What the Butler Saw

Catalina Swinburn’s “Healing Rituals” revalidates the place of women throughout history. Swinburn uses weaving as a metaphor for female expression, a practice that has historically substituted for the silence imposed on women across time. Her works, which she calls “anticipated archaeology,” describe the presence and accumulation of fragments that provide new meaning to the whole. The UV prints on Arches Aquarelle, each 105h x 75w cm, depict heads of female stone, terracotta, and bronze sculptures... Read more →

Art collective Slavs and Tatars have once again demonstrated their ability to fuse historical narratives with modern conceptual art in their latest exhibition, “Simurgh Self-Help.” Drawing inspiration from Marcel Broodthaers’ pioneering work of institutional critique, “Musée d’Art Moderne: Département des Aigles,” this exhibition translates the secular symbolism of the eagle into the mystical and spiritually significant Simurgh. The Simurgh, a mythical bird from Persianate mythology, represents a metaphysical counterpart to the eagle’s nationalistic and imperial... Read more →

Mohamed Saleh Khalil’s work explores cultural identity, memory, and the human condition by synthesising traditional and contemporary art practices. His art is distinguished by his meticulous attention to detail, vibrant colour palettes, and the seamless integration of various mediums and techniques. His works transcend visual representation; instead, they invite us to engage in a reflective dialogue about the complexities of modern existence and the enduring impact of historical narratives. His use of traditional motifs and... Read more →

In the quiet chambers of modern consciousness, where the din of digital connectivity often drowns out the murmur of inner voices, Lisa Adams' virtual exhibition, "Whispers of Solitude," emerges as a compelling counter-narrative. Curated to explore the nuances of solitude, the work reveals Adams' profound engagement with isolation, both as a physical reality and a metaphysical contemplation. Adams' canvases are arenas where the personal and the universal collide and coalesce. In works like "A Year... Read more →

The "Carter 1960-1980" exhibition at Champ Lacombe Gallery offers a long-overdue retrospective on a pivotal period in the career of the British sculptor John Carter. It highlights Carter's emergence as part of the influential "New Generation" group of sculptors in the 1960s London art scene. This movement, spearheaded by Anthony Caro's tenure at St. Martin's School of Art, ushered in a radical rethinking of sculpture. Rejecting traditional materials and modes, the New Generation artists experimented... Read more →

Bryan Ali Sanchez's show, "Siempre Presente / Ever-Present" at Albert Projects, explores stories of the working class. He does so with a focus on resilience and emotional depth. He comes from San Diego's Barrio Logan and has a Mexican American background. His work reflects his own experiences and as well as shared memories. Sanchez's technique generates two dynamics: motion/stillness and transparency/opacity. These dynamics reflect the complex nature of struggle and perseverance. His work is physical.... Read more →

Jainisha Vira, an aspiring graphic designer, presents a vibrant fusion of traditional Indian art styles with contemporary digital techniques. Her portfolio reveals a deep engagement with her Indian cultural heritage, notably in her investigation of Warli and Phad painting styles. These traditional Indian art forms are characterized by their distinctive approaches to storytelling and visual representation. Warli focuses on simplicity and monochrome; Phad narrates elaborate religious tales through colorful scrolls. Her work, however, doesn’t just... Read more →

"Rooms? 1,2,3: Forgotten memories of my life as a weed", set within the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Botanical Gardens in Kumasi, Ghana, represents a radical departure from traditional art spaces. Conceived and executed by Lisa C Soto and Gershon Gidisu, this installation redefines gallery space through a series of 8x8x8 cubes that push physical and conceptual boundaries. These structures elicit a dialogue set within the context of a natural environment. The... Read more →

Danielle Eubank’s “Ripple Effect,” on show at the Pamela Walsh Gallery, contributes to a needed discussion of the complex interplay between water as both motif and metaphor within the environmental discourse. This exhibition, an extension of her “One Artist Five Oceans” series, examines the nuanced relationship between humanity and water, focusing on the San Francisco Bay area’s aquatic ecosystems. Poised between abstraction and realism, her work challenges conventional representations of water, reflecting her evolving methodology... Read more →

Christopher Astley’s “Terrain,” opened at Martos Gallery on February 15. It marks a pivotal moment in the artist’s career. Known for his intricate blend of abstract and representational forms, Astley’s work explores the essence of landscape painting, challenging and expanding its traditional confines. This exhibition, which also features select pieces from his “Seven Years Below” series, offers an exploration of the interplay between human cognition and the environment, presenting landscapes that exist at the intersection... Read more →

“This is not a chair”, opening on February 2nd at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art, examines the intricate, sometimes blurred relationship between art and functionality. Inspired by Rene Magritte’s thought-provoking painting, “The Treachery of Images (“Ceci n’est pas une pipe”),” the show questions the essence of what constitutes a chair. It's an exhibition of chairs or objects for sitting as well as a storytelling medium, a tool for social engagement and a work of... Read more →

Nancy Nieto is a distinguished artist renowned for her vibrant fusion of Mexican folklore, realism, and American pop art. Born into a culturally rich Mexican American family, she was deeply influenced by her grandmother’s tales, which ignited her passion for art and culture. Initially pursuing modeling and acting, Nieto transitioned to painting, where she found her true calling. Her unique artistic style is characterized by a bold use of color and a blend of cultural... Read more →

Guest-curated by Inass Yassin, the Palestinian Museum’s exhibition, A People by the Sea: Narratives of the Palestinian Coast, documents the history of the Palestinian coast. The exhibition spans two hundred years, from the mid-eighteenth century to 1948. It features archival images, videos, historical artifacts from Palestinians’ daily life, interactive stations, maps, oral history testimonies, historical documents, and works of art. Artists include Manar Zuabi, Bashar Khalaf, Dima Srouji, Shareef Sarhan, Essa Grayeb, Amir Zuabi, and... Read more →

Bryan Ali Sanchez, born in San Diego, California is a painter whose work examines the inequalities of class structure, cultural polarities and overlaps from personal experiences. He received an AA from San Diego City College in Visual and Performing Arts with a Two-Dimensional Art Emphasis. He received his BFA from California State University of Long Beach with a Concentration in Painting and Drawing. He has exhibited throughout San Diego and he recently exhibited at The... Read more →

Emily Hoerdemann is a Los Angeles-based artist working primarily in collage, incorporating painting, and photography. Her work melds text, paint, and process in colorful collages with select pop references, slang words and catch phrases, paired with fashion or fine art cut-outs. Her work draws on her obsession with organization and as a result, each work is a delicate placing of aesthetics and color. Below follows a conversation in conjunction with her exhibition, One Word Poems... Read more →

Marjorie Muns’ motifs are simple ones. They are the pictorial equivalent of chamber music. Rocks, fruit, and muffins, Flowers, postcards (postcards showing works of art!) and vessels. Animals (ceramic and glass, giraffes and ducks) and Japanese screens. Nothing looks out of place. The renditions are humble and attentive. Objects don’t look posed; they glow in a moment of epiphany. In a space that is more narrow than shallow, the better to focus on the things... Read more →

Removing the friction from a system is an aesthetic joy. Clive Thompson, “Efficiency is Beautiful,” Wired Magazine, April 2019 ABSTRACT: In "The Poetically Intelligent Design of Andrew Wenrick," the author examines the artist's unique approach to transforming ordinary maps into complex, multi-dimensional art pieces. Through descriptive and analytical prose, the article highlights how Wenrick repurposes the visual and conceptual elements of maps, such as the Thomas Brothers Guides, into synthetic realities and fictional geographic networks.... Read more →

Nathalie Hartjes studied art history and Archeology (MA, 2004) at the Leiden University. Since 2015, she has been the director of MAMA, a platform for visual culture and young talent in Rotterdam. MAMA is one of the pioneering institutions in the area of talent development in the Netherlands, working in a participatory manner with a large group of budding professionals in their twenties (Team MAMA) both behind and in front of the scenes. In 2014,... Read more →

Besides this CMOA exhibition, London-based Conceptual artist Andrew Wenrick has had solo exhibitions in London and Luzern, Switzerland. He has participated in group exhibitions in London, Bristol, Oxford, St. Andrews, Luzern, Vallauris (France), Boston, and Detroit. His work is in private collections in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, China, United Arab Emirates, Canada and the United States. Museum hours are Friday through Sunday, noon to 4PM. The exhibition runs from May 10... Read more →

"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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

ABSTRACT: In the article, the focus is on a series of artworks that vividly portray a journey into a dystopian world through evocative and surreal imagery. The paintings are filled with existential voids, eco-sinister themes, and mysterious structures, creating a sense of intrigue and unease. Despite the dystopian backdrop, there are subtle glimmers of hope and resilience. The artist employs narrow pictorial spaces and frenetic lines to convey a sense of claustrophobia and imbalance, yet... Read more →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

“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 →

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 →

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 →

"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 →

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 →

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 →