Tag Archive "patricia-hills"

Chicago on the last weekend in April: a panel at Art Chicago, a brief visit to the Art Institute of Chicago and airplane reading about Public Space

Twenty years ago, when I had just moved to Chicago, Art Chicago was the only fair in the U.S. devoted to contemporary art, and my introduction to the genre. Now that fairs are so common, it may be hard to remember that Art Basel existed only in its home city and New York had many galleries, but no fairs. Art Chicago was then held at Navy Pier, in a charmless state of decay: endless, dirty, green shag carpets that made it clear that the week before the space had held farm equipment, and the following week would likely exhibit motorcycles. ... More » »

Julie Green’s ‘Last Supper,’ Patricia Hills on Jacob Lawrence and Suzanne Hudson on Agnes Martin

I was in Miami last week for the rare trip not instigated by art, but it included a good bit of art nonetheless. I was visiting a sick friend, so had a chance to do a lot of reading. On the plane I looked at the current issue of Gastronomica, the sexiest, best-designed scholarly journal I’ve ever seen, with fascinating articles written for real people as well as food scholars; everyone’s interested in food, no? One article featured a sugar sculpture competition arranged by the Food Network. Food art has a respectable place in art history, since in the 16th ... More » »

Peter Saul skirts the truth but so does everyone really, and we all have a great time at PAFA panel

Patricia Hills, David Curtis, Daniel Heyman, Peter Saul, Jane Irish at the Symposium at PAFA, Nov. 1. Peter Saul‘s exhibit at PAFA was the excuse for an all-day symnposium there on political art earlier this month. But Saul wasn’t the only headliner participating. We also fell for Art Spiegelman‘s bon mots, Laylah Ali’s sometimes veiled wait-wait-don’t-tell commentary about her own work, and Enrique Chagoya’s conflation of art and cartooning. The day also included insights from Philadelphia artists Daniel Heyman and Jane Irish, scholar David Carrier, New York artist/activist Sue Coe and moderator Patricia Hills. Two political posters by artists. On ... More » »