Who Was Henry Darger?
Dougal McKenzie links to an interesting essay about artist Henry Darger, Realms of the Unreal by Stephen Prokopoff. The essays title refers to Darger's own "picaresque tale in 12 massive volumes composed of some 19,000 pages … entitled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in what is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of […]
Lucian Freud: Portraits
Larry Groff posts about Martin Gayford's book Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud. The book "reveals what it was like having Lucian Freud paint his portrait over the course of seven months. It is an engaging read with many interesting moments as Lucian Freud discusses his work, art […]
Enough Already
In the wake of the blockbuster Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition should MoMA be considering retrospectives of George McNeil and Norman Bluhm rather than another Willem deKooning exhibition? Mario Naves thinks so. What do you think?
The Pink Show
Artist bloggers are doing interesting things these days, including curating exhibitions on their blogs. Click to see Pamela Farrell's blog invitational show Pink. Blog exhibitions are an excellent idea, one I hope more bloggers will consider. Farrell's statement is at the top of the post. Scroll down for the paintings. Enjoy.
Lee Lozano: Tools
A new exhibition at of the work of artist Lee Lozano at Hauser & Wirth “sheds light on Lozano’s practice, a legacy shrouded in dramatic acts of rebuff… the show exhibits … the artist’s paintings and drawings of tools from the years 1963 and 1964”
What’s In a Name?
Are titles optional or an important part of making artwork? Carol Diehl ponders the importance of titling one's work: "a title can add, hopefully, another layer of poetry and mystery, or at the very least, help identify the artwork."
Steve Roden emerges
Tyler Green writes about Steve Roden "a California-based artist, [who] has slipped through the cracks. In Europe he’s mostly known as a sound artist. In the Western United States, Roden’s paintings and sculpture have earned him a devoted cult following. In the East he’s almost entirely unknown. A just-closed 20-year survey exhibition at the Armory […]
Headlong
Venetian Red
Liz Hager reviews the novel Headlong by Michael Frayn, a “thoroughly engaging tale of the easily distracted and ethically challenged philosopher, who convinces himself that he has discovered a ‘lost’ Bruegel.”
Markus Lüpertz at Michael Werner
Beautiful exhibition photos from Markus Lüpertz, Pastoral Thoughts at Michael Werner on view through January 21, 2011.
Vija Celmins: Television and Other Disasters
Vija Celmins: Television and Other Disasters 1964–1966 is on view until February 22, 2011 at The Menil Collection. "…this exhibition features some of her earliest muted paintings, works that take their subjects from pictures torn from magazines, images from television, and photographs from books about World War II."
Brice Marden at Matthew Marks
Beautiful photos of Brice Marden's new paintings and drawings and installation views from his exhibition Letters at Matthew Marks Gallery through January 22, 2011.
Plane Speaking
Photo walk-though of Plane Speaking "a 13-artist show that examines the use of planarity in abstraction. Valerie McKenzie curated the show, the fourth in a series of January exhibitions at her gallery that focuses on one particular aspect of abstraction."
Paintings of a certain size (and depth)
Sharon Butler reviews Untitled (Painting) "an excellent exhibition on view at Luhring Augustine… features large abstract paintings that are engagingly conceptual but, at the same time, uniquely process driven." The exhibition runs through February 5, 2011.
The Changing Nature of Perception
Mario Naves ponders the mutable nature of perception. "I wonder how many citizens of the 21st-century would be fooled by Zeuxis and Peale. (I can’t speak for the avian world.) Technology alters our capacity to perceive."
Mazurki: Guston’s Multiple Meanings
John Seed tells the story of a drawing he once owned by Philip Guston. The drawing "Mazurki" was named after a poem by Bill Berkson. Via email Seed discusses the enigmatic drawing and the objects depicted with Berkson. "…some are generic Guston objects, but some objects in the generic-Guston modes of meta-object — object that […]
Walking in the Rain
Rebecca Harp writes about painting which she considers to be a "verbal, therapeutic version" of thinking about painting. She considers specifically the qualities of abstraction that are meaningful to a figurative painter.
Achieving Success: Alice Neel
Nancy Natale examines Phoebe Hoban's book Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty. "Hoban's book traces all of Neel's "quintessential bohemian" life while proposing her as the archetype of women's coming into their own: 'Neel's life is not just the saga of a great American painter; it is a great American saga… the life […]
Chuck Webster Studio Visit
Brask Art Blog visits and photographs the studio of painter Chuck Webster.
Liubov Popova, Revolutionary
Altoon Sultan finds inspiration in the paintings of Liubov Popova. "I find excitement in [the] use of flat and overlapping planes energizing a space, and far from cool, the paint surfaces are rich with touch and feeling."
Jake Berthot at Betty Cuningham
James Kalm records the opening reception of Jake Berthot, Recent Paintings at Betty Cuningham Gallery which runs through February 11, 2011. Kalm notes "The new paintings continue his meticulous adjustments of abstract space melded with a feel for natural settings reminiscent of the Hudson River School."