Matthew Rose remembers his dear friend Stanley Greene, a brilliant conflict photographer who sought to show the world human tragedies occurring just out of sight.
Read MoreArtist Marlène Mocquet offers up a savage menagerie of creatures from the darkest corners of fairy tales at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris. The setting, a 17th-century mansion turned into a museum dedicated to the hunt, is eerily perfect for her ceramic creations.
Read MoreMatthew takes a break from politics to consider the role of the humble–and not so humble–chair in French society, the subject of an exhibition at the famed Gobelins tapestry factory in Paris. From space-age sleek lines to Napoleonic bling, there’s a chair here for every taste.
Read MoreSpurred by seeing a recent ad in which artist Maurizio Cattelan appears, Matthew Rose reflects on the relationship between artists and advertising. He asks, why haven’t more artists appeared in or contributed to major advertising campaigns?
Read MoreMatthew Rose offers a critical take on ’80s art wunderkind Julian Schnabel’s latest show in Paris, which features images of the god Shiva overlaid with the artist’s own interventions. Is this a genuine attempt at an artistic dialogue between East and West, or an unfortunate tone-deaf combination of art and religion?
Read MoreMatthew Rose shares thoughts about performance art, upon reading Marina Abramović’s memoir, “Walk Through Walls.” He reflects on the history of the art form, looking at Marcel Duchamp’s Rrose Selavy, Yves Klein’s “Leap into the Void,” and in the 1970s, Chris Burden’s “Shoot.” Abramović’s endurance performances focus on provocation and trust and, he says, over time they betoken the artist’s persistence as a performer in the public realm.
Read MoreChicago-based painter and sculptor Himmelfarb’s recent projects consist of drawing, painting and assembling trucks–both toy-sized sculptures and actual vintage pickups loaded with an assortment of rusted objects and found detritus. His works are a kind of history on wheels, sojourners in time. And Venice, with its pronounced absence of cars–and wheels in general–proved an interesting place to uncover the essence of our attachment to motion and John’s current interests.
Read MoreCulture workers–artists, curators, museums, galleries, and even collectors–will need to choose their weapons well at this highly charged cultural crossroads. Will a paintbrush, pencil, theater, soup kitchen, computer, parade, YouTube, or even cash suffice to forge meaningful change? My guess is the means of engagement will inevitably evolve to match the challenge, but that won’t include simply “liking” a picture of a naked and pregnant Trump in the arms of Vladimir Putin.
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