Art
Rediscovering Edward Melcarth, a Gay, Communist Visionary
Kentucky-born artist Edward Melcarth dared to live as an openly homosexual man and did not hide his support for communism.
Edward M. Gómez
Art
The Visible Language of Outsider Art
Vestiges & Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic, an exhibition of illustrated texts by self-taught artists, feels so intimate that it seems to enter the creative process itself.
Art
The 2018 Outsider Art Fair, a Preview
Celebrating art made by autodidacts situated, by choice or circumstance, on the margins of culture and society.
Books
An Illuminating History of Modern Graphic Design
The Brooklyn-based publishing company, Standards Manual, has produced a series of meticulously crafted facsimiles of design manuals, from the New York City Subway to NASA.
Art
The Atmospheric, Earthy Art of Ignacio Iturria
Iturria’s art is shot through with melancholy, nostalgia, romance, gentle humor, and an abiding sense of curiosity about what makes people tick.
Books
The Making of a Modernist in the First-Ever Biography of Alexander Calder
Jed Perl makes the case that Calder was both an avant-gardist and a populist.
Art
In Japan, Issei Nishimura Paints the Blues
Nishimura paints, plays music, and enjoys the companionship of his cats, but rarely ventures out.
Books
In New Photo Books, a Strong Sense of Place
Three new photography books explore a sweep of places and events from Cuba to the studio floor.
Books
Japan’s Tattoo Art, in Classic Woodblock Prints
Ukiyo-e artists produced woodblock prints incorporating depictions of tattooed bodies that told personal stories of their own.
Books
An Artist Who Fantasized as a Way to Survive
A self-taught draftsman and fantastical storyteller, Renaldo Kuhler’s life and fashion sense were as eccentric as his art.
Art
The Turbulent History of Global Chinese Art
The Guggenheim Museum’s Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World presents the conceptual and performance practices that brought Chinese artists into the discourse of global contemporary art.
Art
Artist-Built Environments to Rescue and Preserve
How much does the long-term care of such projects cost, and who should pay for it?