What’s Wrong With the New Figurative Painting? What’s Wrong With the New Figurative Painting?
With dealers and curators jumping on the figurative bandwagon, we have to look more closely at whether a new cohort of painters succeeds at what they’re attempting.
Oct 30, 2019 / Barry Schwabsky
What Curators Don’t Get About Prison Art What Curators Don’t Get About Prison Art
When it comes to showing the art of incarcerated people, fine-art institutions are buying into the prison-industrial complex.
Oct 18, 2019 / Zachary Small
How Should We Remember the Art of Emil Nolde? How Should We Remember the Art of Emil Nolde?
A recent show in Berlin grapples with the legacy of a prominent German modernist who was a supporter of Nazism but whose art was derided by Nazis.
Sep 19, 2019 / Barry Schwabsky
How to Send a Message of Solidarity to People in Migrant Detention How to Send a Message of Solidarity to People in Migrant Detention
A new project called Flowers on the Inside allows people to send postcards featuring art from undocumented immigrants to detained migrants.
Sep 17, 2019 / Tina Vasquez
We’re Getting These Murals All Wrong We’re Getting These Murals All Wrong
The Arnautoff murals in San Francisco have been denounced as demeaning and triggering, and defended as an exposé of America’s racist past. Both sides miss the point.
Sep 10, 2019 / Feature / Robin D.G. Kelley
Mary Frances Whitfield Bears Witness Mary Frances Whitfield Bears Witness
A graceful collection of the painter’s works about racial violence goes on exhibit in Birmingham, Alabama, as residents confront a difficult history.
Aug 29, 2019 / Alexandra Marvar
The Many Lives of Romare Bearden The Many Lives of Romare Bearden
An abstract expressionist and master of collage, an intellectual and outspoken activist, Bearden evolved as much as his times did.
Aug 26, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Nell Painter
Alex Katz’s Downtown Dreams Alex Katz’s Downtown Dreams
In a recent show curated by the New York painter and sculptor, as well as a showcase of his new work, his particular artistic psychogeography comes to life.
Aug 16, 2019 / Barry Schwabsky
The Whitney Biennial’s Flimsy Promises The Whitney Biennial’s Flimsy Promises
The show claims to explore questions of sincerity amid a world of fakes, but the shallow results end up reinforcing long-held problems about the museum as an institution.
Jul 22, 2019 / Barry Schwabsky
Sara Cwynar’s Photoshop Proletariat Sara Cwynar’s Photoshop Proletariat
Her photos and videos capture visual culture and fashion’s messy means of production.
Jul 11, 2019 / Hannah Stamler