Fine Art

The Artwork of Guantánamo Detainees

The Artwork of Guantánamo Detainees The Artwork of Guantánamo Detainees

Interrogated, tortured, and held for decades without charges, Gitmo prisoners held onto their humanity by creating art.

Jul 11, 2022 / Feature / Erin L. Thompson

Tom Cruise poses in a navy tuxedo with black bow tie.

The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor

Though the language of cliché has switched from the middle-class respectability of the 1950s to our current obsessions with “inclusion” and concern for the marginalized, the practi...

Jul 11, 2022 / Column / David Bromwich

How Paula Rego’s Abortion Pictures Changed the Conversation

How Paula Rego’s Abortion Pictures Changed the Conversation How Paula Rego’s Abortion Pictures Changed the Conversation

When well-meaning critics described her subjects as downtrodden, Rego shot back, “These women are not victims.”

Jul 1, 2022 / Margaret Spillane

How Bleak Is the Future of the Art World?

How Bleak Is the Future of the Art World? How Bleak Is the Future of the Art World?

A conversation with critic Ben Davis about making art amid global crisis, fine art’s waning relevance, and his recent book Art in the After-Culture.

Jun 20, 2022 / Q&A / Naomi Elias

Gala Porras-Kim, Precipitation in an Arid Landscape, 2021 (detail).

The Gods of Gala Porras-Kim The Gods of Gala Porras-Kim

Her work reframes the way we might understand the seemingly intractable tensions between curating, colonialism, and cultural exchange.

Jun 9, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Will Fenstermaker

The Art of Vivian Maier

The Art of Vivian Maier The Art of Vivian Maier

Her photography made its subject everyday life, but her life makes us ask: Who gets to be an artist?

May 30, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Jaffe

Florine Stettheimer, Insider Artist

Florine Stettheimer, Insider Artist Florine Stettheimer, Insider Artist

Barbara Bloemink’s biography paints a complicated picture of an artist whose work both celebrated and critiqued the upper echelons of early-20th-century cultural life.

May 12, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Max Pearl

The Whitney Biennial Isn’t As Bad as It Looks

The Whitney Biennial Isn’t As Bad as It Looks The Whitney Biennial Isn’t As Bad as It Looks

But it sure does make a poor first impression.

May 11, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

The Ground Beneath Us: On the Photographs of An-My Lê

The Ground Beneath Us: On the Photographs of An-My Lê The Ground Beneath Us: On the Photographs of An-My Lê

Her photos, whose subjects range from the Vietnamese countryside to the Rio Grande border, reveal hidden histories and elicit profound reconsiderations of the familiar. 

May 5, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Alex Jen 

The Fantasias of Niki de Saint Phalle

The Fantasias of Niki de Saint Phalle The Fantasias of Niki de Saint Phalle

Her art aimed at the creation of two things: the fashioning of a new self and a new world.  

Apr 5, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jillian Steinhauer

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