With Bloom, Trevor Paglen collapses distinctions between the real and virtual, laying bare the prejudices embedded in supposedly objective artificial intelligence systems.
Author Archives: Naomi Polonsky
Naomi Polonsky is a London-based curator, art critic, and translator. She studied at the University of Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art and has experience working at the Hermitage Museum and Tate Modern. She has written for the Times Literary Supplement and The Calvert Journal. Follow her on Twitter @NaomiPolonsky
Toyin Ojih Odutola’s Skillfully Flips the Script of Art History
In A Countervailing Theory, her current exhibition at the Barbican Centre, Ojih Odutola’s alternative histories take on a more epic, mythic scale.
28 Years of Miranda July, Master of Self-Fashioning
Titled simply Miranda July, Prestel’s excellent new “mid-career retrospective” of the artist highlights July’s enduring interest in the very darkest aspects of human existence.
The Life of Clyfford Still, the Most “Irascible” Abstract Expressionist
The documentary Lifeline recounts Still’s life, career, and legacy — and how they were shaped by his cantankerous temperament.
The Untamed Jungles of Vivian Suter’s Abstract Paintings
While the ecological aspect of Suter’s work is particularly timely, her obvious enjoyment of pure color and form makes her artworks all the more enduring.
Anti-Oil Activists Stage Largest Protest Yet at British Museum, With Trojan Horse in Tow
Hundreds of activists occupied the British Museum for a protest lasting over two days straight, coinciding with the BP-sponsored exhibition Troy: Myth and Reality.
The K-Pop Boyband BTS Launched an International Art Project
BTS, described as the “biggest boy band in the world,” announced an international public art project with 22 contemporary artists across five cities. Its first exhibitions opened at London’s Serpentine Galleries and Berlin’s Gropius Bau.
Visions of Home that Are Gut-Wrenching, Contemplative, and Funny
In Homelands, artists variously characterize home as “a transient dwelling,” “an ongoing process,” and “other people.”
Activists Dressed as Trojan Figures Crash Opening of BP-Funded Exhibition
Activist group BP or not BP? interrupted the opening of Troy: Myth and Reality at the British Museum, dressed as “living statues,” including a character of their own invention, “Petroleus.”
In Its First UK Action, PAIN Sackler Holds “Die-in” at the V&A
Warning of “toxic philanthropy,” activists gathered in the museum’s Sackler Courtyard, honoring the five people who die every day in the UK from opioid overdoses.
Turner Prize Nominees Consider the Injustices Brought About by Borders
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo, and Tai Shani have been shortlisted for the coveted prize.
Invoking “Climate Emergency,” National Galleries of Scotland Will End Ties With British Petroleum
The gallery follows in the footsteps of Tate, the National Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.