Los Angeles Los Angeles County Museum of Art James Turrell’s ongoing exploration of light as art is grounded in the phenomenological even as it touches on the philosophical. Immanence comes quickly to mind because the consistency or quiddity of his work is keyed to the viewer’s act of perceiving and because light also alludes to
Jene Highstein
New York Clocktower Gallery When I arrived in New York in late 1975, straight from an MFA program in sculpture, I recall seeing Jene Highstein’s forms and not knowing exactly what to make of them. They played a prominent role in various exhibitions at the alternative spaces where sculpture was being shown at the time,
Johannes Girardoni
Los Angeles Nye + Brown Gallery After a trip to West Africa, installational light artist Johannes Girardoni was sharply reminded of the extent to which algorithms for digital identity have influenced how we read our environment and relate to one another.
Trying the Combinations: A Conversation with Richard Deacon
Richard Deacon is one of the most prolific British artists practicing today, with a career spanning nearly four decades. Using a wide variety of media and processes, he has developed a diverse and constantly surprising body of work—from small-scale pieces to monumental public sculptures.
55th Venice Biennale Collateral Events
Venice Ai Weiwei was a strong presence at the 55th Venice Biennale, all but dominating the collateral events. You could leave his exhibitions, but you couldn’t stop thinking about them. The German pavilion hosted Bang, a forest of 886 piled-up wooden stools.
“Global Caribbean IV: French West Indies & Guiana”
Le François, Martinique Fondation Clément Approaching the Fondation Clément, one was struck by the incongruousness—or justice—of a contemporary Caribbean art exhibition at a former slave plantation. Yet with the first step into the foyer, the past ceased to matter.
“Art and Sustainability IV: Metaphors to Embrace the World”
Buenos Aires Praxis International Art Gallery “Art and Sustainability IV” curator Rodrigo Alonso selected his six artists based on their ability to create “metaphors to embrace the world.” The exhibition’s subtitle is extremely important, because as Alonso explains, “Unlike other professional spheres, such as architecture or design, art cannot easily contribute to the actual material
Crossing Disciplines and Modalities: A Conversation with Margaret Wertheim
At first the vastness overwhelms; the colors, diversity, intricacy, and textures bedazzle. Only later does the realization set in that these fantastical crocheted coral reefs bear an urgent ecological message. Some are based on photographs, but most are pure imaginative improvisations.