No superlative seems too lofty for this show, which has been eight years in the making. One critic gushes “we’re seeing an artist stop and start, reconciling deep inner urges, his own probably thwarted homosexuality, surging religiosity, and pride all mixed with a classicism now filled with elemental unconscious, id, asymmetry, and imbalance. Nothing like it had existed on Earth before.” More images are here.
Albers has slipped from prominence. Is it because she was a weaver, or was it gender bias? She was the first textile artist to receive a retrospective from MoMA. But that was 1949 when Bauhaus credentials were contemporary. A Bilbao exhibition is a “rediscovery”, revealing that her work “has the precision and grace of a Bach fugue: themes sounded and reconfigured, echoes, repetitions, and variations, all assembled with élan and poise.”
Ruff is one of a group of German artists (the “Dusseldorf school”) who are highly influential in fine art photography. His early interest in close-up portraits has shifted to a focus on manipulating digital images – subverting the adage that ‘the camera never lies’. “[T]his is photography boldly going where no photography has gone before.” An excellent backgrounder on Ruff is here.
Laura Owens’s show at the Whitney is notable. Firstly she is not well known. Further the accolade is being directed to a woman artist. Notwithstanding her use of fun colours and an eclectic feminine style Owens is being recognised as an important artist. “This smart, beautiful exhibition [shows] that painting can be renewed in ways we haven’t seen before … [and the artist is not] among the usual white male suspects”.
The art world is still reverberating from last week’s Salvator Mundi auction result. What comes next? The linked piece, a perfectly sensible analysis of art pricing, suggests that average pieces of art are not always a great investment. However, a noted art market writer thinks “incredibly important” works may be driven by entirely different rules. “We will probably end up with ‘best of the best’ sales”- and more eye-watering prices.
Modigliani’s graceful, sensual portraits are instantly recognizable. Are they truly innovative or simply romanticism with a modernist veneer? Did he do more than draw inspiration from contemporary greats – Brancusi, Picasso, Matisse? The doubts persist. “His entire art hangs on the brink of corniness, but you’re charmed into submission by paintings which … are very easy to enjoy.” More images are here.
The Paris International Exposition of 1925, showcased art deco and the decorative arts. By then Erte was a global tastemaker, via his cover illustrations for Harper’s Bazaar. And art deco allowed him to range widely – theatre, fashion, jewellery, homewares. Erte’s influence came through his drawings, which best revealed his métier – the romantic flights of fancy that underpin art deco’s enduring popularity. More images are here.
Before reading the story, watch this video clip of the auction (7 min). It really is something! One expert hailed the sale as vindication of the Old Masters market. True, but surely it’s a bigger deal than that. “It’s like taking your dog out for its regular morning walk only for it to be snatched off the street by a pterodactyl. This was not just an acquisition. This was arguably the greatest socioeconomic flex the arts have ever seen”.
Some Middle Eastern countries are looking to a future beyond oil. Abu Dhabi plans to create a cultural hub with several major art museums. Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first to open, houses a decade’s worth of aggressive buying. Controversy lingers over use of the Louvre brand and treatment of construction workers, though there is no argument over the gorgeous architecture or the art. More images are here.
An exhibition of Modigliani’s drawings focuses on the issue of identity. When he moved to Paris, Modigliani encountered anti-Semitism for the first time. This experience changed his art. Subsequent portraits of friends “conveyed … a degree of masklike opacity. In the artist’s late paintings, there are those who see, those who do not see, and those who cannot be seen or known.” More images are here.
Meiselas has earned a stellar reputation for her coverage of strife-torn countries, especially in Central America. At times this has put her in risky situations – “the camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong.” On the occasion of a new book about her career one critic enthuses “news raised to the level of art, and art transformed into elements of history”. More images and background is here.
Plans by the Berkshire Museum to sell the cream of its art collection (covered in an August newsletter) has been halted by the courts. Everyone agrees, in principle, that deaccessioning can occur – but should this apply to the best works in a collection? What if a museum faces a “donor drought”? As this admirably balanced writer observes “deaccessioning … cuts to core issues about the public trust and nonprofit stewardship”.
Carolee Schneemann is not your average painter. Often referred to as a “first generation feminist artist”, she has long focused on how men and women view their bodies differently. She commonly appeared nude in her early works in order to present the female body as other than the object of male desire. After decades of critical disapproval, this year’s Venice Biennale recognized her with its lifetime achievement award.
Just over a dozen of Murillo’s portraits survive, a handful of which are on show in New York. They are celebrated for their lively, naturalistic style. Included are two self-portraits – intended as advertisements of artistic prowess. One shows him young and in his pomp; the second as a weary single parent. Technical virtuosity is evident in both but the older image has a rarer quality – truthfulness. An excellent video is here.