The Easel

15th August 2023

Brice Marden’s Infinitesimal Hinge

Jerry Saltz | Vulture | 11th August 2023

Marden started out in the 1960’s when some thought painting was finished. His first works, “subtle and beautiful” blocks of colour, instead vehemently declared “the immense possibilities in this contained surface”. A later encounter with calligraphy inspired him to add rather poetic veins of squiggley, lines. These elements brought huge acclaim and the status of a “flame keeper” for painting. Marden responded that he used painting “as a sounding board for the spirit”.

Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth

David Carrier | The Brooklyn Rail | 1st July 2023

In the mid 1890’s and nearing his peak, Munch’s art fully expressed his outlook on life. The Scream says it all about his bleak mindset. Yet his somewhat overlooked landscapes show that nature provided him an “emotional and philosophical wellspring”. Weather is an active element. Trees, and rocks on the seashore seem alive. And, with his “extreme high-pitched color and his painterly brushwork”, he pointed to abstraction, out on a distant horizon. Images are here.

Love Songs: Photography and Intimacy @ICP

Loring Knoblauch | Collector Daily | 3rd August 2023

Can you photograph love? A group photography show on the theme suggests the answer is maybe … sometimes. One critic attacks the show for its “tired tropes … comely nudes, rumpled beds, preening poses, mirrors”. That’s a bit harsh – themes about death, breakups, motherhood and violence are all addressed.  Notes another critic, despite these renowned artists trying for the same thing, “the exhibition [proves] that they’re not showing the same thing at all”.

Can a White Curator Do Justice to African Art?

Todd Cronan and Charles Palermo | The Nation | 11th August 2023

A topic on which reasonable people may disagree. Can a white person curate African art? Yes, of course. Scholarship is what matters – “you cannot qualify as understanding art by virtue of your DNA”. But does this argument fully address whether Black art could be better represented in museums? Hiring more female curators seems to have helped the showing of art by female artists. Perhaps proactive hiring of Black curators may have similar benefits.

8th August 2023

Why would the rich showcase the poor: the art of Giacomo Ceruti

Roberta D’Adda & Enrico Valseriati | Conceptual Fine Arts | 30th March 2023

Although just a “skilled journeyman” Ceruti stands out. That’s because of what he painted –portraits of the poor. Portraits in eighteenth century Italy were expensive and Ceruti’s works, empathetic, focused and full of detail, certainly would have been that. The poor were a large part of society, yet these works are devoid of any moralizing tone. So, the question remains, “who would want these “insolent and gigantic reportages in their home?” And why? Nobody knows.

Will Vogt, These Americans

Blake Andrews | Collector Daily | 14th July 2023

A notable photobook appeared a few years ago featuring partying young English aristocrats. Cross-Atlantic fairness requires coverage of the American equivalent. Vogt is a member of the wealthy East Coast elite, which explains how he could get images of such candour. They offer a profile of a social class accustomed to “privileged hedonism”. Given today’s political correctness, the reviewer expects this book will “plop like a lead brick”. Images are here.

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