Contributed by Mary Addison Hackett / “How’s everyone doing?” is the occasional check-in I see posted among artist friends who haven’t completely jumped the Facebook ship. In a group devoted to issues relevant to online and F2F teaching during the pandemic, the check-ins are more dire. Artists are on edge, frustrated, and in some cases, … read more… “Radical reorientation: Rural life, politics, and a pandemic in Joshua Tree”
The objectness of Rachael Gorchov
Contributed by Jason Andrew / There is a long history of artists expanding the objectness – that is, the sculptural dimension – of painting. Picasso and Braque introduced this concept in their assemblage works; Vladimir Tatlin broadened it in his “counter-reliefs” alongside Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoventhe, the “Dada Baroness”. For the Dadaists, breaking the picture plane … read more… “The objectness of Rachael Gorchov”
Summertime blues: Clark, Fagan, Carrigan, Dubicki, Hocker, and Samelson in Torrington
Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / To walk into an open art gallery during this COVID-caused gloaming of the art world is perhaps to catch a glimpse of dawn. That’s what it felt like to me, anyway, when a couple of weeks ago I visited the not-for-profit Five Points Gallery at the Five Points Center for … read more… “Summertime blues: Clark, Fagan, Carrigan, Dubicki, Hocker, and Samelson in Torrington”
Sobriety, resilience, and hope at Massey Klein Gallery
Contributed by Riad Miah / Emerging from lockdown, Massey Klein Gallery on the Lower East Side has reopened its doors, if only by appointment, with two new exhibitions featuring three artists. Claire Lieberman and Louis Reith’s works are shown together in “Elemental” while Bethany Czarnecki has a separate exhibition of a new series of paintings … read more… “Sobriety, resilience, and hope at Massey Klein Gallery”
Portraits of a president
Contributed by Sharon Butler / CNN reported that the official portraits of former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have been removed from the Grand Foyer of the White House and replaced with portraits of Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. The Grand Foyer, where visitors to the White House first arrive and gather, … read more… “Portraits of a president”
Finding Esphyr Slobdokina
Contributed by Peter Plagens / When the annual The Armory Show art fair—which takes place on the piers on the Hudson River in New York—rolled around in 2008, the recession was in full swing. Dealers were scared, and bargains (on an art-collector scale of things, of course) were there for the asking. I’ve always gone … read more… “Finding Esphyr Slobdokina”
Two Coats Selected Gallery Guide: Summer 2020
Does time exist if there aren’t activities and events to fill it up? According to Aristotle and other philosophers, no. Time is inexorably connected to the things embedded in it. While in Covid-19 lockdown, time passed surprisingly quickly. I learned to keep a schedule and relish, really to look forward to, small events throughout the … read more… “Two Coats Selected Gallery Guide: Summer 2020”
Quick study
Contributed by Sharon Butler / Once I finally dragged myself away from political news, there was a lot to learn. Here are links to some stories this month, from Cy Gavin’s powerful painting on the cover of ArtForum, bike riding in NYC, new graffiti, opportunity listings, a two-part online painting exhibition, and portrait pairs of … read more… “Quick study”
What good is abstract painting now?
Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / Without any bombs exploding or even a single shot fired, the world we knew before COVID has gone “poof.” Sure, buildings are intact; trees, grass and flowers still grow; the sky is blue; people walk on streets and drive cars. What’s disappeared, for who knows how long, is the ease … read more… “What good is abstract painting now?”
Art and Film: In the zone
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / In 1959, at the height of the Cold War, Rod Serling trademarked the creeping alteration of reality as a feature of post-Golden Age television with the advent of The Twilight Zone. Introducing the series premier in his intense nasal baritone – unique yet perpetually mimicked – Serling located the zone … read more… “Art and Film: In the zone”