A little detail in an artwork can reveal that sometimes what is right on the surface can change our understanding of the whole.
Reviews
The Biggest Shitshow Ever, Literally
Oh Shit! retraces the historical arc of feces from ancient Rome to the sewage challenges and potential innovations of the 21st century.
Cracking the Code of Creative Growth
How two beloved institutions showcase and support artists working outside of the mainstream art world.
Cinematic Letters to a Beloved Indian Author
Letters Unwritten to Naiyer Masud attempts to peer into the late writer Naiyer Masud’s concealed world.
Kenneth Tam Excavates the History of Chinese Labor in the American West
The artist’s works resonate in West Texas, where the story of dehumanized and exploited migrant laborers is tangible and ever-present.
Joyland Is a Cautionary Tale on the Pitfalls of Belonging
Saim Sadiq’s crushing debut, the first Pakistani film to be shortlisted for the Oscars, is imbued with a crisis of space.
Seeing Ourselves in Greg Colson’s Quirky Pie Chart Paintings
The artist’s droll paintings present the pie chart as a useful monitor of a group’s behavior, while also revealing it to be exclusionary and superficial.
The Pueblo Artist Who Brings Kink to Traditional Craft
Gender play, kink, and futures that touch traditional lifeways are enduring features of Virgil Ortiz’s work.
In Praise of Complicated Friendships
Within this rich survey of 1990s ephemera is an homage to the modes of communication that forged community and identity prior to the internet.
What Was Hiroshima Like Before the Atom Bomb?
Wakaji Matsumoto’s photographs provide a glimpse of a world in the midst of transition into the next stage of global capitalism and Westernization.
Chicago’s Drawing Biennial Has Something for Everyone
Each artist has one to three examples, in such a broad range of styles that if you can’t find something of interest here, that’s probably on you.