Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi’s (1904-1988) philosophy of life and artistic output are so intricately intertwined that it is nearly impossible to think of them separately. He is one of a handful of 20th-century artists whose very ideas and explorations, perhaps even more vital today than in his own time, warrant careful study. Noguchi was no […]

Jenny Holzer, like many young artists in the late 70s, early 80s, began her career pasting anonymous offset posters on building walls, garbage can covers, postal boxes, and fences around New York City. Truisms (1977-79), her very first public work consisted of 257 alphabetized statements printed in bold italic lists, culled and condensed from her […]

When I look at the work of calligrapher, poet, and painter Bada Shanren (Chinese, 1625-1705), I can easily get a sense of the storytelling ability of the great calligrapher. But Shanren’s use of the painted image told the story for a Westerner like me, who was not getting a feel for his writing ability because […]

D. Dominick Lombardi’s recent exhibition Toyota vs. Godzilla at ArtLexis in Brooklyn highlights the alternately political, prosaic, spiritual, and flamboyant methods by which life is experienced in Tokyo and Seoul. The exhibition exploits Lombardi’s own fluency in these multifarious forms of discourse, here painting and sculpture. They are the basis for his shrewd and penetrating […]

The Broadway Gallery recently presented the vibrant work of the Italy-based artist Matthew Lauretti. At first glance, the art appeared unsubtle because of the riot use of colors and careening compositions that made the pieces feel cacophonous, feverish, and bursting with an over-the-top energy. But Lauretti wisely added visual and intellectual depth to the work […]

There is a difficulty in viewing the artwork of Marlene Dumas. Questions arise. What is pornography? What is nude? What is naked? How does the reliance on the photograph as an almost exclusive source material make authentic the complete realization of the art? Does the source lead to ambiguity? Is it all sex and skin? […]

Artist Soly Cissé likes to laugh. And he has every reason to do so. At age 39 he is among his country Senegal’s internationally best-known artists. He represents his country at major exhibitions and biennials all over the world, for example in São Paulo, Havana, and of course Dakar, the city where he was born […]

Art advisor and curator Helen Klisser During is native to New Zealand. She’s lived in the New York City area since 1986, working with artists, art institutions, and collectors since 1991. Her reach is vast, as it runs through Europe, the U.S., Asia, and the Middle East, yet a big piece of her heart and […]

Operating within an artistic climate in which both privilege of subject and indulgence in beauty are unusual, artist Gretchen Ryan has created a body of work that offers both in spades. Based in Los Angeles, Ryan recently made her New York debut at Fred Torres Collaborations, a nine-month-old exhibition space in Chelsea. Little Pretty, which […]

The Nordic Museum of Drawing in Laholm, Sweden, now introduces artist Sol Kjøk, born in 1968 in Lillehammer, Norway, now a long-time resident of Brooklyn, New York. The Norwegian artist has lived and worked in many different cities in Europe and the U.S. Her drawings speak an international language that can be understood in all […]