Artists

January 11, 2022 by Kate Brock

Transparency, opacity and the limits of human understanding in Jennifer Packer’s “The Eye is not Satisfied with Seeing,” at the Whitney Museum

New Artblog Contributor Kate Brock reviews ‘Jennifer Packer: The Eye is Not Satisfied With Seeing,’ a retrospective of the painter’s radiant portraits, interiors, and funerary bouquets. “The lack of dimensional representation of Black people, especially Black women, in the history of painting… leaves the eye unsatisfied… Packer’s vision reveals the historic absences,” Kate says. Catch the show at the Whitney before it closes April 17, 2022.

January 10, 2022 by Deborah Krieger

Kelsey Halliday Johnson leads and advocates for the arts and social justice at SPACE in Portland, ME

Deborah Krieger interviews Kelsey Halliday Johnson, artist and current Executive Director of Portland, Maine’s SPACE (plus former Philly resident/ arts worker/ member of Philly’s DIY-alternative community). Kelsey is enthusiastically dedicated to her role at SPACE, a multi-disciplinary independent maker hub; in particular their grantmaking program, the Kindling Fund.

January 5, 2022 by Alex Smith

Impassioned creativity plus awareness of being watched, in ‘Dark Sousveillance’ at Vox Populi Gallery

Alex Smith reviews Logan Cryer’s latest curation ‘Dark Sousveillance,’ inspired by Simone Browne’s research on Blackness and surveillance. The group show features Black and predominantly queer artists, examining “wanting to be seen by each other, and wanting to hide from the violence of hypervisibility.” The exhibition is on view at Vox Populi, by appointment, thru Jan. 16, 2022.

December 17, 2021 by Andrea Kirsh

Amber Robles-Gordon’s anti-colonial quilts and personal histories at American University Museum at the Katzen Center

An artist’s visit to her mother’s birth place in Puerto Rico awakens her to the complexities of immigration and family – and to the dubious socio-political actions and inactions by the U.S. government in its far-flung territories. Our reviewer Andrea Kirsh is moved by the powerful collage works and double-sided quilts of Amber Robles-Gordon. The show closed Dec. 12.

December 15, 2021 by Susan Isaacs

Powerful show of art by women and non-binary artists working in the region today, at the Delaware Contemporary

Regional women artists of all ages ply various media, from plaster and paint to fibers and installation, in a show that is a demonstration of women and non-binary artists’ power to create. Our reviewer Susan Isaacs says: ‘Given the particularly fraught moment we are facing now regarding… voting rights and control of women’s bodies and those with a uterus, “Fields and Formations” is an especially important statement about the creativity and commitment of women and non-binary artists. “ We encourage you to see this exhibit, up now to January 7, 2022.

December 13, 2021 by Janyce Denise Glasper

Quiet, beautiful and atmospheric, Jennifer Packer’s people and funerary bouquets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Filled with saturated color and light emanating from unexplained places, Jennifer Packer’s atmospheric works suggest a “provocative harmony,” says Janyce Denise Glasper, in her review of the artist’s solo show at LA MOCA. The show is up to Feb. 21, 2022. Packer also has a solo show at the Whitney Museum right now, on view til April 17, 2022. Be sure to catch this rising star, whose approach to figuration is truly new.

November 30, 2021 by Janyce Denise Glasper

Inclusive and engaging, the Scantland Collection’s “Present Generations” at the Columbus Museum of Art shows contemporary art’s power to connect

The Scantland Collection show of contemporary art at the Columbus Museum of Art is inclusive and powerful and invites a more engaged public, says reviewer Janyce Denise Glasper.

November 23, 2021 by Susan Isaacs

‘Seeing Climate Change’ with artist-activist Diane Burko at American University Museum

In her review, Susan Isaacs calls Diane Burko’s art an activist response to the call to arms to save the planet. “Diane Burko: Seeing Climate Change,” on view until Dec. 12, 2021, at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, is a wide-ranging overview of Burko’s beautiful abstract, photography- and map-linked paintings of eco-catastrophes today (melting glaciers, dying coral reefs).

November 19, 2021 by Corey Qureshi

When the body and mind are as fragile as glass, Scout Cartagena’s “You Have Their Eyes” at DaVinci Art Alliance

An installation that resembles the interior of a house frames the multidimensional art of Scout Cartagena. The Afro-Latinx artist’s subjects are the fragility of the body and the slipperiness of identity and memory. There are prints, furniture and an eye-catching tree stump with red-colored glass flames coming out of the top. Corey appreciates the intimate look into the artist’s identity. Go see the show before it closes Nov. 24.

November 11, 2021 by Andrea Kirsh

Powerful and overlooked, “Emma Amos: Color Odyssey” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art reveals an innovative and feisty woman artist

“Emma Amos: Color Odyssey” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a revelation for those who want to know the art of Emma Amos, who came up during Abstract Expressionism’s heyday and fought against abstraction in works that are complex, inventive and in several cases, stunning.

November 11, 2021 by Deborah Krieger

The visceral impact of scenes of intimacy in “Any distance between us” at the RISD Museum

After almost 2 years of sensory deprivation, Deborah ventures out to a museum exhibit about intimacy, especially focused on art by queer artists and artists of color. The sense of touch is heightened in the works and causes a heightened reaction in our reviewer. Enjoy this great and topical read!

November 2, 2021 by Andrea Kirsh

Sophisticated, exquisitely executed, and provocative, Linda Bond at Leonard Pearlstein Gallery

Linda Bond uses text and imagery to capture her decades-long obsessive and close readings of the US government’s pursuit of war. Andrea Kirsh calls Bond’s multi-media pieces, focused on the resulting impact on humans from the organized weapons of destruction, compelling. The show is on view until Feb. 20, 2022, at Drexel University’s Leonard Pearlstein Gallery.

October 25, 2021 by Tyler School of Art and Architecture

Poignant works grace special fall MFA Thesis Exhibitions at Tyler School of Art and Architecture

October 13, 2021 by Artblog

Celebrate with Artblog! Announcing our 2021 Silent Auction and 18th Happy Birthday Party

As we close out our 18th year and launch into our 19th, we would love to celebrate with you at our auction and birthday party. Support artists and support Artblog by buying art, online, from Oct. 23-28 on Better World!!!