In Elisabeth de Bièvre’s book Dutch Art and Urban Cultures, 1200-1700, the author explains how distinct geographical circumstances and histories shaped unique urban developments in different locations in the Netherlands and, in turn, fundamentally informed the art and visual culture of individual cities. In seven chapters, each devoted to a single city, the
Sequoia Miller– Long on the fringes of mainstream narratives of modern art, ceramics are typically considered a field of practice entirely distinct from painting, works on paper, and more conventional forms of sculpture. The Yale University Art Gallery’s recent publication The Ceramic Presence in Modern Art: Selections from the Linda
Jennifer Raab — Years ago, standing in front of Frederic Edwin Church’s The Heart of the Andes (1859) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I wondered, why is this painting so detailed? This was the first word that came to mind when looking at the picture. It was also the
The recently published book Wyeth: Andrew & Jamie in the Studio accompanies a standout exhibition currently on view at the Denver Art Museum. The book’s author, DAM curator Timothy Standring traveled to all of the Wyeth family’s haunts in Maine and Pennsylvania, and his introductory travelogue essay is wonderfully perceptive and
The unforgettable images in That Day: Pictures in the American West, Laura Wilson’s new book of photographs, tell sharply drawn stories of the people and places that have shaped, and continue to shape, the dynamic and unyielding land known as the western United States. As Rick Brettell writes in the
In Elisabeth de Bièvre’s new book Dutch Art and Urban Cultures, 1200-1700, the author explains how distinct geographical circumstances and histories shaped unique urban developments in different locations in the Netherlands and, in turn, fundamentally informed the art and visual culture of individual cities. In seven chapters, each devoted to a single city,
Patrick Coleman– Right now, one of the most exciting art exhibitions in London can’t be seen—not exactly. War Damaged Musical Instruments by Susan Philipsz consists of speakers hanging from the ceiling of the Duveen galleries of the Tate Britain, playing recordings she made of musicians performing upon instruments damaged during
Today’s edition of From the Designer’s Desk features insight and humor from Michael Bierut, a partner at design firm Pentagram whose numerous, genius designs we encounter daily — whose inimitable designs make the physical world more interesting and beautiful every day. Why did you pursue design, rather than, say, painting or architecture or
David Ebony— How important is drawing for a sculptor? Among the most subtle of contemporary American abstract sculptors, Martin Puryear has produced elegant and sometimes astonishing drawings and prints over the past fifty years. The two-dimensional works often correspond to his sculptures, but they are not mere studies for 3-D