Art
Are We Prepared to Look Seriously at de Chirico?
I want to resist any temptation to interpret these pictures, to reveal ‘meanings,’ instead of acknowledging the ways they underscore the strangeness of the workaday world.
David Carrier
Art
Andy Warhol Dreams of God
Because the contemporary art world is such a secular place, there hasn’t been much attention given to Warhol-the-Catholic, until now.
Art
A Richard Serra Thought Experiment
Serra’s new works are the ultimate billionaire’s art.
Art
Pierre Soulages, Extreme Painter at 100
Soulages is not a reductive painter, but an artist who enlarges our sense of tradition by demonstrating the infinite potential of a single pigment.
Books
Twenty Years of Peter Schjeldahl
Schjeldhal moves quickly to characterize an artist, like a cat pouncing on his prey.
Books
The Aesthetics of Ugliness
At what point does an image become objectionable?
Books
The Liberating Power of Conversations About Art
When I got to know Bill Berkson, my life as a writer was completely changed.
Books
Broaching the Subject of Beauty
A look at three paintings from the cusp of the 20th century that make a powerful argument for beauty.
Art
The Rarities and Oddities of a Vanished World
It’s fair to say that images of sporting have a relatively marginal place in our art world.
Books
The Mega-Dealers Who Ate the Art World
It’s abundantly clear that the present system is unsustainable.
Books
Is George Herriman the Greatest American Visual Artist?
Out of seemingly meager materials, Herriman created a complete world, a place where nothing ever changes and where his characters never develop, yet his sense of humor is almost infallible.
Art
The Trouble with Renoir’s Nudes
Renoir: The Body, The Senses makes some attempts, vain in my opinion, to present Renoir as a politically progressive artist, even a closet feminist.