In the lobby of NXTHVN, the art hub co-founded by Titus Kaphar and Jason Price, curator Arvia D. Walker invites visitors to her exhibition, Reverence: An Archival Altar, to write a letter to the future. The prompt is to scribe a text to “those you imagine will come after you—those not yet born, those on their way, those becoming.
Art News
If it’s true that the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, then Noah Davis is that flame. He arrived in Los Angeles at the age of 21, sold his first painting by the time he was 25, and 400 artworks later, was dead of cancer at 32.
This modest-size, thoughtful, insightful, and shapely show, celebrating the grant program, Anonymous Was A Woman, established in 1996 by philanthropist and artist Susan Unterberg, is testimony to the Grey Art Museum’s long-time director Lynn Gumpert on the occasion of her well-earned retirement. The gathering was organized by curator, writer, and editor Nancy Princenthal and curator Vesela Sretenovi´c.
Just two months ago, New York City’s Frick Collection reopened its doors after a five-year renovation and temporary residence on Madison Avenue.
Let us start with black and red, galactic black and blue-based crimson– void and blood, dead and living. Add to that, intense emotion: horror and ecstasy, revulsion and reverence, debauchery and exultation, violence and grace. Throw in narrative: historical references, biblical tales, political intrigue, relationships, rape, murder, God. And, most importantly, there’s the radiance of pure light: golden, streaming, illuminating.
“Blacksmith, I set ye a task. Take these harpoons and lances. Melt them down. Forge me new weapons that will strike deep and hold fast.” - Captain Ahab, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, 1851
Now on view at the Met, Sargent & Paris, as the title eludes, explores artist John Singer Sargent’s time living in Paris from 1874 through 1885, before he moved to London.
Surrealism became the focus of many art institutions in 2024 in response to the 100th anniversary of the 1924 publication of Andre Breton’s (1896-1966) Surrealist Manifesto. Now, in a moment when female visionary artists like Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) and Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) are being rediscovered, Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) stands out.
The exhibition Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives opened at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 7th.
This April, the Whitney Museum of American Art opens Amy Sherald: American Sublime, and consequently cements the artist as the new Miss Americana. This is Sherald’s debut solo exhibit in New York City, and in true American fashion, it will cross the country to San Francisco and Washington D.C.—fitting for a collection so decidedly nestled in excellence and American realism.
