It’s odd to say Brancusi “exploded” onto the art scene in 1913. He could barely sell a work and, for decades, depended on a sole American patron. Such market indifference reflects “the extent to which Brancusi was operating wholly outside the temper of his time, including [radical] Paris.” Given his stature now, this is surely one of the more remarkable transformations in all of art history.
With some irony a critic quips that “after five decades, Corse is suddenly hard to miss”. What’s also hard to miss is that over that long low-profile period Corse stayed tightly focused on one thing – “to put the light in the painting … When [viewers are] looking at the paintings, it’s an outer light, but when you relate to it, it becomes an inner light to feel” More images are here.
So-called “outsider” artists are rarely shown in museums. The outsider label implies that these artists “lack the agency or self-awareness of their educated peers.” An outstanding Washington show reveals that such art actually has “overwhelming strength. By showing us the dazzling pluralism of the past century [the show weaves] a richer tapestry of American art history.”
Bauhaus – perhaps the most hallowed name in architecture and design – espoused an egalitarian modern life. On closer examination, a new book argues, it actually pursued “an elitist, aristocratic notion of taste.” This contradiction hastened the school’s demise but its wonderful modernist ideas lived on, eventually finding a market – in distant, wealthy post-war America.
Elegant background essay on an artist who, in the blink of an eye, has gone from ‘recognised’ to ‘high profile’. Taylor’s portraiture is wildly divergent – from the famous to the homeless. Its common thread is “the African American aesthetic tradition” and his empathetic eye. Smith puts it succinctly “Other people look: Taylor sees”.
The former Yugoslavia ended badly. Yet, after its expulsion from the Soviet bloc, it enjoyed an optimistic outlook. The architecture was remarkable, a far cry from the drab constructions elsewhere in Eastern Europe. There was “an abundant presence of design culture… in a socialist country. It was an aspect we tended not to see.” More images are here.