Profile of Melvin Grier
It took years, but eventually Jymi Bolden persuaded Melvin Grier it was possible to be both a photojournalist and a fine artist. Bolden was a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati when he worked during the 1980s as a photo intern with the already seasoned Grier at The Cincinnati Post, and that’s when the […]
Architectural Design: One Focus of People’s Liberty Grantmaking
Architectural Design one Focus of People’s Liberty Grantmaking Civic-minded Individuals Gain Support for Creative Initiatives People’s Liberty staff leaders describe the operation as a philanthropic laboratory. This forward-looking, deep-pockets organization, which values disruptive ideas and innovative methods, is changing the character of local philanthropy and the face of urban neighborhoods. People’s Liberty is a collaboration […]
Vanishing Point: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Edward S. Curtis
According to the forward to his monumental book series The North American Indians, Edward S. Curtis is a man “whose pictures are pictures, not merely photographs.” One wonders now what is meant by that statement, written in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt. But if you spend enough time in the Taft Museum of Art’s new […]
Kohn Gallery Celebrates Thirty Years with The West Coast Avant-Garde: 1950’s – Present
In 1965, the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art first opened its doors on Wilshire Boulevard. Before LACMA, Los Angeles lacked any semblance of an alternative art hub. It was this absence, however, that made way for a new generation of artists who embraced the city as unique platform from which they could indulge in […]
Summer Pleasures: A Review of By This River at the Weston Gallery
With its current show By This River and previous show The Weight of Water, the Weston Gallery has devoted both spring and summer to presenting Cincinnati with multiple lenses through which to view water, an essential element of life that has served as inspiration for countless artists. It’s a timely topic too, given the record […]
“History Channel: New Art from Old Art,” Thunder-Sky, Inc., Gallery
Keith Banner, co-founder of Thunder-Sky, Inc., explains the thesis behind the “History Channel: New Art from Old Art” exhibition there: Thunder-Sky loves to mess with art history every once in a while, and using historically famous art and artists as starting points and inspirations for artists we love and support is a great little […]
Meanwell at Mary Ran Gallery
Rising to the top in the art world is not the norm for the average MFA holder even with that precious certificate that guarantees the student knows nearly everything about art that the institution he/she has attended can afford them. The late Jack Meanwell took every route around fine art, including commercial design, that an […]
Andy Fausz: Trials and Tribulations
The job of the artist is to always deepen the mystery – Francis Bacon The large scale mixed media pieces on paper by Andy Fausz are not for the faint of heart. They are brutally honest and beautifully rendered. To many they may be shocking, but shock is not the intent of the work, which […]
A.L. Steiner, Anthony Burdin, and Drew Heitzler at Blum & Poe
Three new solo-exhibitions featuring works by A.L. Steiner, Anthony Burdin, and Drew Heitzler are currently on view at Blum & Poe in Los Angeles. A.L. Steiner’s first solo-exhibition with the gallery, Come & Go, features works that span the last twenty years of the artist’s career and includes what Roberta Smith of The New York […]
Urbanscape: Through Paint and Lens at Wash Park Art
In the pleasant confines of Wash Park Art, 1215 Elm Street, just a few doors down from Music Hall, the work of three painters and two photographers shared space handily in Urbanscape: Through Paint and Lens, a show that only recently closed. The gallery is the first floor of a 19th century row house and […]