The Transformative Power of Art: The Art of Dean Mitchell
I first became aware of the watercolor art of Dean Mitchell several years back when his images garnered recognition in regional and national watercolor shows. I found his figurative and architectural pieces thought provoking, well drawn and possibly not from photographs. In 2019, Mitchell was the Gold Medal Recipient at the Portrait Society of America […]
American Courtier in Paris
This column has often focused on the haute couture area of the fashion design landscape. Maybe it’s because the handcrafted construction required of these designs naturally align more with the sentiment that fashion is an artform – one to be worn and lived in, but an art nonetheless. Maybe it’s because the collections and fashion […]
The Political Satire Hidden Inside the Royal Portraits of Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808 (fig. A) depicts the gruesome aftermath of a Madrilenian uprising against the Grande Armée who, under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, had invaded their country two months prior. Words like “raw” and “visceral” often surface in discussions of this painting, and it’s easy to see why, for it […]
“My Dark Vanessa” by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Kate Elizabeth Russell’s debut novel, “My Dark Vanessa” is both the most important and the most compelling novel to date of 2020. It adds nuance and ambiguity to the sometimes frightening excesses of The Me Too movement, which perhaps fiction can do far better than journalism. Deeply researched, the novel concerns a fifteen year old […]
“A Burning” by Megha Majumdar
Megha Majumdar’s debut novel “A Burning” happened to appear during the height of the recent protests which began with the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. The novel couldn’t be more timely or topical, and it’s a splendid novel, to boot. A Muslim young woman finds herself, accidentally, in the wrong place at […]