Culture trip around the world

By Dick Frizzell

NZ Herald·

27 Mar, 2018 06:00 PM2 mins to read

New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Dick Frizzell shares his favourite galleries around the world.

I love all galleries of course — they always define our travels, but I do love some museums more than others.

The huge metropolitans, nationals, Uffizi, Prado, etc, I find it a bit much with their queues, atriums, rubberneckers and cafeterias. I can do without the gormless commentaries too (from the public, I mean … though some of the experts drive me nuts with their loud and haphazard opinions).

Hermitage, in St Petersburg. Photo / Getty Images

I'm looking forward to the Thyssen Bornemisza, in Madrid, this year and I haven't yet been to the Hermitage, in St Petersburg. Ask me again in 2020!

And then there's Moma in New York —aregular and reliable favourite. No clever curatorial staging, no social engineering — just a magnificently managed collection. Of course, the more I write, the moreIremember — the world is full of magnificent art museums (Bilbao anyone?).

The Museum of Modern Art. Photo / Getty Images

My other pilgrimages include The Miro museum in Barcelona, the Leger Museum in Biot, South of France, and the Matisse Museum in Nice.

The Miro museum in Barcelona. Photo / Getty Images

The galleries I do like are the small regional "tribute galleries". The Picasso Museum in Antibes is a particular favourite … mostly because of the divine location I suspect. The Picasso Museum in Paris is a close second.