The Year in Art Films
Also: Is it ever too late to become an artist, and how do Philadelphians feel about their new Calder Gardens?
It's a common adage that "the art world loves young men and old women." In a chat I once had with artist Carolee Schneemann (pardon the name drop) at a winter solstice party in Upstate New York, she offered the correction: "The art world loves young men and DEAD women." That was just a few months before her passing in early spring of 2019.
Didn't mean to get morbid on you. The point is that many older artists in our community, regardless of their gender, feel left behind. They are intimidated by the seemingly hip and super-connected younger crowds and don't know if and how they can fit in. Luckily, writer and artist advisor Paddy Johnosn is on the case in this month's Art Problems. She offers sage advice on how to get out there and push your career forward, even if your 20s are in the distant past.
And as this year draws to an end, we look back on the 10 best art films of 2025. Highlights include a Peter Hujar interview brought to life, a documentary about three influential single-mother artists, and a timely art heist drama. Don't forget to check out our other Best of 2025 lists. There's more on the way.
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The Virginia A. Groot Foundation’s Transformative Grants Empower Artists
This foundation offers annual grants to support sculptors and ceramic artists with funding, studio advancement, and opportunities for material exploration.
The 10 Best Art Films of 2025
A day in the life of Peter Hujar, a bungled museum heist, Meredith Monk's 60-year career — these subjects brought to life on camera defined our 2025 in art films. These essential films, listed in no particular order, stand as testaments to both the turmoil and hope this year represented for all of us who love art and the moving picture.
What Exactly Is Calder Gardens?
Over a decade of planning and $100 million brought Alexander Calder's classic sculptures together with architects Herzog & de Meuron, who worked on Sotheby’s recently unveiled Breuer Building home, and Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf. Set back from pathways that wind through 37,000 perennial flower buds and saplings, Philadelphia's new Calder Gardens include a structure sheathed in a giant mirror. But do Philadelphians see themselves in the reflection?
Read Isabella Segalovich's report
Texas A&M’s Visualization Graduate Programs Merge Art and Technology
Full funding is available for MFA students; MS students have scholarship and assistantship opportunities. The priority deadline for funding is January 15, 2026.
Art Problems
Paddy Johnson answers the question: Am I too old to fit into the art world? Building a career in the arts gets harder as you get older, but it's nowhere near impossible.
From Our Critics
The 2025 California Biennial Is Trapped in the Past
The show's displays of juvenilia from established artists say little about adolescents today and make its message inscrutable. | Renée Reizman
Joseph Wright of Derby’s Candlelit World
Using an extreme form of chiaroscuro, Wright portrays the dramatic moment of intellectual or moral revelation in his paintings of scientific subjects. | Olivia McEwan
Training and Critiquing AI Through Art at WashU
Tiffany Calvert creates historically inspired still life paintings with an AI twist through a collaboration with engineers at Washington University in St. Louis.
Member Comment
John Hall on Ed Simon's "A Visual History of No Kings"
Let the creation of a symbol for the revolution of the 21st-century begin!
From the Archive
The NEA Four Revisited: Karen Finley Talks Sexting
Of the four artists known by history as the NEA Four, Karen Finley is the one whose full name many people remember, even if they know little else about the situation that led to the artists’ lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). | Alexis Clements
