New Artblog contributor, JuWon Park, reviews “Face Tan/Night Swim,” the current solo show by Haiti-born, Virginia-based installation artist, Abigail Lucien. On view at Vox Populi through October 20, her show critiques popular images of the Caribbean as an exotic tourist haven through the subtle arrangement of artificial smells and man-made materials.
Read MoreAndrea Kirsh visits DC and reports back on the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s new retrospective on self-taught folk artist Bill Traylor. “Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor” presents a thoughtful and nuanced (if overly-ambitious) reframing of an artist who developed his vibrant and graphic style of image making during one of the darkest eras in this country’s history. Catch it now through March 17, 2019.
Read MoreLogan Cryer attends two very different shows at Philly Fringe, both of which explore the complexities and failures of capital “F” Feminism. In “White Feminist,” Lee Minora corrals her audience into a critique rooted in irony and identification. Radiant Bloom Productions’ “The F Word” takes a more direct, multi-vocal approach.
Read MoreMatthew Rose reviews Julie J. Thomson’s new book of interviews with late mail artist Ray Johnson. What emerges is an affectionately-rendered composite image of an elusive man whose whimsical patterns of speech and thought closely mirrored his approach to making work.
Read MoreIt’s easy to take the security that shelter provides for granted — until you find yourself out in the cold. Here Deb Krieger reviews “Shelter,” a new show at Davinci Art Alliance, presented in conjunction with Philadelphia Sculptors, which explores the vulnerability not only of our built environments, but of our own bodies and minds. This moving and topical exhibition closes September 26, 2018, so catch it while you still can!
Read MoreJessica Rizzo takes celebrated choreographer, Trajal Harrell to task over his newest piece, “Caen Amour,” which showed at the Fringe Festival earlier this month. According to Rizzo, Harrell’s piece, which was inspired by the hoochie-coochie performers of the late 19th century, falters not only in its attentiveness to history (and its audience) but in its treatment of the female body.
Read MoreAndrea Kirsh gives her take on the late, great Jack Whitten’s newest retrospective. The exhibition, which focuses on the artist’s richly-textured wood sculptures and African-inspired assemblages originated at the Baltimore Museum of art and is now turning heads at the Met through December 2, 2018.
Read MoreDeb Krieger visits “The Contour of Feeling,” Ursula von Rydingsvard’s current exhibition of imposing wooden sculptures and evocative works on paper at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. Read her reflections on process and catch the show before it closes on August 26, 2018!
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