Marilynne Robinson’s “Jack”
Opinions vary wildly about the writer Marilynne Robinson. I generally find her to be commandingly brilliant, one of America’s leading Christian theologians and most exciting
September Issue of Aeqai Online
The September issue of Aeqai has just posted, as more art venues are reopening to live visitors. We have three articles that focus on The
All Things Being Equal, Hank Willis Thomas at Cincinnati Art Museum
The retrospective exhibition “All Things Being Equal” by Hank Willis Thomas has recently opened at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Planning for this highly anticipated show
What Does It Take to be a Curator?
What does it take to be a curator? Aeqai continues its behind-the-scenes stories on how museums work internally. I talked to several curators from the
Pop-Up Prints Just in Time – Clay Street Press, Sunday, September 13th, 2020
On Sunday, September 13th the Clay Street Press in OTR held a Pop-Up Exhibit from 12 – 5pm along with Volatile [redux], a Pop-Up Bookshop
North of Eden: The Art Climb at the Cincinnati Art Museum (and a Trip to Pyramid Hill)
The biggest current project at the Cincinnati Art Museum has nothing to do with the permanent art collections under its roof. Rather, it is a
Heeding the Signal: "Beacon" at the Weston
The Weston Art Gallery’s Beacon exhibition elicits a range of meanings from its title. Beacons in the show are by turns literal and symbolic, concrete
UPRISING
The year 2020 has shined a spotlight on the issue of racial injustice in the United States in general and police violence committed against minorities
“Third Place,” Clifton Cultural Arts Center, through October 24, 2020
As a part of what would have been the 2020 FotoFocus, now canceled, the Clifton Cultural Arts Center is presenting “Third Place.” The exhibition was
Being Black: “illustrative Becoming”
Latausha Cox aspires to be an art teacher. Cox is a recent graduate from DAAP with a degree in art education. During her art education
“An Elegant Woman” by Martha McPhee
The fall season brings a plethora of new novels, many of them good to excellent. One of the year’s best to date is “An Elegant
“The Pull of the Stars” by Emma Donoghue
Emma Donoghue, the author of the much and deservedly praised “The Room”, seems to have an amazing knack with writing about very small spaces, and
“Homeland Elegies: A Novel” by Ayad Akhtar
“Homeland Elegies: A Novel”, by Ayad Akhtar, is a combination novel/memoir about his life as a Muslim man in America, 2020. Let me state up
Summer Issue of Aeqai Online
We know that it’s been a very long summer for everyone, whatever your circumstances may be, so we’ve decided to go ahead with a relatively
A State of Voluptuousness — “Francis Bacon: Late Paintings” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Francis Bacon’s last painting is mostly raw canvas. It depicts a single form: a ghostly bull bridging the blackness of an open doorway. A bit
“Ct King: Dangerous Little Strangers,” Clifton Cultural Arts Center, closed August 21, 2020
Each year the nonprofit Clifton Cultural Arts Center sponsors a juried exhibition. The first-place winner receives a Golden Ticket, redeemable for a solo exhibition. Last year Ct King
Letting Go: Unfinished/Accidents: Art about Serendipity at Manifest Gallery
When we encounter a portrait of the artist in her studio, a readymade that calls into question its own selection and display, or a time-lapse
Joseph Lorusso at the Miller Gallery
“I believe truly great art serves as a trigger into something deeper within all of us” Joseph Lorusso Nostalgic romance is alive and well at
It Is Otherworldly: Maya The Exhibition Cincinnati Museum Center Now through through January 3, 2021
Before the pyramid builders in Egypt began their staggering achievements, in our Americas, ancient people were erecting pyramids that rose splendidly and improbably above the
“The Masks We Wear” July 31 – September 10, 2020 at Pendleton Street Photography, Cincinnati.
Masks. I am not wearing mine while typing this critique in my safe space at home. Yet, they are placed for immediate use on the
Pedro Pedro and KATSU at The Hole in New York City
Over the past few weeks small galleries have opened while major museums remain closed. This is a blessing as well as a curse for the
An Inside View of Physical Plants
“It’s complicated,” said David Linnenberg, chief administrative officer, Cincinnati Art Museum, of the physical plant and other departments which he manages. Temperature has to be
Review of Four Novels
Everyone has tried to cope, in their own ways, with the surrealist world that COVID-19 has brought us; many people have had too much time
“Pew” by Catherine Lacey
Catherine Lacey’s relatively slim novel “Pew” is also one of this year’s most fascinating, and most important, novels. In a relatively small Midwestern, all white
“Want” by Lynn Steger Strong
As I’ve mentioned before in reviewing novels this year, the newly independent woman finding herself in New York has become a genre unto itself; the best
“Love” by Roddy Doyle
As I age, I find very new novels written about ageing, or about adults in the latter phases of their lives (Penelope Lively’s Booker-award winning
June Issue of Aeqai Online
The June issue of Aeqai focuses exclusively on artwork made by artists who are African-American. I asked our writers to choose an artist/work of art
Arrest: the Politics and Transcendence of Aesthetic Arrest Qua Protest
Recently, given the fomenting protests following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery (amongst countless others), much discussion has erupted amongst contemporary
The Studio Where It Happened: James VanDerZee and the Role of Being a Modern African American
James VanDerZee (1886-1983) produced somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 photographs in his creative lifetime, maybe even more, almost all of them of African Americans who
Erase, Tear, Gouge, Replace: Mark Bradford Excavates the Present
What to write about Mark Bradford? His ascent into the art world seems to border on the magical. His story makes for a perfect Hollywood
America Goddam
Can’t you see it Can’t you feel it It’s all in the air I can’t stand the pressure much longer Somebody say a prayer Alabama’s
Kahlil Robert Irving “Ground Water From Screen Falls [(Collaged Media + Midwest STREET)]” at the Contemporary Arts Center
Engaging with Kahlil Robert Irvings’s installation requires action. Its scale requires moving one’s body, viewing it first from afar and then up close. From a
Thom Shaw’s Woodcut Series “The Malcolm X Paradox,” a Timely Call to Action
In the late 1980’s, visiting Chicago on the occasion of one of his exhibits at an art gallery of the city, Thom Shaw witnessed a
Q&A: Kiah Celeste and Material Agency
The study of aesthetic materialism–visually studying raw material for its own ability to be ‘beautiful’–has often had some problematic connotations for me. The ability to
Profile, Cedric Cox
Artist and native Cincinnatian Cedric Cox considers his work “A spiritual testimony to the visual experiences that arouse my senses and my synapses, as I
Celebration and Dissent: Basquiat in the Time of Black Lives Matter
Last semester an English comp student of mine used to stay after class to have further conversations with me. We typically talked about music and
Near My Parents’ House: Kara Walker and the Scourge of History
Near my parents’ house in western Georgia is a mountain made of stone. Aptly called Stone Mountain, this site features various hiking trails which the
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.
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
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
“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
“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
May Issue of Aeqai Online
Since many of our readers very much enjoyed our April issue, where we asked our writers to pick one work of art anywhere in the
Her Star Is Still with Us: Hildegarde of Bingen, Mystic, Artist, Composer, and Advisor to Kings
This first image shows Hildegarde receiving Divine Inspiration and sharing it with the monk Volmar. She was famous throughout central Europe in the late Middle
Escape from the Convent School Tower: On Remedios Varo’s 1960-61 Triptych
Mother Superior and her creepy bearded henchman have come to retrieve the septet of uniformed captives from their human beehive. It is time for the
The Places You’ll Go: The Art of Walking
During this time of the pandemic, in addition to reading, what I have been doing a lot of is walking. Every day, sometimes going two
Another Online Visit: A Blue Thought in a Blue Shade: Anna Atkins and Cyanotype Photograms
A few years ago, way back when art could still be encountered in person, Emily Bauman, Photography Curatorial Assistant at the CAM, wrote an online
Art Acquisitions
What goes into acquiring art institutionally? Aeqai takes a look at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Skirball Museum at Hebrew Union College – Jewish
Celebrating the Modern Woman: Isabel Bishop 1902-1988
Isabel Bishop, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, spent her childhood in Detroit, before moving to New York City to study illustration at the New York School
Carolee Schneemann (1939-2019)
I was asked to write this article on one of my favorite women artists. Without hesitation, I knew it would be about the late, great