Paul Cézanne was the bridge between impressionism and the bold, new way of seeing that began with cubism. Working in isolation and exhibiting little after his early years in Paris, he probed the structure of his subjects: Fruit and trees and even tables pulse on the edge of becoming essential spheres, cylinders, rectangles. When other painters depicted glowing still lifes and figures in the midst of life, Cézanne ignored narrative, likeness and detail in order to give a glimpse, a feeling of the fundamental sensation of seeing. His paintings seem to tremble because he recognized the binocular way we see — each eye perceiving an image from a slightly different perspective — and transferred it to canvas. To some, these miraculous pictures can seem cold, devoid of humanity and emotion, mere objects in isolation. To others emotion is merely presented in a new way. Now comes a small but enormously important show of “Cézanne’s Card Players” at the Metropolitan Museum that can support either argument. While the complete card-player series consists of five large paintings, only three are in the Met show. (One remains in Russia, and the other is in Philadelphia at the Barnes, which never loans its pictures.) But Cézanne made many sketches and small painted studies for the larger works, and most of these are in the exhibition. To those who see humanity in Cézanne’s work, these pictures continue the long tradition of European genre painting that tells stories of human activities. But the objectivists will see no emotion in these still, solid figures that seem frozen and unengaged with each other. Whichever side one takes, these are beautiful paintings that trade narrative for timelessness. The figures, tables, wine bottles, even the space itself seems carved, made of stone not paint. The angles of arms, shoulders, legs are sharp and slightly unnatural. Each man — and the players and observers are all men, probably workers on Cézanne’s estate — is captured forever in his own, separate moment. As one art historian wrote, the men are playing “collective solitaire.” Cézanne clearly thought the paintings very human and reflective of his hometown and the rural people who continued the timeworn traditions. He said, “I rediscover the past in the faces . . . and appearance of people who have grown old without breaking with old customs.” This past is best seen in the small portrait studies for the large card player paintings. Just view the picture of his gardener, Paulin Paulet, or of a slope-shouldered younger man who looks downward with stoical acceptance of his lot, to see both the objective and emotional sides of Cézanne. “Cézanne’s Card Players” continues at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 8. Hours are Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call 212 535-7710 or go to metmuseum.org.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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