Robert Harris, 75, a Black, Disabled Community Activist and Artist
Robert Harris, 75, said he was a misfit – Black, disabled and an artist. He never let that stop him. Some people thought he was crazy to make a living as an artist, especially Black. He has a positive, ebullient personality that shines as he describes his work. A long-term resident of Cincinnati, he has […]
Bodies Impossibly Merged: Kent Krugh’s “Under the Influence: Beauty and the Surreal in France”
Kent Krugh is a long-time contributor to the Ohio art scene, bringing a sophisticated historical sensibility to his work as a photographer and curator. After taking physics degrees from Ohio Northern University and the University of Cincinnati, he spent forty years developing his camera craft, winning a range of accolades including a gold medal at […]
Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America Cincinnati Art Museum July 9–October 3, 2021
The backstory is important here. The movie The Monuments Men brought to light the very intriguing and powerful story of mostly middle-aged men and women – primarily art experts – who volunteered for the Army to rescue and hide art masterpieces, books and rare documents from the Nazis during WWII. These efforts were led by […]
Niki de Saint Phalle’s Figures of Life
MoMA PS1’s “Structures for Life” is the first major US exhibition of the Nouveau Réaliste artist Niki de Saint Phalle. French-born and American-raised, Saint Phalle is something of an “outsider artist”—entirely self-taught, Saint Phalle is known for her unconventional, characteristically whimsical, and at times childish sculptures, public artworks, artefacts, and drawings. MoMA PS1’s sprawling, impressive […]
The Failed Promise of 2021
SOS ART 2021 EXHIBIT Curated by Saad Ghosn, the 19th annual SOS show with a cohesive theme of peace and justice showcases 94 works from student artists to professionals. With the year 2020 behind them the artists were obviously drawn to the subjects of racial oppression, isolation, fear and mortality. It is interesting to see […]
“Vivid Prints: Kevin Harris and Saad Ghosn,” Indian Hill Gallery, through August 8, 2021
The summer exhibition at Indian Hill Gallery is “Vivid Prints: Kevin Harris and Saad Ghosn.” Powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind are vivid. Strong colors that are very high in chroma are vivid. Casey Dressell, curator and exhibition coordinator, organized the show and named it, making vivid the first thing to think […]
Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire: In Focus: LA Artists
Hauser & Wirth’s Los Angeles location celebrates their five-year anniversary with In Focus: LA Artists through August 22. The retrospective gathers notable artists from around Los Angeles to celebrate the city’s vibrant artistic community which has served a role in supporting the presence of the gallery. The exhibition will notably take part in Gallery Weekend […]
Dramatic Control Systems in Cindy Ji Hye Kim’s “Soliloquy for Two”
The title of Cindy Ji Hye Kim’s show at François Ghebaly, “Soliloquy for Two,” highlights her work’s dramatic overtones while alluding to the interpretive relationship between artist and viewer. In the anterior gallery hang three small birch lanterns whose decorous appearance belies their sinister laser-cut patterns of ribcages, moths, and veins. Diminutive cathedral windows painted […]
“Mayflies” by Andrew O’Hagan
Barely reviewed by those who select books for review, “Mayflies”, by “London Review of Books” writer/editor Andrew O’Hagan, is one of the year’s best novels. Perhaps it’s being overlooked because it deals with friendships between white heterosexual men, although, as always, these men of working class origin tend to be ignored by the cognoscenti of […]
“Letters to Camondo” by Edmund de Waal
I first learned of Edmund de Waal, author and renowned ceramicist, when a friend gave me his book “The Hare with Amber Eyes” years ago. In that (nonfiction) book, we learned of de Waal’s astonishing family history. He’d inherited a large number of rare Japanese netski (small ivory carvings) and was curious to learn where […]