Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / Writer-director Josephine Decker’s remarkably ambitious avant-garde film Madeline’s Madeline drills towards the molten core of the creative process and its hazards by way of the impressive young actress Helena Howard’s portrayal of the even more impressive eponymous young actress. Given that description, it goes almost without saying that the proceedings … read more… “Art and Film: Meta’s meta in Madeline’s Madeline”
Interview: Aleksandr Blanar, Justin Polera, and “A Strong Desire”
Contributed by Loren Britton / On the occasion of “A Strong Desire,” a sprawling summer group at PS120 in Berlin that explores sexual identity, the body, and their commodification in capitalist society, Loren Britton interviews curators Aleksandr Blanar and Justin Polera. In the curatorial statement, Christina Gigliotti writes that the exhibition, on view through August 26, “sets out to challenge heteronormativity … read more… “Interview: Aleksandr Blanar, Justin Polera, and “A Strong Desire””
Jason Stopa: Inside and out
Contributed by Riad Miah / In “The Gate,”Jason Stopa’s fourth New York solo and his first one-person show at Steven Harvey Fine Arts Projects, the artist has painted a lattice-like pattern on a bright yellow wall and hung his canvases to look as if they are hanging on a chainlink fence. The lively installation, on … read more… “Jason Stopa: Inside and out”
TEXTING: Julia Schwartz at LA Visitor Welcome Center
Mary Addison Hackett recently caught up with Julia Schwartz on the occasion of Schwartz’s show, “tenderly cradled and lavishly flung” at Los Angeles Visitor Welcome Center, a gallery on W. 7th Street in LA. A few days later they had a frank dialogue through text messaging about family tragedy, the role of biography in understanding an artist’s … read more… “TEXTING: Julia Schwartz at LA Visitor Welcome Center”
Soberly upbeat: Summer shows at DC Moore
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / Summer is irrevocably a time for diversion and good cheer, but how much escapism can be indulged in good conscience is relative to the times, and these are deeply troubled ones. DC Moore’s zingy group exhibition “ZIG ZAG ZIG,” on view through August 10, strikes a fine balance between the sunny seasonal … read more… “Soberly upbeat: Summer shows at DC Moore”
Facing reality: The Seattle Art Fair
Contributed by Erin Langner / In the center of the 2018 Seattle Art Fair, Chilean-born artist Alfredo Jaar’s white neon script, hovering in Galerie Lelong’s booth, reads “Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness.” Jaar has appropriated these words, penned by poet W.H. Auden, many times before. But, as the fourth year of Seattle’s international fair opened on August 2, … read more… “Facing reality: The Seattle Art Fair”
Fiction: The Western Tailor [Shubha Sunder]
![Fiction: The Western Tailor [Shubha Sunder]](http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/KathrynMyers.jpg)
Contributed by Shubha Sunder / At seven o’clock Ramesh turns off the sewing machine, slings his leather bag over his shoulder, and says his customary good-bye to his boss, Parul. Usually he walks straight home after work, but tonight he crosses the street and hides behind an old tamarind tree. From here he has a clear … read more… “Fiction: The Western Tailor [Shubha Sunder]”
Art and Film: John Callahan’s Higher Power
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / Growing up in Portland, Oregon, John Callahan, who would become a cartoonist noted for his dark, warped humor, had been a promising art student. But his abandonment by his birth mother and the coldness of his adoptive family haunted him. He started drinking at 13, and by his early twenties, … read more… “Art and Film: John Callahan’s Higher Power”
Fiction: Brooklyn Bento Box [Ara Tucker]
![Fiction: Brooklyn Bento Box [Ara Tucker]](http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Peppers_A-Tucker-1200x900.jpg)
This week Ara Tucker, a graduate of Princeton University’s Art History and Visual Arts program and an alumna of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference contributes “Brooklyn Bento Box,” a story about an artist preparing for an upcoming collaborative exhibition with her precocious adopted daughter Vabeh, a “a plucky bi-racial orphan” whose work is already being collected by the parents of her private school pals. As … read more… “Fiction: Brooklyn Bento Box [Ara Tucker]”
The 2018 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships
Contributed by Sharon Butler / This year hardworking panelists Julia Whitney Barnes (Dutchess), Franklin Evans (New York), Elliot Green (Columbia), Sarah McCoubrey (Onondaga), and Mie Yim (Kings) selected the The New York Foundation for the Arts painting fellowship recipients from a staggeringly large pool of 3,071 applicants. Each artist will receive a cash grant of $7,000, and the three finalists — Jordan Casteel, Clayton Schiff, and Don Voisine … read more… “The 2018 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships”