Books

Reader’s Diary: A Poetry of Alternate Takes

Marjorie Welish’s poetry, like Thelonious Monk’s music, is a montage of moving parts in which you’d be wise to expect the unexpected.

Art

Beuford Smith’s Americans

If you want to understand what happened in the 1960s or you want to know about race in America, Smith is one of the essential photographers to look at, as are the other members of the Kamonigen to have shows in recent years.

Art

Julian Schnabel’s Flowers

Do you ever feel like you are getting the hard sell or being bludgeoned into submission?

Art

The Border Runs Through the Middle of the Tree

A Native American reservoir lies on either side of the Mexican-US border. What would it mean to build a wall through it?

Books

Enjambed with Rotten Assets: Daniel Borzutzky’s 'The Performance of Becoming Human'

Borzutsky makes pathetic fallacy less an instrument of empathy than an agent of unsettlement, provoking strong reaction to the many historical and imaginary vignettes he creates.

Art

The Contradictory Al Taylor

Al Taylor's painting practice — an undertaking whose success was tied to its degree of artlessness — seemed to court, if not the “death of painting,” then a refutation of the traditional hierarchy that places painting at the top of the heap.

Art

A Curated Section Brings Body Politics to Volta NY

Wendy Vogel's curated section at Volta NY reminds us that we carry our identities with us always — even inside the artificial environment of an art fair.

News

Dispute Over Asian American Stereotypes Gives Way to Dialogue at an Art Fair [UPDATED]

Show Mein, an exhibition at this year's Spring/Break Art Show, became the focus of a heated debate about cultural appropriation.

Art

Women Art Critics on Writing About Historically Marginalized Subjects

This Sunday, the Brand Library is hosting Herstorians, a panel discussion on the opportunities, challenges, and obligations that female arts writers have to examine underrepresented artists.

Art

From Mysterious Erotica to Holy Bell Jars, Singular Projects at the Independent Art Fair

This year, the visions at the Independent Art Fair were multiple, with some galleries dedicating their booths to outsider and unknown artists, as well as work that is a bit more playful.

Art

Scouting Out the Armory Show, a Theme Park for the Wealthy

Amid the big, blue chip baubles, there are flickers of truly powerful and personal work at the latest edition of the vast Armory Show art fair.

Art

Feeling Anxiety and Relief at NADA New York

Some of the most memorable art at this year's NADA New York deals with distress, though the massive fair also offers respite.