The bibliography of politically-committed art by African American women has gotten considerably richer with the publication of several exhibition catalogs, all of which are essential resources on their subjects. Here, in part 1 of a two-part series, Andrea Kirsh reviews the catalogs for “Howardena Pindell: What Remains to Be Seen” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and “Joyce J. Scott: Harriet Tubman and Other Truths” at Grounds for Sculpture.
Read MoreNew Artblog contributor, Matthew Singer places “Maelstrom Analytica,” Tristan Lowe’s installation on view at Intuitive Art Space through September 19th, within the broader cultural conversation about toxic masculinity. He also considers, by way of contrast, recent explorations of gender and violence by Lowe’s age-mate and contemporary, the New York-based artist Cary Leibowitz (Candyass).
Read MoreAndrea Kirsh takes a trip to Chicago and shares her experience of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s recent Howardena Pindell retrospective. Across an impressive range of media and techniques, Pindell’s work tackles race, labor and the technologies that bind. This long-overdue exhibition, which was on view at the MCA from February 24 through May 20, will travel to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art later this year before showing at Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum in early 2019.
Read MoreDeb Krieger is back with a review of Grizzly Grizzly’s current two-person show, “Two Spiders,” featuring work by Jesse Harrod and Chris Bogia. On view through May 27th, “Two Spiders” explores queerness through a variety of media and in relation to a playful mix of bodily and cultural references.
Read MoreMichael visits Stanek Gallery to review People, Places & Things, the Old City fixture‘s first exhibit of photography. Comprised of works from the past 60 years by ten photographers, including several notable locals, this show is as engaging as it is stylistically varied. Be sure to catch it before it closes on March 26th!
Read MoreIn Part Two of our 2-part coverage of the new documentary, Imani gives her take on how Sara Driver’s film about Basquiat’s early years both fits and breaks the mold. Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat is now playing at Ritz at the Bourse. See Roberta’s review from last Friday for even more to chew on.
Read MoreKaterina Lanfranco, Artblog’s new NYC correspondent, visited The Studio Museum’s exhibit, “Firelei Báez: Joy Out of Fire,” on view at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture May 1-November 24. Part of the Museum’s itinerant “inHarlem” programming, “Joy Out of Fire” thoughtfully pairs Baez’s expressive mural-scale paintings with historical ephemera from the library’s own archives.
Read MoreIn Part One of our 2-part coverage of the new documentary, Roberta gives a brief overview of the film and says it’s not a bio-pic but a history flick about an era in which Basquiat was a player who turns out to be major. The film opens today at Ritz at the Bourse. Stay tuned for Imani Roach’s review coming up soon!
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