The first known abstract painting was made in 1911 by Wassily Kandinsky, and so this 100th anniversary year offers opportunities to explore a fascinating world of art from many points of view. Undoubtedly nudged by the multi-dimensional exploration of Abstract Expressionism currently on view at MoMA, numerous exhibitions continue to unfold in New York, including 70 Years of Abstract Painting—Excerpts at Jason McCoy … Read the full Story >>
Thanks to subscribers who replied to yesterday's post. Here's the rest:The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Written by James Madison in response to calls from several states for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties, the Bill of Rights lists specific prohibitions on governmental power. Below: Howard Chandler Christy, Bill of Rights, 1942; courtesy National Endowment for … Read the full Story >>
Peggy Roalf: Which came first, the brush or the pen? Jeff Lowry: Definitely the pen, as long as I can remember I have always drawn in either pen or marker. I love other materials for sure, but pen has a special place in my heart. I especially enjoy sketching in ink only, as this forces me to be more mindful the decision I make … Read the full Story >>
Diana Al-Hadid, a celebrated artist who has had more than 20 solo exhibitions at museums and galleries around the world, creates sculpture that challenges the materiality of its stuff as well as the forces of gravity, and mural-size drawings of intricacy and beauty from industrial materials. Delirious Matter, her first public art commission, which is currently on view at Madison Square Park, offers … Read the full Story >>
This is the second in a series of reports on sources for illustrated holidays books. Yesterday afternoon, I felt the need for a jolt of eye candy so I headed to Printed Matter, Inc. My timing was perfect. The sign on the door read, "Holiday Exhibition Sale. Giftland VIII: the Revenge of Giftland." Inside, the walls were hung with hundreds of printed multiples, from … Read the full Story >>
Aleksandra Mir (American and Swedish, born Poland 1967). Venezia (all places contain all others). 2009.One from a series of one hundred postcards, each 4 1/4 x 6” (10.8 x 15.2 cm). Publisher: the artist, Palermo. Printer: Ringier, Zurich. Edition: 10,000 each (1,000,000 total). Print/Out at The Museum of Modern Art examines the many roles that prints play in artistic practices today, embracing the versatile and global … Read the full Story >>
A landmark exhibition on slavery in the Dutch colonial era that was first staged at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is going on display at the United Nations in New York starting February 27. The show, titled Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery, will open in the the U.N. headquarters’ visitors’ lobby, as part of a U.N. outreach program on the trans-Atlantic slave trade. … Read the full Story >>
"Twenty-fifth and Fifth." "Second and Tenth." "One Hundred Eighteenth and Second." "Seventh and First." These are the words of ordinary New Yorkers proudly identifying their location, in a video that introduces the exhibition, The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 at Museum of the City of New York. For those who take the city's Cartesian cross-hatch of asphalt and traffic lights for … Read the full Story >>
If Miami can be described as a social mosaic, it’s also a haven for working artists who give the north side of town a buzz that persists long after Art Basel tourists have disbanded. Among them is a group of book artists, novelists, poets, and printmakers known as the SWEAT Broadsheet Collaboration, who began producing literary broadsheets in 2009. Their output—including more than … Read the full Story >>
Peggy Roalf: Which came first, the type or the grid? Chris Harper: This is a difficult question for me to answer, having worked as both a designer and Illustrator. It depends upon the intent or context of the work being made, whether it is design focused or illustratively focused. As both type selection and grid structure are part of the visual semantics of any … Read the full Story >>
William Christenberry was born in Hale County, Alabama in 1936, the same year Walker Evans began photographing the Depression-era South for the Farm Service Administration. The result of Evans' travels, with the writer James Agee, was Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. This collection of images of the impoverished South not only defined what Evans called his "documentary style;" it also defined landscape photography … Read the full Story >>
The New York Botanical Garden recently opened Kusama: Cosmic Nature, the first-ever comprehensive exploration of Yayoi Kusama’s fascination with the natural world throughout the Garden. The exhibition, related programs, and accompanying publication reveal Kusama’s lifelong fascination with the natural world and its countless manifestations beginning in her childhood spent in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s seed nursery in Matsumoto, Japan. Viewers … Read the full Story >>
Through September 11: Dakota Modern | The Art of Oscar Howe at the National Museum of the America Indian in NYC This major retrospective introduces new generations to one of the twentieth century’s most innovative Native American painters. Howe (1915–1983) committed his artistic career to the preservation, relevance, and ongoing expression of his Yanktonai Dakota culture. He proved that art could be simultaneously modern … Read the full Story >>
The penalty phase of the copyright infringement case brought against Agence France Presse (AFP) and its US partner, Getty Images, by Daniel Morel, began yesterday at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. A jury of eight is charged with determining the monetary damages owed by the two behemoths to Morel. The court will also determine if there has been any violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). … Read the full Story >>
Thursday, February 9, 6-8 pm: Pat Steir | Monotypes at Pace Pzrints Pat Steir’s five-decade career as a painter has also included extensive explorations and innovative work in various printmaking mediums. Her iconic style, referencing waterfalls, resulted from her in-depth analysis of the application of pigments, s pecifically their relation to gravity, color layering, and density. Many of these monoprints combine a base of … Read the full Story >>
Arte Povera, the primarily Italian art movement that arose during the late 1960s in response to the political turmoil of the time, has remained a force in art that is vividly relevant today. Now a comprehensive overview of the innovative art is being presented by Hauser & Wirth, shedding light on the ideas and motivations of the group of Italian artists jointly known as … Read the full Story >>
For those of you who still aren't getting enough politics and policy, there is plenty afoot in Our Fair City this week and beyond. Parsons The New School for Design continues its public programs in conjunction with the exhibition, OURS: Democracy in Action, through January. This Saturday, Parsons' annual Illustration Program Symposium jumps in with Picturing Politics, exploring current political and social … Read the full Story >>
The genre of Artists Books—in which a book is an art object in itself—offers a broad platform for exploration. In an exhibition that opened on Tuesday, at the Cooper Union Foundation Building, the opportunity to delve into anything personally meaningful that springs to mind was excavated by students of Professor Margaret Morton. From the cultural ethos of New York City compared to that of … Read the full Story >>
September 14, 6-8pm: Drawing as Practice at the National Academy After four years of virtual invisibility, following the historic National Academy of Design’s decision to close its museum and school of art, on the Upper East Side, the institution has put its finest foot forward with an historic move. Tomorrow, the Academy opens a gallery space in Chelsea, presenting an exhibition that is likely to … Read the full Story >>
Special Events Thursday, April 14-Sunday, April 17 The AIPAD Photography Show. Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, NY, NY. Info Saturday, April 16 The AIPAD Public Program | 10 am: The Photobook Today; Noon: Artists Working Today; 2 pm: The Art of Photography on the Internet – Social Media & Blogs; 4 pm: Collecting 101. Info Saturday, April 16 New York Photo Show. New York … Read the full Story >>
