Film
Candyman Skewers the Art World’s Exploitation of Black Pain
Writer/director Nia DaCosta and producer/co-writer Jordan Peele update the horror film franchise with a critical look at the commodification of Black trauma.
Reviews
Art
A Painter’s Delicate, Sexual, and Clinical Visions of Birth
Bridget Mullen draws a line between the act of birth and the act of making art.
Film
Fall in Love with a Puppet Baby in the Arthouse Musical Annette
The newest feature from Leos Carax, a tempestuous romance between Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, is gleefully strange and metafictional.
Books
A World Made of Words
Garielle Lutz's sentences are among the most original in modern English, their linguistic specificity making them virtually untranslatable.
Art
An Icon of Unconventional Abstraction
Serge Poliakoff: Gouaches 1938-1969 furthers the case for Poliakoff’s importance and continuing relevance to abstract painting.
Art
Paula Rego’s Raging Women
Rego’s women are always independent spirits, and they are often raging.
Art
Two West Coast Art Communities Outside the Mainstream
One thing seems pretty clear about both groups: they separated themselves from mainstream culture, including the art world. This is practically unheard of today.
Film
Ema’s Visuals Ignite the Screen, but Its Story Ultimately Flickers Out
Director Pablo Larraín doesn’t trust his own filmographic brilliance, and lets the story take over in the end.
Art
Tschabalala Self's Sensual Stories of Race, Sex, and Power
From one project to the next, Self reinvents herself and reimagines how to portray the human body.
Art
An Ode to California Architecture in Paint, Pencil, and Ceramics
In welcoming warm hues and tranquil blocks of color, five artists share their visions of California.
Art
A History of Protest Photography That Plays It Too Safe
A photography exhibition at the Getty bears witness to activism but lacks the space to do it justice.
Art
Hopeful and Aware: MFA Work From CalArts and UC Irvine
The inescapability of the pandemic infiltrates each gesture and concern of the recent MFAs.