A friend’s wedding recently brought me to Boston. Not having visited for many years, I was now able to explore the city with more admiration for the styles of the buildings, the architects that built them, and some of the challenges that came with constructing them - making me appreciate walking around downtown Boston that much more. Here are some of my favorites.

The Art Museum relocated from Merion, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia in 2012 and boasts a large collection of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early modern paintings. I enjoyed seeing many Seurat, Monet, Rousseau, early Picasso and Cezanne paintings (to name a few) but couldn’t help constantly admire the building’s architecture and details.

The Dansaekhwa movement emphasized going back to nature. The return to nature denied the artist as a subject. Working on canvas, artists paid attention to the properties of soft objects and renounced figuration. Use of hanji Korean paper and earthy tones became popular.

In 1981 Memphis Milano or The Modern Memphis Movement began in Milan. A group of designers led by Ettore Sottsass gathered to start a revolution against serious and functional modernist design. The group was named after Bob Dylan’s song “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues” as it was believed that they listened to this song on repeat throughout their entire first meeting.