Art
The taking of an idea and slightly altering it, over and over again, can often be more interesting than the executed initial idea itself, as anyone who has ever listened to, say, a Philip Glass opera or seen the current process-oriented Matisse exhibition at the Met can appreciate. Over at the Journ
Art
Good art commands attention — it forces an opinion and is often an acquired taste. The sheer economic pressure of an art fair seems to discourage this kind of display. While this year’s Armory Show provided the expected dose of the boring, the polite, and the decorative, it also reminded me that it
Art
The details of The Exploded Mind of Mulholland Hwang are incredible, from the haphazard arrangement of the objects in Hwang's "room" to the tiny, tiny animals hiding in the landscapes of dioramas. But it's really the illustrations that show the most personality, of the artists and the animals alike.
Books
There is a dislocated loneliness in being unmoored, in drifting away from connections and places until you become stuck somewhere again. Andrew Zornoza's Where I Stay, published in 2009 Tarpaulin Sky Press, is a both spare and sprawling interpretation of this feeling. His compact prose set to the rh
Art
For a total contrast to the sterile feel of many of the swarming art fairs this week in New York, where most art is untouchable in its protective frames, go to Long Island City to experience Headscapes. The group exhibition of over 25 artists doesn't just encourage you to touch, but to crawl and cli
Art
This year’s Volta NY spoke many different dialects, but most of them seemed to stem from the same language. Although there were a total of 95 galleries exhibiting, with works ranging from the very minimal to the very ornate, a large chunk of the art on view was either obliquely or transparently narr
Art
The fourth edition of the Independent art fair, among the plethora of shows popping up during Armory Week, is akin to the children’s tale of The Little Engine That Could, and in the end, it did. Compared to the Armory Show, which was like a trip to Ikea (one exhibitor in fact was selling furniture),
Art
Let’s face it: navigating Armory Week and all its various satellites is a bitch. With so much art to see and endless booths to maneuver, it’s all very daunting. But we love it. Well, at least I love it. Spontaneity and taxis are the two things I rely on the most. Spontaneity, because one should alwa
Art
Wading through the crowded opening of the Independent Art Fair, held in the former Dia:Chelsea building with its ridiculously narrow stairway, I found myself doing more reading than gazing at art. While this was partly due to the inclusion of Printed Matter, the seminal alternative book and zine sto
Art
The ADAA Art Show marked its 25th anniversary this year, and the 2013 edition at the Park Avenue Armory was definitely a very mature, stately fair, with only the slightest of dark undertones to its otherwise unsurprising, but elegantly sleek, presentation.
Art
Most art fairs in New York City this week are bombastic affairs. New City Art Fair, by contrast, is not one of them. The mission of this fair is to feature original artwork by contemporary Japanese artists. To achieve this goal, Kentaro Totsuka, the director of New City, invited eleven Japanese gall
Books
In July 1985, the British poet, editor and critic Ian Hamilton submitted the manuscript for J. D. Salinger: A Writing Life to his editors at Random House. Three years later, in May 1988, after countless depositions, preliminary injunctions, affidavits and court appeals, Hamilton’s truncated In Searc