Looking Up at Constable’s Sky
The British painter’s four seasons, the New Museum’s new director, and which Surrealist painter influenced a soccer jersey?
The World Cup quarterfinals are upon us, and so is the ultimate crossover. Surrealism meets jersey design in an updated kit for the Belgian team with an homage to René Magritte’s painting “Voice of Space.” The cherry on top is a cheeky “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” reference — gives new meaning to o jogo bonito, eh?
In New York, the New Museum in Manhattan named Massimiliano Gioni as its next director, succeeding Lisa Phillips. Meanwhile, the state of Texas paved over the massive “Black Artists Matter” street artwork in Austin, just over six years after it was painted, following an order from Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
Read on for John Giorno’s fugitive poetry, John Constable’s fascination with the seasons, and eight art books that reframe US history to read during the semiquincentennial. We also remember the life and legacy of Valerie Brathwaite, a Caracas-based artist who embodied the beauty of the natural world.
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
8 Art Books to Reframe America’s 250th
The Fourth of July fireworks and barbecues are behind us, but America 250 — and all its attendant propaganda — is still in full swing. Thankfully, artists, critics, curators, and museum professionals across the nation provide a deep well of books to make sense of this apocalyptic anniversary, using it as an opportunity to uncover ugly truths about United States history that the Trump administration and political right is doing its best to scrub from the record.
Art reveals new ways of seeing — and we can always use more of them.
Read MoreNews
- Officials in Austin destroyed a prominent street artwork displaying the message “Black Artists Matter” last week following an order from Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
- The pink-and-blue away jerseys of the Belgian men's national soccer team feature one of Magritte's lesser-known motifs, along with the phrase “This is not a jersey” in an homage to the artist.
- Valerie Brathwaite, the Trinidadian-born, Caracas-based artist whose undulating, organic sculptural forms reflected her love of the natural world, has died at age 87.
- After a 10-month search, the New Museum in Manhattan announced today that its artistic director of 12 years, Massimiliano Gioni, has been appointed as its next director.
From Our Critics
John Constable’s Four Seasons
Art historian Susan Owens’s exquisitely illustrated new book narrates the painter’s story through his relationship to weather, place, and time. | Lauren Moya Ford
Read MoreJohn Giorno Put Poetry on the Line
In iconic works like his “Dial-a-Poem,” the artist offered a moment of sustained attention, a sense of relation, a novel perspective. | Tara Anne Dalbow
Read MoreFrom the Archive
This Is Not a Review of a Biography of Magritte
In the graphic novel Magritte: This is Not a Biography, characters from the Surrealist artist’s paintings come to life. | Christine Ro
Read MorePaul & Daisy Soros — Fellowships for New Americans 2027
Up to $90,000 for immigrant & New American visual artists, architects & designers pursuing MFA, MA, PhD & other graduate degrees in any field at any accredited US institution. Read more on Hyperallergic.
Deadline: October 29, 2026 | pdsoros.org
See more in this month's list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers!
