What the Butler Saw

A Conversation with Alice Sparkly Kat, on the Occasion of her participation in POPPOSITIONS, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

"Alice Sparkly Kat is a queer astrologer of color with four years of experience in individual consultation, lectures, workshops, and writing. They use astrology to speculate on the ways culture inhabits biology. To them, astrology is a process of imagining the cultural alien through the metaphor of outer space. This work has inhabited MoMA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Hauser and Wirth. Their Astrology and Storytelling book (for sale on their website) is a workbook... Read more →

A Conversation with Freek Lome, Founding Director of Onomatopee Projects, on the Occasion of his participation in POPPOSITIONS, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

13 years ago, Freek Lome founded the public gallery/publishing firm Onomatopee Projects in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He has directed it ever since. Its mission is to inspire in-depth experiences and to provide critical nourishment. He is also a freelance curator, lecturer, moderator, and writer. Onomatopee Projects is participating in this year’s POPPOSITIONS. (Also interviewed were Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk, Artistic Director, Dries Segers, artist, and Alice Sparkly Kat, artist.) JS: It is written that Onomatopee Projects... Read more →

A Conversation with Dries Segers on the Occasion of his Participation in POPPOSITIONS, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

Dries Segers is an artist who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. He is represented by DMW Artspace. He graduated from the Listahaskoli, Icelandic Academy for the Arts in Reykjavik (2011) and LUCA School of Arts, Sint Lukas Brussels (2013). His work has been shown in solo- and group shows like The Weekend Room (Seoul, South Korea), De Brakke Grond (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Musee and Galerie Botanique (Brussels, Belgium), Neue Galerie (Ausberg, Germany), Warte für Kunst... Read more →

A Conversation with Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk, Artistic Director, POPPOSITIONS Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

This 8th edition of the POPPOSITIONS art fair is entitled The Capital of Woke: On formulating resistance to capitalised ideologies. Comprised of work chosen by a 5-person selection committee, It will feature 25 participants from 12 countries. (See below). For the third time, Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk will be the artistic director. His co-director will be Rachelle Dufour. Mathias Prenen will design the space. A cross between an art fair and an exhibition, the production will... Read more →

A Conversation with Massinissa Selmani on the Occasion of his Participation in the 2019 Armory Show, by James Scarborough

Below is an interview with Algerian artist, Massinissa Selmani. Along with Tunisia artist Nidhal Chamekh, his work was shown at the recent Armory Show in New York. He's represented by the Selma Feriani Gallery JS: Growing up in Algiers, who or what were your early artistic influences? Are they the same as today? MS: My first influences come from Algerian painters such as M'hamed Issiakhem, Mohammed Temmam or Baya, but also cartoonists such as Ali... Read more →

A Conversation with Reena Lath, Co-Founder of Akar Prakar Gallery, Kolkata and New Delhi, India, on the Occasion of Their Gallery’s Participation in 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the world’s leading platform for Contemporary and Modern art from the Middle East - North Africa - South Asia (MENASA) region, aka the Global South. This 13th iteration of the fair will feature 500 artists from around the world represented by 90 galleries in 40 countries. Its Artistic Director is Pablo del Val. Featuring Global Arts Forum, the Residents Program, and Campus Art Dubai, programming will include talks, tours,... Read more →

LA-Based Multimedia Artist Viviana Carlos’ Photographic Breadcrumbs: the Illusion of Arrival, by James Scarborough

Each piece a series of photographs. Visually, some photographs connect with one another. Others don’t. The ones that do. The base of a mountain in one lines up with the edge of a house’s roof in another. A road’s curve continues into the curve of another road. A billowing curtain bisects a window shade which sits next to a bathed-in-light chevron spaced nestled in the intersection of two ivy-covered concrete walls. If the body of... Read more →

A Conversation with Adeela Suleman, Bawwaba artist, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the world’s leading platform for Contemporary and Modern art from the Middle East - North Africa - South Asia (MENASA) region, aka the Global South. This 13th iteration of the fair will feature 500 artists from around the world represented by 90 galleries in 40 countries. Its Artistic Director is Pablo del Val. Featuring Global Arts Forum, the Residents Program, and Campus Art Dubai, programming will include talks, tours,... Read more →

A Conversation with Daniah Al Saleh, Winner of the 2nd Edition of the Ithra Art Prize, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the world’s leading platform for Contemporary and Modern art from the Middle East - North Africa - South Asia (MENASA) region, aka the Global South. This 13th iteration of the fair will feature 500 artists from around the world represented by 90 galleries in 40 countries. Its Artistic Director is Pablo del Val. Featuring Global Arts Forum, the Residents Program, and Campus Art Dubai, programming will include talks, tours,... Read more →

A Conversation with Fernanda Brenner, Co-Curator, Residents Programme, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the world’s leading platform for Contemporary and Modern art from the Middle East - North Africa - South Asia (MENASA) region, aka the Global South. This 13th iteration of the fair will feature 500 artists from around the world represented by 90 galleries in 40 countries. Its Artistic Director is Pablo del Val. Featuring Global Arts Forum, the Residents Program, and Campus Art Dubai, programming will include talks, tours,... Read more →

A Conversation with Fawz Kabra, Co-Director, Global Art Forum, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the world’s leading platform for Contemporary and Modern art from the Middle East - North Africa - South Asia (MENASA) region, aka the Global South. This 13th iteration of the fair will feature 500 artists from around the world represented by 90 galleries in 40 countries. Its Artistic Director is Pablo del Val. Featuring Global Arts Forum, the Residents Program, and Campus Art Dubai, programming will include talks, tours,... Read more →

Lisa Adams and the Art of More than Making Do, by James Scarborough

Things point to a void. Black holes that signify nothing. No hint of what’s inside. Or where they lead. A skewered dolphin, for instance, emerges from such an existential oval. A carnival ride? Nope. Something eco-sinister. Structures with doors and windows that reveal nothing within. No one’s home. Flowers emerge from manholes. Fertilized by what? Other mile markers on the road to dystopia. A catatonically optimistic coyote. A diagonal plank that heads nowhere apparent, like... Read more →

Here and Somewhere Else: Tim McMullen’s Anecdotal Modernism, South Pasadena Arts Council Gallery, by James Scarborough

Heraldic forms occupy center stage. They are playful if not exuberant in their monumentality. Accessible and uncomplicated, they are familiar and Modern. Their effect is hypnotic. They invite the viewer to slip into a jet stream of awareness and contemplation. Though their forms suggest the pure, timeless, and universal themes of Constantin Brancusi and Kazmir Malevich, they coexist without fanfare, as the artist writes, with wiggles and drips. These wiggles and drips anchor the otherwise... Read more →

A Conversation with Wyatt Kahn on the Occasion of his exhibition at Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

The exhibition runs until February 16. The Gallery is located at 6 rue St-Georges | St-Jorisstraat 1050 Brussels, Belgium. For more information on the exhibition, visit here. For more information on the artist, visit here and here. JS: How does your current work continue your ongoing dynamic between painting and sculpture? Similarities? Differences? WK: Each work in this exhibition continues a dialogue between the mediums. For example, Drifting is made of canvas — a traditional... Read more →

A Conversation with Lisa Adams on the Occasion of Her Exhibition "A Piebald Era" at Garis & Kahn Art Gallery, by James Scarborough

JS: How is ours a piebald era? LA: The phrase, “a piebald era,” came to me out of the blue and I had no idea what it meant or if it was even relevant. It was as if someone had whispered it in my ear and I set to work researching, what could that possibly mean? Piebald has an alternative meaning—something composed of incongruous parts. It seems like a fit for the era in which... Read more →

A Conversation with Armen Eloyan on the Occasion of His Exhibition "Natur und Kultur" at the Tim Van Laere Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium, by James Scarborough

Armen Eloyan was born in Armenia in 1966. He studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, graduating in 2005. He lives and works in Zurich. Recent exhibitions include Armen Eloyan, Timothy Taylor, New York, USA (2107), Armen Eloyan, Galerie Nicola Von Senger, Zürich, Switzerland (2017), Armen Eloyan: Garden, Timothy Taylor, London (2016); Armen Eloyan & Josef Scharl, curated by Harald Spengler, Kunstparterre, Munich (2014); The Pink Spy, M HKA, Antwerp (2014); Luc Tuymans: A Vision of... Read more →

A Conversation with Fida Touma, Deputy Director General of the A.M. Qattan Foundation, on the Occasion of the Fourth Qalandiya International, Palestine, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION The fourth Qalandiya International (QI) will take place from October 3rd - October 30th. Also known as the Palestine Biennial, it’s the largest contemporary art event in Palestine. This year's QI examines the theme of Solidarity. Exhibitions and programs will take place throughout the country. Sites include Jerusalem, Gaza, Ramallah, Al Bireh, Birzeit, and several Palestinian villages. It will feature the work of dozens of Palestinian and international artists (See below). Solidarity-themed events will... Read more →

A Conversation with Robbie Conal on the Occasion of his Exhibition "Robbie Conal’s Cabinet of Horrors" at Track 16 Gallery, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. Since the Reagan administration, Robbie Conal has made and distributed more than 100 street posters that lampoon more-than-deserving politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, and televangelists. His themes have included the environment, censorship, war, and the Supreme Court (but, alas, not the current Kavanaugh kerfuffle). He’s been called “America’s foremost street artist,” and with good reason. His bleak, zombie apocalypse Cabinet of Horrors features almost two dozen routine abusers of power, authority and trust: Donald Trump, his... Read more →

A Conversation with Farah Khelil on the Occasion of her Exhibition “Graines de pensée” at Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION Farah Khelil was born in Carthage, Tunisia. She graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Tunis. She holds a PhD in Art and Art Sciences from Paris/Pantheon - Sorbonne. She lives and works in Paris. Graines de pensée is her first solo exhibition at the Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia. Her work in the show includes installations made from documents, objects, refuse and plant elements. There is also a slide show, collages, and... Read more →

A Conversation with Reem Shadid and Yazan Khalili on the Occasion of their Exhibition "Debt" at the Fourth Qalandiya International, Palestine, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. The fourth Qalandiya International (QI) will take place from October 3rd - October 30th. Also known as the Palestine Biennial, it’s the largest contemporary art event in Palestine. This year's QI examines the theme of Solidarity. Exhibitions and programs will take place throughout the country. Sites include Jerusalem, Gaza, Ramallah, Al Bireh, Birzeit, and several Palestinian villages. It will feature the work of dozens of Palestinian and international artists (See below). Solidarity-themed events will... Read more →

A Conversation with Eltiqa & Shababek on the Occasion of their Exhibition "Toward Hope" at the Fourth Qalandiya International, Palestine, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. The fourth Qalandiya International (QI) will take place from October 3rd - October 30th. Also known as the Palestine Biennial, it’s the largest contemporary art event in Palestine. This year's QI examines the theme of Solidarity. Exhibitions and programs will take place throughout the country. Sites include Jerusalem, Gaza, Ramallah, Al Bireh, Birzeit, and several Palestinian villages. It will feature the work of dozens of Palestinian and international artists (See below). Solidarity-themed events will... Read more →

“Planet Topspin: Alexander Iskin at Track 16 Gallery, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. What the world needs now is an updated metaphor for the human condition. One that captures the anxiety, uncertainty, and glibness of a digitally-infused social media global culture that flickers furiously with zeroes and ones, signifying nothing. Enter Alexander Iskin (interview here). At times, you can barely recognize the Berlin-based artist’s figures. An arm or shin, an elbow or knee, a torso, aslant, askew, and asunder. At other times, fully-formed figures hurdle an obstacle... Read more →

A Conversation with Alexander Iskin on the Occasion of his Exhibition “Planet Topspin” at Track 16 Gallery, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION Alexander Iskin (review here) was born 1990 in Moscow. He lives and works in Berlin. His solo shows include: The Future is Neanderthal (2017) at DSC Gallery, Prague, CZ Apple Sauce in Paradise (2016) and Reality Express, (2015) at SEXAUER, Berlin His group shows include Salon der Gegenwart (2017) in Hamburg
 Below please find an interview with Mr. Iskin on the occasion of his exhibition “ALEXANDER ISKIN: PLANET TOPSPIN” at Track 16 Gallery. This... Read more →

"Greg Mocilnikar: Short Stories", at Walter Maciel Gallery, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. In the beginning was the Word. Or was it the Light? Nevermind. Greg Mocilnikar’s work bristles with ambiguity, with trying to work through a moment’s feeling and the appropriate way to express it. Each piece represents a skirmish of formal elements. The combatants: meaty, organic black lattice-swaths of black versus a legion of colorful pastel-toned geometric confetti shapes. The action takes place in a pictorial equivalent of a dojo, seen from above. The space... Read more →

A Conversation with Rachel Dedman, Curator of "Labour of Love: New Approaches to Palestinian Embroidery", The Palestinian Museum, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. Labour of Love: New Approaches to Palestinian Embroidery at The Palestinian Museum features 80 dresses and accessories. Archival photographs, posters, paintings, music, and a video place these objects in their historical context. Below follows a generous and thoughtful conversation with Rachel Dedman, the exhibition’s Curator. In it, she discusses the show's origins; expands on its themes; offers insights into the economic and social conditions of the otherwise anonymous embroiderers; and expands on the aptness... Read more →

"Points of View”, Caitlin Lonegan at Susanne Vielmetter Gallery, by James Scarborough

“Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words. (…) Now this is very profound, what rhythm is, and goes far deeper than any words. A sight, an emotion, creates this wave in the mind, long before it makes words to fit it.” Virginia Woolf INTRODUCTION. Caitlin Lonegan’s paintings riff on Abstract Expressionist marks and gestures. She orchestrates these riffs into atmospheric epic poems... Read more →

A Conversation with Kathleen Weyts, Curator of “Somewhere in Between: Contemporary Art Scenes in Europe”, Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

Until August 19, Brussel’s Bozar (Centre for Fine Arts) will stage “Somewhere in Between: Contemporary Art Scenes in Europe”. Curated by Kathleen Weyts, the exhibition reflects the sum efforts of five separate artistic players. These players include Etablissement d’en face; Komplot; La Loge; Prague curator Michal Novotný; and Kunstenbibliotheek/ Students Curatorial Studies KASK, School of Arts Ghent. Each player will configure their portion of the Centre for Fine Arts as they see fit. Coordinated by... Read more →

A Conversation with Elyse Pignolet and Sandow Birk on the Occasion of their Exhibition, "American Procession", at Track 16 Gallery, by James Scarborough

Please find below a conversation with Elyse Pignolet and Sandow Birk on their American Procession exhibition at Track 16 gallery (reviewed here.) Also check the above link to visit equally compelling recent work by Pignolet and Birk, including Birk's Trumpagruel series. -------------------------------------------- JS: The Procession of Princes on Dresden Castle’s exterior wall inspired the piece. Was it something either of you had seen in person, or was it something you saw in reproduction? Either way,... Read more →

“Mitosis: Felicity Nove at CMay Gallery”, by James Scarborough

"If you are only moved by color relationships, you are missing the point. I am interested in expressing the big emotions - tragedy, ecstasy, doom." Mark Rothko INTRODUCTION. 11 poured pigment and resin on aluminum paintings and one site-specific installation. The paintings are large; they engulf the viewer. Everything’s red. Everything quivers, pulsates, and throbs. Gravity would continue the shapes’ voyage down the wall, but they seem frozen in a moment of arrested flux. Smooshed... Read more →

"Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet: American Procession," Track 16 Gallery, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. Elyse Pignolet and Sandow Birk modeled American Procession after The Procession of Princes at Dresden Castle in Germany. The original image began as a painting in the 1870s. It commemorated the ruling family’s 800-year rule. It featured images of 35 monarchs, each following in the footsteps of the one before. This implied an orderly and peaceful transition of rule. The piece was transferred to a 335-foot-long series of ceramic tiles when the original began... Read more →

"JORDI ALCARAZ: defying boundaries", Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. Frame it as you might, you can’t help but delight in the disorder of Jordi Alcaraz’ work. It frets with purposeful indecision. Formal elements - jagged lines (literal, implied), amorphous shapes, hesitant modeling, ambiguous space (literal, implied) – attest as much. It brims with low-level anxiety, with backstage tentativeness. Is this particular piece a painting, a drawing, or a sculpture? How about a wall-hung installation? Could be all four, depending on what the Catalan... Read more →

A Conversation with John Valadez on the Occasion of his Residency at Fine Art Solutions, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. Listening to John Valadez hold court at the studio in which he worked during his recent residency (review here) at Fine Art Solutions is like hanging out with someone who used to paint Renaissance Popes in his youth and now, mellow and philosophical, follows his own idiosyncratic pursuits. He’s led a full, active life, which shows no signs of slowing down. He still works in his home studio, where he continues to experiment and... Read more →

A Conversation with Teresita de la Torre on the Occasion of her Exhibition at Eastside International (ESXLA), by James Scarborough

My psyche was forever impacted by the conditions I grew up experiencing on the US/Mexico border in Laredo, Texas. Words like el norte, el otro lado, and la migra formed part of my everyday lexicon. I witnessed, firsthand, the separation of friends, family, and loved ones–while personally dealing with an internal identity crisis (or more commonly known as the Chicanx mantra, of “Ni de aquí, Ni de allá.” My experience on the border fueled my... Read more →

"Teresita de la Torre: Hilando Relaciones", Eastside International (ESXLA), by James Scarborough

There will be time, there will be time/To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot INTRODUCTION. With sweet, effective understatement, Teresita de la Torre’s installation, Hilando Relaciones, shows how social media devalues the verb, to share. (Art, of course, encourages it.) Picture this scenario. You learn something about yourself. Something profound, something anecdotal, just something. A building block of identity. You want... Read more →

The Constant Gardener Tends To His Painted Flowers: Roland Reiss’ “Unapologetic Flowers and Small Stories”, Claremont Museum of Art, and “Unrepentant Flowers and New Miniature Tableaux”, Diane Rosenstein Gallery, by James Scarborough

Plutôt la vie que ces prismes sans épaisseur même si les couleurs sont plus pures (Choose life instead of those prisms with no depth even if their colors are purer.) Andre Breton, Plutot la Vie, 1923 NOTE: Both shows include selections of the artist’s Flower Paintings and Miniatures work. This piece will focus on the Flower Paintings. INTRODUCTION. Roland Reiss’ Flower Paintings answer the question, How does one make paintings in a digitalized culture? They... Read more →

Valadez in Vernon, East 26th Projects, by James Scarborough

Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. T.S. Eliot INTRODUCTION. Having achieved a solid reputation as a purveyor of art presentation, Fine Art Solutions also awards artist residencies and then mounts exhibitions of the work produced. Such is the context of John Valadez’s Valadez in Vernon, an exhibition at East 26 Projects, a site located on the FAS compound. You can talk about the gritty industrial aesthetic of a museum like the Pompidou. As... Read more →

A Conversation with Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk, Artistic Director, POPPOSITIONS Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium, by James Scarborough

POPPOSITIONS 2018 focuses on diagnosis, articulation, prescription, and, lest we forget, discovery. It feels more like a World’s Fair than an art fair. Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk provides artistic direction. The show encourages a discussion between people with strongly held convictions about the state of the world and the role of art. It’s idealistic (what should be), pragmatic (what is), cautionary (man has made a mess of things…), and visionary (… but that doesn’t mean there... Read more →

A Conversation with Amanda Fruta, University Art Museum’s Public Affairs and Communications Specialist, on the occasion of the Museum’s Robert Irwin: Site Determined exhibition, by James Scarborough

Amanda Fruta is the Public Affairs and Communications Specialist at Cal State Long Beach's University Art Museum. She has a B.A. in Art History and Visual Arts from Occidental College. She knows a lot about art in general and about this exhibition in particular. She shares this knowledge without recourse to academic artspeak. She wants to create meaningful connections and partnerships, foster new discourse, and support a culture of access, equity, and public service. Her... Read more →

"Adrian Villar Rojas: The Theater of Disappearance", Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, by James Scarborough

A shipwreck on the ocean’s floor. An octopus’ garden. A surreal grotto. Such are the first impressions of Adrian Villar Rojas: The Theater of Disappearance at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (October 22, 2017 – May 13, 2018). Careful how you navigate the site-specific installation, a total makeover of the Geffen's exhibition space. A spacious room, unrecognizable from its original white box configuration. Except for a few lit display cases (see below), the lights are... Read more →

A Conversation with Tato Akhalkasishvili, participant in Art Dubai 2018’s Inaugural "Residents" program, by James Scarborough

Tato Akhalkasishvili was born in 1979, Tbilisi, Georgia. He graduated from Tbilisi Academy of Arts in 2003. Afterwards he moved to Germany where he lived and worked in Cologne. In 2008 the artist decided to go back to his country. Nowadays he is based in Tbilisi, Georgia. He works in painting, in addition to making objects, installations and collages. Akhalkasishvili expresses important issues and concepts with the help of different metaphors. Childhood is one of... Read more →

It’s about time: Jack Persekian and Jerusalem’s eternal present, by James Scarborough

(Jerusalem) is an oxymoron, chockfull of contradictions and schizophrenic realities, which we embrace in this seemingly blessed, but so easily deadly, potent formula of persistent animosity and violence. Jack Persekian, After Matson For the Middle East in general and Palestine in particular, 2018 is a landmark year. A hundred years ago, the Balfour Declaration and Jerusalem’s occupation by British forces. Fifty years ago, the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem. Enter Jack Persekian, to remind us,... Read more →

A Conversation with Jose Lerma, participant in Art Dubai 2018’s Inaugural "Residents" program, by James Scarborough

José Lerma was born in 1971 in Seville, Spain and grew up in Puerto Rico. He was recently named Chair of the Painting Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His solo exhibitions include Kemper Museum of Art, Andrea Rosen Gallery, Galería Roberto Paradise, Galerie Xavier Hufkens, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Green Gallery, Gallery Loock, Galería Marta Cervera, Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, NC, Arario Gallery in Seoul, Galleria Il... Read more →

A Conversation with Iabadiou Piko, participant in Art Dubai 2018’s Inaugural "Residents" program, by James Scarborough

Iabadiou Piko (Piko Sugianto) was born in 1984 in Prabumulih, South Sumatera, Indonesia. In 2005, he graduated from the Academic Design of Vision Yogyakarta Department (ADV) with a major in Diploma of Art Photography Design. He is a self-taught painter who now lives and works in Yogyakarta. He participated in Art Dubai 2018’s inaugural Residents program. New to Art Dubai programming, Residents 2018 invited 11 international artists to spend 4 to 8 weeks in a... Read more →

A Conversation with Pablo del Val, Art Dubai Artistic Director, by James Scarborough

Art Dubai 2018 opens this week. It will showcase the work of 500 artists. It will also offer talks, performances, tours, and workshops. Programming includes: Contemporary and Modern. This will feature work from 105 galleries based in 48 countries. The inaugural Residents program. This will feature 11 global artists whose work reflects their experience in the UAE. The Global Art Forum. Titled “I Am Not A Robot”, it will discuss the impact that automation has... Read more →

Robert Irwin: Site Determined, University Art Museum, Cal State Long Beach, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. When you hear intervention, you think something’s wrong and needs to be fixed. For Robert Irwin, that something was art; it needed to be hacked. Beginning as an abstract artist, Irwin questioned painting and found it wanting. In one of those eureka moments by which something seems to come from nothing, but which makes sense in retrospect, he turned to the environment as both his medium and his Muse. Thus was his site-specific work... Read more →

Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, curated by Tatiana Flores, Museum of Latin American Art, a component of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, by James Scarborough

INTRODUCTION. There’s a rhythm to the show, a vibe. It stays with you long after you leave the Museum. Makes sense, doesn’t it? The Caribbean – you think of West Side Story and reggae, merengue and bachata, mambo and calypso. Makes you want to dance through the galleries or at least lilt as you read aloud the wall panels and labels. This rhythm carries you through the tropical installation, through the thematic groupings - Conceptual... Read more →

A Conversation with Djon Mundine and Judith Blackall, Co-Curators, and Nasim Nasr, Participating Artist, in “Sixth Sense,” National Art School Gallery, NSW, Australia, by James Scarborough

In his Dadaist poem Anna Blume, Kurt Schwitters proclaims that the eponymous fraulein is the beloved of his 27 senses. Presumably he experiences her in ways we can only imagine. Sixth Sense, guest-curated by Djon Mundine for the National Art School Gallery, explores how cross-generational Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal artists perceive their world in ways that extend beyond the visual component of their otherwise visual art. Artists in the exhibition are Daniel Boyd,... Read more →

Nothing Juvenile Here: “Artists Assemble!: Empowerment and Inspiration In Contemporary Comics,” Museum of Latin American Art, by James Scarborough

Used to be, in pre-Wikipedia days, that comic books were an easy way to avoid having to read The Hunchback of Notre Dame or The Three Musketeers or other too-long novels for high school essay assignments. Plot lines, character development, there they were, in abbreviated, legible, and graphic form. Now comics are a lot more political, social, and cultural. Case in point, Artists Assemble!: Empowerment and Inspiration In Contemporary Comics, curated by Esperanza Sánchez and... Read more →

A Conversation with Vivian Ziherl, Curator of the 8th Jerusalem Show “Before and After Origins,” a part of the Qalandiya International (The Palestinian Biennial), 2016, by James Scarborough

By their very nature, Biennials present a lot of moving pieces. Usually, they’re of the logistical sort. This year’s Qalandiya International (QI), also known as the Palestinian Biennial, doesn’t just have a lot of moving pieces, it’s also fraught by social and political turmoil. Rarely does a biennial’s past literally erupt into the present in such an immediate way. Given the region’s recent politically inclement climate, the QI’s continued existence is no mean feat. Perhaps... Read more →

Uncomfortably Numb: Brittany Waters at the Thomas Ferreira Gallery, by James Scarborough

You might go to someone’s party and check out the host’s book or music collection. If you’re a little more curious, you might see what the hell’s up in their medicine cabinet. I’m talking pills - analgesics, soporifics, psychotropics. Don’t read the labels, examine the capsules’ designs. Little Mondrians and Van Doesburgs, some butterscotch yellow or lime green monochromes. Innocuous, not a little pretty, right, like really minimal, hand painted, Minimalist sculptures? Well, especially if... Read more →