoal on paper. Tate Modern, London, acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through the d\u2019Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132974\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132974\" class=\"wp-image-132974 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/10-desert-surface-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/10-desert-surface-1-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/10-desert-surface-1-1-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/10-desert-surface-1-1-768x616.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Desert Surface #1<\/em>, 1991, oil on wood. Private collection. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132973\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132973\" class=\"wp-image-132973 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/11-to-fix-the-image-in-memory-i-xi-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/11-to-fix-the-image-in-memory-i-xi-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/11-to-fix-the-image-in-memory-i-xi-1-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/11-to-fix-the-image-in-memory-i-xi-1-768x429.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>To Fix the Image in Memory I\u2013XI<\/em>, 1977\u201382, eleven stones and eleven made objects (bronze and acrylic paint). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, gift of Edward R. Broida in honor of David and Renee McKee. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132968\" style=\"width: 693px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132968\" class=\"wp-image-132968 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/16-shell-1-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/16-shell-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/16-shell-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/16-shell-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/16-shell-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132968\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Shell<\/em>, 2009\u201310, oil on canvas. Private collection. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132978\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132978\" class=\"wp-image-132978 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/07-letter-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/07-letter-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/07-letter-1-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/07-letter-1-768x562.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132978\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Letter<\/em>, 1968, collage and graphite on acrylic ground on paper. Collection of the artist. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132972\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132972\" class=\"wp-image-132972 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/12-night-sky-16-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/12-night-sky-16-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/12-night-sky-16-1-300x248.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/12-night-sky-16-1-768x634.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-132972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vija Celmins, <em>Night Sky #16<\/em>, 2000\u20132002, oil on linen mounted on wood. Gift of Helen and Charles Schwab through the Art Supporting Foundation. \u00a9 Vija Celmins. Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Images from <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300234213\/vija-celmins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory<\/a><em>, edited by Gary Garrels, published by Yale University Press in association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. \u00a9 2018 Yale University Press.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celmins\u2019s meticulous renderings of the natural world demand to be seen firsthand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2384],"tags":[40203,35,47593,4078,15241,1465,47595,3226,22080,7881,20382,10716,47329,1022,8962,67,47594,33496,44208,35091,47592,47482],"class_list":["post-132807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-look","tag-acrylic","tag-art","tag-art-gallery-of-ontario","tag-chuck-close","tag-desert","tag-drawing","tag-expression","tag-gallery","tag-graphite","tag-landscape","tag-latvia","tag-look-3","tag-natural-world","tag-nature","tag-night","tag-painting","tag-redescription","tag-san-francisco-museum-of-modern-art","tag-sketch","tag-the-met-breuer","tag-to-fix-the-image-in-memory","tag-vija-celmins"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.4 (Yoast SEO v25.4) - 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