The Easel

2nd June 2026

The chaos and passion of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek

Olivia Laing | The Observer | 29th April 2026

Hujar is becoming a mainstream figure in photography. His images portrayed New York’s downtown demi-monde in the decades before AIDS as well as his relationship with artist Paul Thek. Thek cared little for posterity while Hujar was the opposite and is thus more revealed in a new joint biography. Besides his technical prowess, the magic in Hujar’s images came from an “intense, soulful connection” with his subjects, in contrast to the “chilliness” of Diane Arbus. Says one writer, a “beautiful biography”.

26th May 2026

Paul Klee

Reinaldo Laddaga | 4Columns | 5th January 2026

The Nazi’s pursued Klee as a “degenerate” artist. Sacked from the Bauhaus, he went into exile where his art changed. His “wiry, scratchy black line” drawings, previously so often focused on idealised nature, turned to irony and satire as ways to confront fascism and political violence. This interpretation isn’t explicit in his work leading to complaints of “curatorial over-reach”. However, such criticism seems to deny the obvious that, disenfranchised by the Nazi’s, Klee would respond through his art.

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