Art
Feeling Vulnerable in Uniform
Two shows in Chelsea look at conformity, the uniform and the limits of masculinity. Catherine Opie photographs boys in athletic gear while Ian Davis paints herds of men in suits.
Review
Art
Comfort in Limbo
If you find yourself at the Museum of Arts and Design this spring, be sure to check out its survey of unsettling quasi-documentary videos by Julika Rudelius, titled What Is on the Outside. The pieces, which were created by Rudelius between 2001 and 2010, range in length from three to 29 minutes, and
Art
Speechless: Arne Quinze at Vicky David Gallery
Speechless is an evolving series that reviews, discusses and/or comments on art works and exhibitions using images, screenshots, videos and other visuals.
Art
Herzog’s Whitney Biennial Piece Is Not Overrated but Under-Thought
PARIS — In a recent article on AFC, Paddy Johnson argues that Werner Herzog’s piece in this year’s Whitney Biennial is essentially a throwaway. She sees Herzog’s contribution as a quick fix for inclusion that relies mainly on “bells and whistles” rather than substance. But her account is conspicuous
Art
Open Secret
Stanley Whitney is in his mid-sixties. By his own account, he struggled in the studio from the early 70s to the late 80s, “just trying to make work.” The issue was to make something that was his, rather than to make something that was the right or approved of thing to do. Although it is seldom discu
Books
Comic Twist: The New Kramers Ergot Reveals a Turn toward Genre
In July 2004, The New York Times Magazine signaled the advent of the “literary” comic book and described how a significant group of cartoonists — including Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Seth and Marjane Satrapi — had popularized these “comics with a brain.”
Art
Having Trouble Thinking Outside the White Box
MoMA’s latest thematic exhibition Print/Out aims to examine the ways printing has expanded and molded contemporary art practice. Is it successful?
Art
Some Things I Know About This Artist
Max Gimblett was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1935. From 1962 to 1964, while living in Canada, he worked as a potter, an experience that has influenced his relationship to materials and process. In 1965, he moved to San Francisco, and began studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute,
Art
Indigestible Portions: Peter Saul at Mary Boone
What degree of willful perversity is required to think of Peter Saul as heir to Velázquez? Perhaps as much as it takes to plunk a Peter Saul show inside the ultra-blue-chip Mary Boone Gallery, but that’s where we find ourselves on the eve of All Fool’s Day, 2012.
Art
David Hockney Returns Home
Bruno Wollheim’s David Hockney: A Bigger Picture is a much more straightforward account than Jack Hazan’s 1974 movie A Bigger Splash. It brings Hockney’s life full circle — the earlier film followed the artist’s move from London to Los Angeles while Wollheim’s film deals with Hockney’s return many y
Art
Poets, Painters, Cartoonists and Moonlighters
CHICAGO — The Center for Book and Paper Arts in Chicago is currently showing a fascinating series of collaborations between visual artists and writers such as Robert Creeley, Philip Guston, Larry Rivers, Karen Randall and Jim Dine. Poems and Pictures: A Renaissance in the Art of the Book (1946-1981)
Art
The Best Show At MoMA Is Not What You Think
With the hype surrounding the Cindy Sherman blockbuster retrospective on the 6th floor, which critics have almost unanimously praised, I was surprised to find that the most invigorating, exciting and generally mind-blowing exhibition at MoMA right now is Exquisite Corpses.