The Easel

28th July 2020

The Japanese-American Sculptor Who, Despite Persecution, Made Her Mark

Thessaly La Force | The New York Times | 20th July 2020

Asawa’s “rediscovery” was just over a decade ago, yet she is now regarded as a great sculptor. A student visit to Mexico introduced her to weaving techniques that later re-emerged as woven wire sculptures. She exhibited in the 1950’s but slipped off the artworld radar. Of her art career Asawa said “Sculpture is like farming. If you just keep at it, you can get quite a lot done.”

To Bear Witness: Real Talk about White Supremacy in Art Museums Today

Kelli Morgan | Burnaway | 24th July 2020

A confronting essay based on the writer’s curatorial experience. American art museums (like many others, surely) have internal cultures that prioritise white male art. Consequently, people of colour tend not to visit. Few [US] institutions have an “honest display of the diverse array of artists working throughout the twentieth century” Making museums truly inclusive requires institutional values that “decenters white people”.

21st July 2020

Revisiting a Revolution of Mexican Art in America

Anna Schapiro | The New York Review of Books | 20th July 2020

A personal take on an important, previously reviewed, show. Mexican artists who came to the US in the late 1920’s were innovators, cognizant of modernism but charting a different course. Little wonder they inspired Jackson Pollock, among others. Many enjoyed early success but, due to their communist politics, ended up with lives “of unexpected obscurity”. The social justice ideals that animated their art are now glossed over, seeming “quaint or merely pretty”.

The Art World’s Erasure of a Revolutionary Japanese-American Artist

John Yau | Hyperallergic | 18th July 2020

In its excitement about abstract expressionism and Pop, the US art world for a while neglected other goings on. One of those neglected was Amino, a sculptor working in resin and wood. In a career full of experimentation, his most distinctive works were coloured shapes held within a transparent block. Completely unnoticed, Amino had entered “wholly new sculptural territory.”

Horse Power

Amy Hood | The Iris | 15th July 2020

Horses feature often in Western art. Not only are they a succinct indicator of social rank or valour but artists enjoy the challenge of portraying their complex forms. Here, Getty features some notable horse portraits from their collection. The rationale for the article, it seems, is nothing more than an offering of equestrian eye candy.

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