Chihuly's Exhibition at the Groningen Museum, 2019

As promised, here's what we saw last week when we drove the 460 km round-trip to Groningen, NL, to see Chihuly's glass exhibition, closing on 5 May.  It was proclaimed to be his biggest exhibition in Europe in the last 20 years.

First, meet Dale Chihuly, the world's most acclaimed glass blower, born in 1941.

An automobile accident in England in 1976 left him without sight in his left eye,

256 stitches in his face, and permanent damage to his right ankle and foot,
none of which seems to stop him.

It was a rainy day but we still managed pics of the museum.

As you know, nothing rains on our parade.

The first exhibit at ground-floor entrance was his Niijima Floats from 1991.

Because these 6-foot spheres are so large, Chihuly says they're his most difficult series.

Spheres like this are "not natural at this scale."

From ground floor we passed a huge expanse of  Flower Plates up the staircase.

It's a 100% handmade Murano glass Flower Plates art wall!
See the people for scale.

I should have paid attention to what series were presented in the different rooms.

These pieces may be of his Macchia and Seaforms series?

I believe this is his Venetians series, from 1988 and 1990.

The Cylinders series picks up Chihuly's fascination with Native American textiles since 1975.

The juxtaposition against the blankets was stunning!

You can easily say this was Astrid's and my favorite section...

...including also the Northwest Coast Basket series by Indians he had seen as a child.

The displays were breath-taking.

If you want to see Chihuly himself talking about the blankets, this video is long but fascinating.

These, too, are part of the Baskets series.

Then, of course, there's the flamboyant, spectacular Chihuly,
as seen in his Mille Fiori exhibit, Italian for a "thousand flowers."

He says he fashioned this after his mother's garden.

I especially liked what I saw as hands and fingers.

And how's that for the centerpiece of the garden!

In a side room were these Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds from his City of Glass.

And then there were more of the...Seaforms? 

These reminded me of balloon sculptures but from what series?

Now, walk up one more floor...

...to Chihuly's Float and Fiori Boats.

Can you guess which is which, based on what you've seen thus far?

Last but not least, in a side room next to the boats...spiky things!

I'm sure they, too, have a name/series.

Those of you who have seen Chihuly's work with your own eyes know why
seeing this exhibition was a must for us.
We're still pinching ourselves.

The Jan van Haasteren Exhibit in Groningen

Believe it or not, the main "goal" of our overnight trip to Zuidlaren a couple weeks ago was to visit the newly opened Jan van Haasteren exhibition at the Nederlands Stripmuseum in nearby Groningen, dedicated to comic strips.

The museum was opened in 2004 on the second floor of a huge shopping complex.

And while it has displays from many Dutch cartoonists, we were there primarily to see one:

the exhibition celebrating the 80th birthday of Jan van Haasteren.

Here's my "photo of a photo" of Jan in the exhibition.
He was actually there in person the day before, but, sadly, we weren't there then.

The exhibition was held in a large room of the museum, partitioned off to showcase his work

from different periods in his life.

For one thing, he started off as a Dutch comic strip artist in 1962,

and continued in the next years creating several comic strips.

In 1975 he became the founder of a satirical magazine and later worked in advertising

where his "crowded" posters became well-known.

He was then asked by JUMBO to produce jigsaw puzzles, earning him international fame.

In 2013, Jumbo opened Studio Jan van Haasteren to continue his legendary puzzles.

Here, below, are examples of his "crowed" puzzles (all photos of photos!).

"The Storm" in 1000 pieces.

"Wild Water Rafting" in 1500 and 3000 pieces.

"New Year's Dip" in 1000 and 2000 pieces.

It was fun to see the display of "The Lawn Mower Race," showing the beginning-to-end process

of his pencil and ink drawings before the color was added.

But to get the full impact of what "crowded" means, you really have to look in carefully.

His signature self-portrait, Sinterklaas, shark's fin, periscope...are somewhere to be found.

It's like a jungle that has meaning with every stick/branch/tree/piece.

And did I mention H U M O R?!
Remember, he used to be a cartoonist or comic strip maker.

Here's a short YouTube that zooms in and out to show what I mean.

Astrid and I have collected 59 of his puzzles thus far, some even rare editions at the flea market.

Why would anyone get rid of them...for they are indeed collector's items!

And because it was Jan's 80th birthday this year, we got this special silver edition

on sale at the museum for €9.99 instead of the normal €16.99.

How often have I said it...but it doesn't take much to make us happy.
Lucky for us, we both love jigsaw puzzles!

Happy Birthday, Jan van Haasteren!

GRONINGEN, Netherlands

Just when I think I couldn't possibly surprise myself further....!  Remember last week when I started backtracking and found files basically untouched in my archives?

Almost exactly THREE years ago, before Astrid and I bought our Granny Towanda (Daihatsu Cuore car), we took 2 trains in February 2010 to Groningen, some 120 miles to the NE of us.  It was an all-day affair for us and our biggest trip after my arrival to the Netherlands the previous December.

Not only did I make no post of that trip whatsoever here on this blog, I didn't even have a tag word for Groningen.  Today I will make up for that lost cause!

The 1866 Groningen train station, for starters, is called the cathedral of the winged wheel.

 The statue of the horse and its owner (“Uncle Loeks’ horse) has been there since 1959.

First impressions are always important, of course.

Straightaway from the train station you walk across the city canal to city center.

You can see how cold it was...in February.

You know me and spires.  This was the first one we saw.

It belongs to the Aa Church from 1247!

Sadly, it wasn't open that day.

Whenever we walk to any city's center, we always get impressions.

That was the first day I ever saw snowdrops with my own eyes!

Within minutes...another spire.

This one is from the University of Groningen, founded in 1614.

It's one of the oldest and largest universities in the Netherlands and was voted its best in April, 2012.

The mother of all spires in Groningen, however, is the Martinitoren (Martini Tower) of the Martini Church.

Right there on the market square, it dominates everything.

You should know by now that I also love clock towers and sundials.

B I N G O.

Before doing anything else, we bought tickets and climbed the 1469 tower.

That's where I got my classic views of all the landmark spires...as well as the market square.

And, oh, I even got the windmill there in the background, far, far away (top center above)!

Lucky for us, the Martinikerk was open!  It's Groningen's oldest church, from 1225.

Much of the wall and ceiling paintwork has been preserved.

The choir dome of the church is 25 meters tall, surrounded by mural stations of the cross.

I could have spent LOTS of time there and would love to go back one day.

Another fabulous spire is from the 1602 Provinciehuis, seat of the provincial government.
It's a stone's-throw away from the Martinikerk, in the same neighborhood
  as the beautiful churchyard houses (Martinikerkhof), top above.

And lastly, at the end of our day, another spire is from the Jozefkerk, 1885.

 Officially, this is the Cathedral Church of Saints Martin and Joseph...

...which is why the St. Martin statue (middle left above) is in this church.

 The legend of Martin of Tours, b. 316-397, is well worth a read:  While a Roman soldier, he cut his cloak in half to share it with a beggar...and later dreamed the beggar was Jesus.
Those random acts of kindness...really do count!

On that inspirational note, it was time to head back home,
with impetus to get back to the Winter Olympics from Vancouver, February 12-28, 2010.
We visited Groningen on February 20, 2010!