News Candy Coated Wonderland isn’t coming until May, but let the thought of it carry you through the rest of this bone-chilling winter. As only she can, CandyCoated (formerly Candy Depew) is re-interpreting the Museum’s collection of children’s dress costumes with her unique textile art. Held in the Joan Spain Gallery at the Perelman Building from May to November 2013 and curated by Dylis Blum, CandyCoated envisions a storybook narrative, incorporating iconic children’s costumes. And to make the the exhibition’s subjects the focal point, the summer promises a series of educational workshops for youth art making. Among the wild-sounding offerings are bike and helmet ... More » »
As recent national news has made painfully clear, ours is not a post-racial society, and much as I’d rather not see African American artists exhibited in the context of their common racial background, such exhibitions still have a place. That place is particularly important in Philadelphia, where the extent of art world segregation still surprises me; among the mainstream (read white) institutions, the Fabric Workshop Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) have a strong history of supporting artists of color; unfortunately the color line extends to many of the galleries and their audiences, as well. After Tanner; ... More » »
In the midst of election season, an exhibition exploring the use of American vernacular imagery and style is particularly apt. The interest in folk art, as with folk tales, is historically associated with nationalism and the search for originary stories that always involve a lot of white-washing, if not outright fictions. In the U.S. the far right is always ready to raise the flag and other symbols associated with 19th century, white, agrarian society – the real America. Americanana, organized by Katy Siegel for the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter college (through Dec. 4, 2010) includes thirteen artists ... More » »
How many gold sculptures did we see at Art Basel Miami Beach today. Uh, we lost count. Here are just a few of the artists.
Cate and I spent last Saturday afternoon in Chelsea and a couple things leaped out as really good. More pictures here. Chris Ofili
Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905)Conveying the Child’s Coffin (1879) oil on canvas, 120 x 204 cm, Ateneum Art Museum Central Art Archives / Hannu Aaltonen ‘Northern Stars and Southern Lights: The Golden Age of Finnish Art 1870-1920’ at the National Gallery of Ireland In the visual arts the first Finns who come to mind are probably the architects Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen followed by a group of designers from the 1960s working for firms such as Marimekko, Ittala and Arabia, and more recently the video artist Elja-Lisa Ahtila and filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki.
This week’s Weekly has my holiday roundup story on the cute in art. Below is the copy with some pictures. More photos at flickr.Aw-some ArtDevil monkeys, crocheted skulls and heartbreak made achingly sweet. Cute is the current art darling, pushed mostly by young artists but also some midcareer folks like Jeff Koons, who knew before the rest of us that irony would one day turn stale. Koons’ Puppy—a massive Chia Pet seen ’round the world—was loved by the general public and art insiders alike. Its arrival signaled that cute puppies were in and sourpusses could take a hike. Matthew Porter, ... More » »
Duke Riley, a drawing from his installation After the Battle of Brooklyn. After seeing Kara Walker show at the Whitney Thursday, one of our goals of Saturday’s Chelsea run-around included seeing her work at Sikkema Jenkins. But we saw lots more,, and an awful lot of it had historical and political thoughts in it. Riley’s submarine, modeled after drawings for such a vehicle from the pre-sub era. Roberta is checking out the insides, which, much to her surprise, had some beer cans strewn about. Duke Riley at Magnan Projects was spectacular. Riley, if you remember, is a guy who has ... More » »
That’s what I’m going to call it. The new wonderful interweaving of all art genres in magazines and exhibits here there and seemingly everywhere. You probably saw the cover of this week’s New Yorker with the Kara Walker image “Post Katrina-Adrift.” Wonderful image, great artist, a “high” art powerhouse, and she’s got her first big solo museum retrospective opening at the Whitney in October. (Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love, on view October 11, 2007-February 3,2008). Kara Walker’s cover in this week’s New Yorker magazine. And if that’s not great enough, P. 74 of the same ... More » »
Did you hear All Things Considered yesterday? There was a marvelous piece on Kara Walker‘s retrospective at the Walker Art Center Interviews with Walker, with Yale School of Art Dean Robert Storr, with Thelma Golden of the Studio Museum of Harlem. Great story and with links and more on the NPR website where you can listen to the report. The wonderful news for us East Coasters who are big fans of the artist’s work is that the show is coming to New York to the Whitney Museum, October 11, 2007 – February 3, 2008. You West Coasters can see the ... More » »
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