Painting for the Green New Deal
The final exhibition at the now defunct Pasadena Museum of California Art focused on a revision of the traditional landscape through the sensibilities of a selection of female artists. More...
Two Novels for Millennials
Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies" (1930) follows a circle of post-WWI twenty somethings; while Dawn Powell's "The Golden Spur" (1962) follows another twenty something from rural Ohio to Greenwich Village after WWII in two books that Matthew Kangas finds well targeted for today's millennials. More...
That Minimalist Wall
There is the idea being discussed of turning Trump’s Great Wall into a monument to folly, greed and stupidity. Screw the wall, save the prototypes. More...
Civics Lesson from a Mural
A group recently sought to have a mural located at a Los Angeles school painted out because it reminded them of the Japanese battle flag, More...
Art and Houseplants
Richard Speer visits some Portland businesses that take their art seriously, not just using it for ambience, but with real curatorial intent and with artists sporting solid art world resumés. More...
Black and Blue
David S. Rubin finds new and unexpected insights to the art of Alexander Calder and Betye Saar in their recent exhibitions. More...
Melting Pot Aesthetics
In direct contrast to the current political tribalism, key artists have been freely and effectively blending racial and cultural signifiers. More...
“Romantic Songs of the Patriarchy”
Ragnar Kjartansson's recent durational performance "Romantic Songs of the Patriarchy" posted 30 women throughout San Francisco's Women's Building, each performing familiar songs with casually misogynistic lyrics. More...
Portland Evolves from Figure to Field
Visiting from Seattle, Matthew Kangas explores the unique virtues of Portland's current scene, starting with its one but singular major art museum, the popular Pearl District galleries, and the upstart Northeast district across the river. More...
Midterms -- Where Will You Be?
The midterm elections this year reflected a key moment in the current perilous zeitgeist. DeWitt Cheng reflects on art's place in it. More...
Liminal Art
"Liminal," meaning between two states, worked its way into art jargon some time ago, and its aesthetic presence has made itself known in a number of recent exhibitions. David S. Rubin looks at some of the best such recent examples. More...
When Artists Play with Fire
Certain of the exhibitions in San Francisco that Richard Speer recently visited refreshed memories of the recent wildfires the consumed so much acreage in Northern California. Coincidental these shows may have been, but that renders the symbolism that much more felt. More...
Never Give a Inch
Ken Kesey's Stamper family stubbornness makes Bill Lasarow wonder why a third of the country acts as though we never had it so bad. More...
Chicago Pop Redux
Pop art, Chicago style, appears back in vogue, back perhaps due to its seriously screwball renditions of the human condition. More...
Belltown Blues (Part 2)
Concluding his account of the brief period of Belltown's key impact on Seattle's art culture, several of the most important talents are recalled. More...
Burning Down the House
On September 2nd Brazil's National Museum burnt nearly 2 million art, historical and scientific artifacts. Primarily a victim of inadequate funding and planning for such a catastrophe, don't think for a moment that this could not happen here. More...
Can Photographs Tell the Truth Anymore?
We have grown accustomed to the ease with which pixels may be twisted: parts removed or replaced, only to be invisibly sutured back together into something diabolically different. Maria Porges notes that this new normal has artists pushing back to uncover a new veracity. More...
Engaging with Immersive Art
Noting the recent growth in popularity of immersive art, David S. Rubin finds a focused individual experience to be a key measure of success. More...
The Quandary of Content
When you look at a painting, do you see a succession of pleasing forms or a probing inquiry into the human condition? More...
Belltown Blues
Matthew Kangas recounts the early rise of a progressive scene in Seattle, to which he returned in the late 1970s. More...
