Art Review
Catherine Murphy Makes the Ordinary Inexplicable
The artist found a way to expand the parameters of observational painting, causing us to look inward and reflect upon what we see.
John Yau
John Yau is an award winning poet, critic, curator, and publisher of Black Square Editions. He has published over 50 books of poetry, fiction, and art criticism.
Art
Five New York City Shows to See This Week
From Norman Bluhm’s reinvented abstraction to the history of Barbie at the Museum of Arts and Design, we’re looking at a diverse array of art this week.
Art
How Norman Bluhm Reinvented Gestural Abstraction
Long an admirer of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, Bluhm sought to recreate their sensual forms, unearthly light, and infinite space in abstraction.
Art
Five NYC Art Shows to See This Week
See socially and politically engaged art, Trenton Doyle Hancock paired with Philip Guston, plus geometric abstraction and some medieval treasures.
Art
Trenton Doyle Hancock and Philip Guston Seek Out the Enemy Within
With generous, sharp humor, Hancock and Guston show us through their art how venial and self-deceiving we have become.
Art
Two Painters’ Not-Quite-Abstract Art
The pairing of Amanda Church and Jenny Hankwitz, both longtime practitioners of geometric abstraction, is a stroke of genius for their similarities and differences.
Art
Five New York City Art Shows to See Right Now
Sylvia Sleigh, Kenneth Tam, Christine Sun Kim, Paul Gardère, and Rudy Burckhardt are ideal for anyone who desires a glimpse into an artist’s personal life and worldview.
Art
The Reluctant Genius of Rudy Burckhardt
The complexity of Burckhardt's work is easy to overlook, because he calls attention to neither his mastery nor his labor.
Art
Myron Stout’s Monkish Devotion to Art
Stout achieved an ascetic sensuality in his geometric abstractions, a paradoxical synthesis of restraint and hedonism that is unmatched by any of his contemporaries.
Art
WTF Is Planar Painting?
It is refreshing to see a group show that hews to its curatorial statement, and includes both old friends and unexpected twists.
Art
The Divided Being of Forrest Bess
He was one of the first American artists to grapple with the many parts of an individual’s identity, and seek to unify them.
Art
Sylvia Plimack Mangold Turns Trompe L’oeil Inside Out
Rather than trying to fool us with her representational paintings or showing off her virtuosity in the realm of resemblance, everything is on the surface.