Criticism
Tuesday, April 21st, 2020
The American artist Kara Walker poses questions about slavery’s history and legacy with a major UK commission. ...
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
The work of earlier artists can be found in scenes from this expat Russian painter’s adolescence. ...
Thursday, January 23rd, 2020
An exhibition that follows a fashion designer as she channels the spirit of her times ...

Zhang-Huan, installation shot of the exhibition under review. Photography by G.R. Christmas. Courtesy of PaceWildenstein, New York. (c) Zhang Huan Studio
Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Zhang Huan at Pace Wildenstein

With Zhang’s Rulai one senses the conflicting elements of life and death within the gray ash.

Man Ray, Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924, vintage gelatin silver print. Rosalind and Melvin Jacobs Collection. © 2009 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Alias Man Ray: The Art of Reinvention at the Jewish Museum

Transgressive, experimental, fiercely individualistic, Man Ray evaded any categories not of his own creation.

Misheck Masamvu, Post Election Results oil on canvas, dimensions not known, courtesy of the artist.
Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Notes from…Harare, Zimbabwe

In a Catch-22, artists cannot sell their work, but they also cannot afford to “waste” materials on work that is not for sale.

Fred Tomaselli, After Migrant Fruit Thugs 2008. Wool background, silk birds with metallic thread detail, 98 x 64 inches. Edition of 5. Both images, Copyright the artist, Courtesy of James Cohan Gallery and Banners of Persuasion
Friday, February 5th, 2010

Demons, Yarns & Tales: Tapestries by Contemporary Artists at James Cohan Gallery

Among thirteen tapestries commissioned from contemporary artists, the most interesting are those in which the medium adds a level of meaning to the image.

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Brian O’Doherty/Patrick Ireland: Between Categories by Brenda Moore-McCann

“His ambition,” Moore-McCann concludes, “is nothing less than a transformation of thinking, looking beyond material objects to underlying systems of belief”

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

West Coast Minimalism: Four New York Shows

We still have much to learn about California’s cool recasting of New York’s cold Minimalism, but these shows provide a good place to start.

Erick Johnson, Smiles of a Summer Night 2009. Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches. Courtesy of Heskin Contemporary.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Erick Johnson Parallelogram Paintings at Heskin Contemporary

Once the complexity of the paintings’ under-layers have revealed themselves, we are in a position to appreciate the way in which these paintings offer up to us a visual metaphor of their own making.

William Carroll, NYC 466 2009. Acrylic on paper, 5-1/4 x 6-7/8 inches
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Victor Pesce and William Carroll at the Elizabeth Harris Gallery

Pesce freeze’s the moment, Carroll celebrates transience, and together they create a deeply meaningful and thoughtful dialogue.

Phillip Taaffe, Subsaxana, 2007. Mixed media on paper, 21 x 30 inches. images courtesy of Gagosian Gallery
Monday, February 1st, 2010

Phillip Taaffe at Gagosian

Taaffe’s pure decorativeness nevertheless embraces, almost as fetish, the visible husks of signs.

Francine Tint, Dream Life of Angels 2009. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 78 inches. Images courtesy Tria Gallery
Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Winter White at Tria Gallery

Even in less jovial days of January, whiteness continues to command powerful associations.