The Easel

3rd April 2018

America’s Cool Modernism: O’Keeffe to Hopper review – a whole new story

American artists in the inter-war years were challenged. How could they express the emerging Modern Age in their art? Further, how best to do this with a uniquely American voice. One critic finds their response “timid and detached, devoid of human warmth”. This writer concedes that it’s beauty is “dour” but maintains it offers a “whole new chapter of the story … the birth of cool”.

Frank Auerbach’s Splintered Labyrinth

Elegant essay on Auerbach and his famously repetitive painting style. “Each Auerbach portrait does not represent a personality per se; each picture is Auerbach’s rather than, foremost, a portrait or a caricature. In truth, every one of the paintings is the same, but lined in a row from start to an un-finished finish, not one would appear the same as any other.”

The 6 Most Provocative Pairings at the Met Breuer’s New Sculpture Show

Sculptures of the human body try to replicate a real human presence. Traditionally, they have been white and flawless. An “exceptionally provoking” show attempts to broaden the canvas, so to speak, to make sculpture more inclusionary. “Excellent … a morgue, a menagerie, and (perhaps?) a mea culpa on behalf of historically-flawed museums everywhere”.

What Iran’s dazzling art tells us about its civilisation

Three cheers for cultural diplomacy. Iran’s Qujar dynasty (1785 – 1925) provided lamentable governance but supported dazzling cultural achievements. An exhibition of the “art of the courts” – paintings, decorative arts – has opened in France. “Sumptuous, iconic, and wholly novel” says the writer. A reciprocal show from the Louvre has opened in Tehran. More images are here.

Delacroix returns spectacularly to the Louvre

Delacroix was “the most singular, contradictory, extreme artist of the 19th century. [He] invented paintings that depend on whorls of expressive colour, surface rather than structure, the pleasure of gleaming skin over anatomical precision.” Forty years after his death and inspired by his innovations, the Impressionists came charging through. Multiple images are here.

Sean Scully with David Carrier

A critic once described Scully’s stripe paintings as having “grandeur”.  In interview he does come across as focused on grand themes. Past inspiration – “discord, the way people and ideas compete for survival.” Present inspiration – “to rescue abstraction from remoteness” The art world – “[it] has changed dramatically … Paris, London, and New York no longer call the shots as they did”.

How Art Historians Cracked the Case of Enigmatic Japanese Painter Hasegawa Tōhaku

Tōhaku was one of the great artists of late 16th century Japan. But where did he come from? A painting in New York may answer this question. He was probably a rural painter who moved to Kyoto and, at some point, changed his name. Impressive if true – Kyoto was known for its bold techniques while Tōhaku’s later works are nearly minimalist. More images are here and a video here.

27th March 2018

At the Gardner, the colors of heaven in Fra Angelico exhibition

This show is a big deal. The Renaissance painter, Fra Angelico, painted four reliquaries depicting the life of the Virgin Mary. For the first time in centuries they have been reunited. “The pieces gleam with gold, ultramarine, and vermilion … they seem to pulse with centuries of accumulated attention and reverence. It’s an energy some would call holy.” Images are here.

Jenny Saville’s Work is Put in the Frame in Scotland

Saville admits that when she paints the art history books are often open. Most notable for her is Rubens – one of art history’s “top five” for nudes. Her own nudes are sometimes described as showing his influence – “unflinching paintings of fleshy, un-idealised bodies”. The linked piece is somewhat scrappy; a better description of the artist’s work is here.

Eli Leon, 82, Dies: Champion of African-American Quilt Makers

Eli Leon was browsing in a local flea market in the 1980’s when he stumbled across a quilt. What some viewed as an improvisational craft he saw as an authentic art form. Due in no small measure to his promotion and scholarship, quilts have found recognition in the decorative arts and now appear in both private and museum collections. Quilt images are here.

Damien Hirst at Houghton Hall: As if painted with a throbbing hangover

Nothing like a new Hirst exhibition to agitate the critics. Where to start – the venue? One of Britain’s most elegant country houses, it gives Hirst “class” while he gives it “sex appeal”. And the paintings? His studios have to date produced over 1,400 of these ‘Colour Space’ spot paintings. “They are… pleasant …  have jolly colours and jazz up the joint”.

Goldblatt: the right South African photographic word

Goldblatt is sometimes criticized for doing too little to oppose apartheid. His response is that “photography is not a weapon”. His “politically committed documentary” style is widely acclaimed as he bore “realistic witness“ to the “complex realities” of apartheid. More images are here and a video (43 min) of Greenblatt reviewing his work here.