David Ebony— Ed Ruscha’s name is synonymous with the Los Angeles Pop art movement of the early 1960s. His work, however, has an appeal and importance that transcends merely regional concerns and conventions. Ruscha’s five-decade exploration of the American vernacular in photographs, films, paintings, artist books and works on paper,
David Ebony— This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York. It was a pivotal moment in U.S. history when gay men and lesbians forcefully challenged oppressive government policies and demanded civil rights and protection that were long guaranteed to and taken for granted by the
David Ebony— When I was in college in the mid-1970s, Carl Andre was god. For those of us striving to be serious artists, writers, and art historians, Andre was the paragon. His art was coolly intellectual, deceptively simple and austere, yet surprising and provocative. Minimalism was all the rage at
David Ebony— The 2013-2014 season was a banner year for contemporary art in many ways. The period, spanning early fall through late spring, saw numerous art-world milestones, with museums and galleries expanding and enjoying record attendance while the art market blasted through the roof. The broad range and high quality
David Ebony— From Vincent van Gogh to Tracey Emin, artists of the modern era have had no problem dismantling the boundaries that once divided private life from artistic pursuit. Rarely have art historians and scholars in the field attempted such an autobiographical merger of life and work. An exception is
David Ebony— Richard Estes is one of a very few painters from the original Photorealist movement of the 1960s and early ’70s who remains true to the precepts of the genre and has continued to thrive. Unlike those of many other practitioners of Photorealism, Hyperrealism or Super-realism, as the movement
David Ebony— “Blah, Blah, Blah,” a series of recent “word paintings” by Mel Bochner, may suggest a wry comment on the banality and pointlessness in so much of our slogan-saturated culture. Does the quip signify the end of language, the limits of communication? Bochner’s work is anything but blah. Widely
David Ebony— One of the most prestigious exhibitions of contemporary art the U.S. has to offer, the Whitney Biennial claims to be a bellwether for new trends, important young artists and all sorts of innovative ideas. For that reason, the exhibition inevitably sparks heated controversy, and the 2014 installment is
David Ebony— For the innovative work she produced in the 1960s—large-scale abstract relief sculptures made of welded steel, canvas, wire and soot—Lee Bontecou has earned a very lofty position in the canon of post-war American art history. Writing in Arts Magazine in April, 1965, artist and critic Donald Judd lauded
We are thrilled to announce an exciting new blog feature: David Ebony, one of our favorite writers about art and artists, will contribute regular interviews with authors, artists, curators, and other personalities from the art world at its intersections with our publications on art and architecture. David Ebony— If today’s