Art
When the West Dreamt of Odalisques
Inspired by the East: How the Islamic World Influenced Western Art is a giant teaching aid of a fairly solid and dependable kind, but one that does not quite push far enough.
London
News
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.”
News
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.
Art
When Leonardo da Vinci Just Isn’t Enough
Leonardo’s “Virgin” meets virtual reality — simpleminded in the extreme.
In Brief
Extinction Rebellion Sends a Sinking Home Along the River Thames, Warning of Climate Disaster
The work was intended as a public appeal to politicians to make a more stringent and immediate response to regulate the effects of human industry and waste on the environment.
News
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.
Art
Maren Hassinger Reminds Us That Equality Is For Everyone
The power of her work comes from its suggestion that specificity and universality, when it comes to identity and experience, are not mutually exclusive concepts, but often exist side by side.
Film
North Korea as a Multifaceted State Instead of a Boogeyman
Filmmaker Soon-mi Yoo is getting her own focus at the London Korean Film Festival. Her 2014 documentary Songs from the North takes a neutral approach toward a nation that is usually reviled or laughed at.
Art
Gauguin’s Predatory Colonial Gaze
Is it fair to use contemporary standards to judge a man who died 116 years ago?
Art
Mona Hatoum's Multiple, Often Contradictory Meanings
In her new exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey, the artist presents works that loom and cower, at one moment inviting us in, at the next shutting us out.
Art
A Painter Embraces Inauthenticity
Albert Oehlen has been a wild spirit from first to last.
Art
Finally, a Deeper Look at Luchita Hurtado’s Long Career
For years, Hurtado worked quietly, even if prolifically. At 98 years old, she's getting her due at the Serpentine Gallery.