The Easel

22nd August 2017

Mary Heilmann’s New Dia Show Places Her among the (Male) Icons of Minimalism

Hillarie Sheets | Artsy | 30th June 2017

Being a female ceramicist was not a promising start for an aspiring artist in 1960’s New York. Heilmann shifted to equally unfashionable painting and while she wasn’t ignored, she wasn’t celebrated either. That is now changing. “The unassuming quality of her work lulls you in and then you realize all the quirks and careful counterbalancing that take place within the geometric and color combinations.” A short video (4 min) is here.

Explore the Weird World of the Symbolists at the Guggenheim

Jennifer Krasinski | The Village Voice | 16th August 2017

In Belle Epoque Paris, some artists were articulating the emerging modern world. Others sought refuge in spiritual themes, loosely grouped around Symbolism. This latter movement held a series of Salon exhibitions but their work was kitsch – it was an art dead end. The Sublime, though, is a concept with enduring appeal. It has regularly been revisited in the last century, most spectacularly by Mark Rothko.

Nigerian Artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby Is Painting the Afropolitan Story in America

Diane Solway | W Magazine | 15th August 2017

Bio piece on Crosby whose international reputation is growing in leaps and bounds. Born in regional Nigeria she has since settled in the US. Winning a plethora of prizes has brought her to the notice of major collecting institutions. Prices for her work at auction have risen accordingly. One of Crosby’s themes is the casual racism she experiences: “Sometimes the best critiques are just holding up a mirror so people see their reflection.”

“Drink That You May Live”: Ancient Glass from the Yale University Art Gallery

Alain Truong | Alaintruong.com | 4th August 2017

Glass objects were appearing in Mesopotamia earlier than 2000BC. Improvements in manufacturing accumulated steadily but the big step forward came with glass blowing in the first century BC. From this point glass started replacing metal and ceramic items in the average household. All of which doesn’t answer the burning question – how does a glass object survive for thousands of years?

Power in Simplicity: How This Modern Photographer Mastered His Style

Coralie Kraft | Lensculture | 1st August 2017

Sheeler started photography as a side line. But the images he captured of modernizing America have become his most enduring work. One critic describes his images of the Ford manufacturing plant as an “epic survey of the Industrial Sublime. Ninety years later, the excitement Sheeler felt in the presence of these magnificent structures — monuments to utility, geometry, force — remains palpable.”

15th August 2017

Holding Up the Torch: Walter Hopps and the World of Art

Scott Timberg | Los Angeles Review of Books | 29th June 2017

Hobbs discovered art at fifteen, opened his first gallery at 21 and co-founded the legendary Ferus Gallery at 24. But being a dealer wasn’t him – “a salesman in every way other than financial”. He switched to curating and is now recognized as a major influence on American contemporary art. An excerpt from a recently released biography, where Hobbs discusses Frank Stella and Andy Warhol, is here.

Should museums be able to sell their art? This museum says its future depends on it

Dayana Morales Gomez | PBS Newshour | 9th August 2017

Having lost money for years, the Berkshire Museum has a choice – raise money by selling artworks or risk closure. Among the works to go are treasured paintings by Norman Rockwell. Some local media outlets are upset by the plan – a “profound spiritual loss to the community” according to one. Regional museum directors are reportedly more sympathetic, one commending the plan for its “clearheaded honesty”.

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