The Easel

1st August 2017

Explore the Genius of Design Legend Ettore Sottsass

Alina Cohen | Galerie | 26th July 2017

When Sottsass designed the Olivetti “Valentine” typewriter he wanted it to appeal at an emotional level. Later in his protean career he founded the influential (but short-lived) Memphis design collective. Their first show created uproar with shrill colors, Pop designs and wacky ideas. And it stole the limelight, leading Sottsass to grumble about the group “it’s just like candy. Too much can make you sick.” Images are here.

Soul Of A Nation: Art In The Age Of Black Power @ Tate Modern

Simon | astrofella | 21st July 2017

Real progress on civil rights posed a question for black American artists – what role should art play? Expressing outrage and celebrating black heroes were, not surprisingly, high on the list but so too was finding an empowered black voice. So what most catches the eye after 50 years? “How stupid, wicked and evil racism is. What extraordinary beauty Coltrane – and many of the Black artists on display here – made from it.”

Discovering the Brilliance of Hélio Oiticica

Peter Schjeldahl | The New Yorker | 31st July 2017

With Brazil under military rule, Oiticica decamped to New York. The career-defining installation pieces he produced were designed to transform the viewer “from a spectator into an active participant.” They are strange, influenced by the 1970’s drug scene plus the culture of Rio’s favelas. His work “anticipates subsequent generations of installation artists, none of whom can beat it for immersive and bracing cogency.”

Hello, Dollar The Greatest American Object in Art History

Felix Salmon | Art Agency | 6th July 2017

Benchmarking art today against a famous 1990’s exhibition, what has changed? Money, of course. With a few exceptions “of the 78 most expensive paintings of all time, all of the pre-1945 works are European, and all of the post-1945 works are American.’ Art critics were influential in 1993 but “the crucial role of ratification has been almost entirely outsourced to the market—the most expensive artists are entirely critic-proof.”

25th July 2017

Carol Rama: Outside the Institution

Sarah Fensom | Art and Antiques | 31st May 2017

A new book published in conjunction with a Carol Rama survey says the following: “Not just anyone can go mad. It’s not such a casual, easy thing to do. And even if you do, only the truly possessed and determined few can render their madness into enduring art.” Whether literally true or not, this captures something of Rama and her psychosexually charged art. Images and a detailed discussion of some of her paintings are here.

How Artsy finally convinced galleries to sell art online

Ben Popper | The Verge | 18th July 2017

A leading online art sales start-up has just received a big dollop of new funding. Even discounting for the “rah-rah” tone of the linked piece, online sales are proving attractive to some art buyers. But a second piece articulates a gallery counter-argument: “The way that galleries show and sell art is a touchy-feely process, it’s a very personal process.”

Older links
Newer links