Art
Julie Mehretu's Sublime Abstractions of History
Packed with traced and freehand marks, Mehretu’s artworks inspire awe of what might be called an informational sublime, a 21st-century twist on the artistic tradition.
Art
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The Story of the Black King Among the Magi
The story behind the rise and decline of the popularity of the black magus during the Renaissance has been largely forgotten, but at one time, the tale was used to explain the perceived need for conversion to Christianity, the three ages of man, as well as emerging theories of race.
Art
Required Reading
This week, art's role in the creation of Asian American identity, the best and worst of graphic identities in 2019, gentrification and how it dehumanizes us, directory of culturally specific US museums created by people of color, and more.
Art
The Power and Limits of Ai Weiwei's Irreverence
While his political commitment comes through in many works, it’s hard to square talk of “revolution” with Ai Weiwei’s staggering mainstream US success.
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Agnes Denes's Future Imperfect
Spanning half a century, this retrospective reveals Denes's art to be so forward-looking that some of it remains ahead of its time even today.
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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Painter of Modern Anxiety
Kirchner was the anti-Matisse.
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John Pai’s Complex, Abstract Drawings in Space
John Pai’s steel sculptures, nourished by a community of Korean artists in New York, reflect a sensibility outside the mainstream of American art.
Art
A Dürer Retrospective Celebrates His Remarkable Drawings
A show at Vienna’s Albertina reverses the more commonly held belief in art history that drawings are merely preparatory to paintings.
Art
Artists Find Power in Erasure
In Otherwise Obscured, effacement, redaction, and illegibility are positioned as tactics that artists can employ to combat, highlight, or heal sociopolitical invisibility.
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The Viral Artwork Emerging From Hong Kong's Protests
The ongoing movement immortalizes its actions and demands through crowdsourced imagery.
Art
In Los Angeles, an Otherworldly Space Preserves the Panorama
Since 2001, the Velaslavasay Panorama has kept one of cinema’s precursors quietly alive in one of the film capitals of the world.
Art
A Photographic Journey Through the Decline of Brick-and-Mortar Retail
Philip Buehler’s photographs are neither a nostalgia fest nor disaster porn, but an unsparing documentation of the decay that marks time and cultural change.