Val Castronovo
Val Castronovo is a free-lance journalist specializing in exhibition and arts-related stories. She is a former reporter for TIME Magazine, where she worked for 21 years. A native New Yorker and Vassar grad, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and their daughter, Olivia.
Colors of the Universe: Chinese Hardstone Carvings
Val Castronovo writes: Tucked away in a discreet corner on the third floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a small room devoted to the display of some 75 Chinese hardstone carvings, all dating from the Qing dynasty when the craft experienced a resurgence due to imperial patronage. more »
Ellsworth Kelly's Botanical Art: Corn On the Roof, Hyacinth, Seaweed and Wild Grape Leaves
Val Castronovo writes: The botanicals, “portraits” in his words, are simple, elegant distillations of all manner of vegetation — sweet peas, sunflowers, ginkgo, water lilies, calla lilies, beanstalks, banana leaves, coral leaves, wild hibiscus, grass. The emphasis is on contour drawing. In these minimalist masterpieces, without shading, the line is the thing. more »
Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber, Master Craftsman and Court Jeweler
Val Castronovo writes: "The one-of-a-kind exhibit of one-of-a-kind objects showcases some 35 gold and bejeweled snuffboxes (steinkabinetts), candy boxes (bonbonnieres), chains, buttons and other accessories decorated with colorful, Saxon gemstones (agate, carnelian, jasper, lapis lazuli), each rimmed in gold and numbered." more »
Celebrating Dickens' Bicentennial at the Morgan Library
In collaboration with British heiress Angela Boudrett-Coudetts, Dickens founded Urania Cottage, a shelter for "fallen women" — that is, prostitutes and low-level criminals. Letters to Boudrett-Coudetts reveal a compassionate, hands-on manager intent on offering a safe haven to, and rehabilitating, the residents of the "Asylum," beginning with the clothes on their backs more »
