With our reviews, we lead the discussion about what is valuable and why.
Our writing team covers exhibitions and performances in Philadelphia and elsewhere. We also cover books and movies. We look, take notes, ask questions and listen. We take pictures, make video and audio recordings. We think about what we see and have opinions. And we write our hearts out, every day.
In this joyful review of “Raggin’ On: The Art of Aminah Robinson’s House and Journals,” Janyce Denise Glasper dives into the expansive exhibition– which includes paintings, sculptures, books, photographs, and historical recreations of Robinson’s home– and is filed with wonder and praise. “Raggin’ On,” which Janyce says would interest both children and adults, is on view at the Columbus Museum of Art through October 3, 2021.
Read MoreCalling some works startling and unnerving, Logan Cryer makes the case for the importance of Mike Cloud’s provocative, Afro-pessimistic multi-layered non-painting paintings. This is a show you should see, Logan says.
Read MoreJanyce applauds the BlackStar feature film “Eyimofe (This is My Desire)”, winner of the 2021 film festival’s “Best Narrative Feature” award, for its beautiful cinematography, emotionally tuned-in music and heart-grabbing stories.
Read MoreDeborah Krieger indulges her “Gardner Fever” and reviews ‘This is a Robbery,’ Netflix’s documentary series on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist of 1990 that stole a Vermeer, Rembrandt and other works. Deborah says Netflix’s decision to ride the “true crime format” wave was a disservice to the Gardner museum story, and as a result it was overly long and overly dramatic.
Read MoreLogan Cryer visits “Anna Russell Jones: The Art of Design,” a survey of work by the designer and first Black woman artist to graduate from the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design). Logan says the showcase is impressive, but lacks important historical context. You can see ‘Art of Design’ at the African American Museum in Philadelphia thru September 12, 2021.
Read MoreJanyce Denise Glasper highlights her 5 favorite short films from BlackStar Film Festival 2021’s Oscar-qualifying shorts program! Janyce says BlackStar curated an impressive selection that showcases new talent, and that love is baked in to each of the films. BlackStar Film Festival was August 4-8, 2021.
Read MoreThe new book, “The Soul of a Nation Reader” rounds up long-inaccessible material on Black American art and artists from 1960-1980. The authors who collected this material have done a valuable service to the field of art history, our contributor Andrea Kirsh says.
Read MoreCorey Qureshi visits ‘Molly Metz: Close Closer’ at Fleisher/Ollman gallery, where multi-layered paintings flow into amorphous and cavernous sculptures. Check it out before it closes on August 13, 2021!
Read MoreSusan Isaacs visits the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and is impressed by two socially concerned exhibitions: “”¡Printing the Revolution!”(on view through August 8, 2021) and “Alexander von Humboldt and the United States” (now closed; online materials available).
Read MoreCorey Qureshi reviews ‘Strange Nature,’ a two-person exhibition of lockdown-inspired paintings by Nancy Mladenoff and Karen Heagle. The show– which Corey says elicits eerie memories of early-pandemic times– is on view (by appointment) through July 29th, at PEEP Projects.
Read MoreArtblog contributor Susan Isaacs recently took a trip to Roanoke, Virginia, where she visited four exciting exhibitions at the Taubman Museum– most on view thru September or December, 2021– and more. If you’re thinking of visiting Roanoke, look no farther than this post!
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Support for Artblog has been provided by The Philadelphia Cultural Fund.