December 2010 Archive

‘Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture’; an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

There are now two stories about Hide/Seek: the exhibition, and the controversy. This piece will cover the first; a second one will address the controversy. Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, at the National Portrait Gallery, (NPG) , Smithsonian Institution through Feb. 13, 2011) is a serious examination of artistic conventions, particularly those of portraiture, as they concern a subject heretofore unspoken in the polite precincts of mainstream American museums. It addresses the manner, sometimes overt but often hidden, in which sexual difference has been manifest. The artists and their sitters include straight, gay, and the fluid range of ... More » »

Oohs and Aahs – Maya Hayuk at Cinders Gallery and Justen Ladda at Storefront

Brooklyn is a medley of sensory impressions, many of which shimmer and shine–the glint off the East River, new eye glasses, lustrous 99-cent accessories. Two artists on view in the borough right now explore different sorts of sensory impact: Maya Hayuk, with a black-lit installation at Cinders Gallery and Justen Ladda with subtly glimmering mirrors at Storefront.

Budd Hopkins: Art, Life and UFO’s

Budd Hopkins is an American painter and sculptor born June 15, 1931 in Wheeling, West Virginia. His paintings, sculptures and prints are in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim Museum. He’s a pioneer in the field of UFO research (Intruders Foundation) and has written books on the UFO phenomena (Missing Time and Intruders). During our interview, Budd Hopkins repeatedly said to me “Things are as they seem.”  With a casual and disturbing ease, these words came from his mouth and fell on the table like dice. My brain rattled from the radical twist (on things) ... More » »

Art Basel Miami Beach 2010; part 2

Sometimes people animate the art, which was certainly true of Beatriz Milhazes’ The Sun (2010), a baked tile floor exhibited by the Beyler Foundation, Basel which was irresistible to visitors who moved on all fours. As stunning as the large floor piece was, Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich  was my choice for best looking space (given the caveat that I hardly saw the entire exhibition).

Uarts students mix it up at PhilaMOCA

Once in a while we teach. So that’s how we got involved in [re]Mix, a blink-of-the-eye show of work by UArts seniors at a new space in town–PhilaMOCA or Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art.

Monday links roundup – Wojnarowicz censorship at the Smithsonian

You may be following the story about the censorship of the art exhibit at the Smithsonian in which a video by AIDS-activist artist David Wojnarowicz (1954-1992) was pulled from the show after House Republicans said it was anti-Catholic and should be removed.  Frank Rich in Sunday’s NY Times calls it an outrageous case of homophobia.

Kristin Neville-Taylor on landscape, Little Berlin and glass – next week on artblog radio

Kristin Neville-Taylor co-founded Little Berlin with Martha Savery in 2007.  Recently, she curated the show “Landscape Techne” at the alternative space.  In this clip she talks about the large, sumptuous — and completely cyber-generated — landscape photographs by Alex McLeod that appeared in the show, which closed Nov. 27.  Is beauty in art suspect these days, something to be feared?  Listen to the entire episode next Monday. Kristin Neville-Taylor 28 second sample

USA fellows 2010 announced

This year’s 50 United States Artists (USA) $50,000 USA Fellowship grants were announced this week and thought you’d be interested in some of the winners, especially the following:

Conversation with curator and artist Brookes Britcher

Post by Clarissa Shanahan Brookes Britcher is a hardworking guy. He’s a multi-disciplinary artist – working in photography, video, sculpture and larger scale installations – who’s also committed to creating a presence for other artists. In recent years, he’s been curating shows in alliance with several collectives, where he’s been shaking up the local, and not so local, scene, creating dynamic installations that feature up-and-coming artists.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2010: part 1

On this year’s trip to Miami I took it easy, concentrating on the main event, Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB), and ignoring 16 other fairs and endless installations, events, museum exhibitions, private collections, a video lounge, film showings, ….  In about six hours spread over two days I saw perhaps a third of it, so this is a limited view of a limited view.  Missed the opening and associated events, but on Friday and Saturday I still managed to site John Baldessari and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s director, Thomas Campbell; I thought it brave for a scholar of Renaissance ... More » »