Art
The Hidden History of Wakashu, Edo-Era Japan's "Third Gender"
An eye-opening exhibition at Japan Society closely examines representations of wakashu in woodblock prints from the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum.
Review
Art
The Drawings Ida Applebroog Made During a Breakdown
In 1969, the artist committed herself to San Diego's Mercy Hospital. While there, she made work grappling with her depression.
Art
An Exhibition That Feels Like Sitting at Simone de Beauvoir’s Desk
From the Desk of Simone de Beauvoir includes an informal archive of the great feminist philosopher’s works, as well as those of her inspirations and the people influenced by her.
Art
Discovering Honoré Sharrer, an Eclipsed 20th-Century Surrealist Painter
A survey at the Columbus Museum of Art spotlights the remarkable work of the American artist, who was dogged in her convictions and a master of her medium.
Books
A Painter Speaks, so that His Paintings Can Remain Silent
When René Magritte wrote “This is not a pipe,” he wasn’t negating the pipe so much as he was negating the language with which we attempt to grasp it.
Art
Nancy Haynes Invites Us to Look Closely
For those who have followed Haynes’ work, her open-ended, experimental approach is not surprising. She is both rigorous and adventuresome without ever claiming these qualities for herself.
Art
Shawn Thornton’s Intricate Cosmos
Thornton’s art is the result of his research into the ways different religious traditions convey the underlying nature of mystical and occult experiences.
Books
Marsden Hartley's Maine: His Own Private Germany
Besides examining in-depth both the early and late Maine periods, Marsden Hartley’s Maine includes a fine essay on materials and techniques, based on careful examination of a dozen works, which shows a surprising continuity in composition and methods across Hartley’s career.
Books
A Poem of Shame: In the Words of China’s Workers
Iron Moon: An Anthology of Chinese Worker Poetry, edited by Qin Xiaoyu and translated by Eleanor Goodman, collects work by Xu Lizhi and 30 other worker poets.
Music
Drake Improves Despite Himself
Moody guys excel at mood music.
Art
The More Things Change
Marianne Bernstein, an artist and curator of this exhibition, told me that part of her interest in assembling this exhibition was to chronicle the changing storyline of Sicily and to encourage non-binary thinking.
Art
Life After Art: William Powhida’s Futures Market
A meta-besotted, multilayered, impudent, lacerating exhibition that pricks pretense and self-delusion on every level.