The Easel

2nd December 2025

Recollecting Forwards

Glenn Adamson | Salon94 | 1st August 2025

Siesbye happily agrees she makes nothing but ceramic bowls. Her unadorned pieces reflect ancient Anatolian forms with a modern Scandinavian overlay. Why does such seemingly plain work get so much acclaim? Partly it’s their refined designs with tiny bases and flowing lines. More though, it’s their beguiling simplicity. As Morandi (a Siesbye favourite) demonstrated “there is nothing more complicated than simplicity.” Siesbye notes the ultimate form of her work is “decided by the clay”. Images are here.

Jennifer Packer: Dead Letter

Tony Bluestone | The Brooklyn Rail | 18th November 2025

Packer is a rising star in American art, enjoying solo shows and major awards early in her career. Her latest exhibition showcases her portraiture. It’s “a memento mori” says one writer,  “what traces [people] leave after they are gone”.  That seems apt, Packer having recently suffered a personal loss. In one work “two perfectly rendered feet touch the ground. Meanwhile, the figure drifts upward and away. Packer’s layering —of paint, gesture, and meaning— mirrors the complexity of mourning.”

25th November 2025

Spectrum of desire

Jo Livingstone | 4Columns | 21st November 2025

If you think of medieval art as purely religious, you are missing some of the story. Sex and desire was a “multifaceted” concept that frequently appeared in devotional images. Experiences did not divide neatly between spiritual and secular. Gender was a fluid concept. Medieval thinkers thought “Christ was a mother to humanity”. Lust, a no-no if purely carnal, was acceptable if part of devotional practice. Just as in our time, “there is no defence against desire, and desire continually disrupts”.

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