Fotofolio – Lisa Britton
“Lisa Britton Retrospective: 1988-1999” Lisa’s statement and bio: What causes one to be truly amazed and delighted? For me it is light itself, and how
Tala Madani and her Théâtre de la Cruauté in Projections
At a whopping eight feet wide and predominately a Mars Black that tempers into the Payne’s Gray realm, Projections (2015) presents itself (similarly to all
Camille Claudel’s Les Causeuses: The Subject of Lack and the Leaning Tree of Destiny
Unfortunately, albeit perhaps tethered to imposed historical responsibility, most introductions to Camille Claudel and her oeuvre are steeped in biographical detail that inevitably draws in
On Chantal Akerman’s Biopolitical Rebellion
The work of Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman has received no scarcity of praise. Akerman is considered one of the more influential feminist filmmakers to emerge
The Double Standard and The Drawing Room within Perrotin A Quick Examination of Genesis Belanger & Emily Mae Smith
I’m going to discuss one image—with works from two female-identifying artists. The image is taken by an anonymous photographer that documented the two-person exhibition A
A Look Back
In the midst of a global pandemic, when the stream of constant news is at it loudest, it is the perfect opportunity for quiet reflection.
“The Exhibition of Persephone Q” by Jessi Jezeweska Stevens
“The Exhibition of Persephone Q”, by Jessi Jezeweska Stevens, is her debut novel and it is commandingly brilliant. The dystopian novel has rather taken over
“Simon The Fiddler” by Paulette Jiles
Paulette Jiles’ new novel, “Simon The Fiddler”, is both charming and a wonderful story; the writer offers us some fascinating history of the State of
“The Mountains Sing” by Nguyen Han Que Mai
“The Mountains Sing”, by Nguyen Han Que Mai, is the first novel I’ve ever read about a Vietnamese family and its vicissitudes over four generations
April Issue of Aeqai Online
With virtually every arts organization and commercial gallery closed for the duration of the pandemic, I asked all of our critics to pick one work
Another Online Visit: Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Man Rising from his Chair” at the Taft Museum of Art
The High Renaissance portrait sought to depict dignity—the sense of worthiness that was, typically, an even more valuable quality in a portrait than likeness—in repose.
A Salome Like No Other: Reflecting on Gustave Moreau’s Salome (Salome Dancing Before Herod)
Damn. I should take drugs when I paint. Look at French painter Gustav Moreau. He must have taken something to make these mind-bending paintings in
Exploring the Transmutative Power of Food and Painting in Leonora Carrington's Spellbinding "Kitchen Garden on the Eyot"
During this time of quarantine, it’s enjoyable to get lost in The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot (1946) by Leonora Carrington (1917-2011). Delicately limned in
Summoning the Ghost in R. A. Blakelock’s “Moonlit Lake”
“These capricious vagabonds fly somewhat in the manner of bats,” Camille Flammarion wrote in 1872[1], “which seem to dive at the turrets, and suddenly turn
ALL THINGS ARE DELICATELY INTERCONNECTED: Jenny Holzer // Wanda Orme Earth Day and COVID-19
There are / were a lot of holidays effected by COVID-19 measures this spring; Ramadan, Passover, and Easter to name the heavyweights. For me what
What Does a Registrar Do?
There are a number of roles behind the scenes at a museum that make the place run. One such job is that of a registrar.
Fotofolio: Andreas Rentsch
“The Chair”, 2019 Andreas’ statement and bio: My photographic work of late possesses a close aesthetic relationship to performance art, drawing and painting. Process has
Abstraction and Reality: Documenting Art in Virtual Museums
Predictably, I’ve been lamenting my inability to go out, visit museums, see films or generally have a good time in public. I often write on
CampSITE
The places you can go these days are few and far between. With the outdoors our now fondest of friends, CampSITE is a hand worth
The New Fashion Industry
It seems just a short time since fashion industry insiders gathered together to watch the Fall 2020 collections walk the runway in early winter. So
“Deacon King Kong” by James McBride
One of the side benefits of this period when we’re mostly all at home, for me, has been that I’m reading even more than I
“Abigail” by Magda Szabo
Virtually every important literary critic has been raving about Magda Szabo’s novel “Abigail”, published in the l970 in her home country of Hungary, but recently
March Issue of Aeqai Online
The March issue of Aeqai has just posted; it’s a somewhat abridged issue, as many columns couldn’t get written due to the closing of galleries
“Something Over Something Else”: Romare Bearden’s Profile Cincinnati Art Museum February 28–May 24, 2020
It is a major coup that the Cincinnati Art Museum is showcasing the work of the renowned African-American artist Romare Bearden who launched his career
Jessie Dunahoo at The Carnegie
It was a drizzly Tuesday afternoon. With long sleeves balled around his hands, Matt Distel opened the front door of The Carnegie. The previous Friday
Inside the Galleries: Art From Arrival to Installation
From soup to nuts. Ever wonder how a piece of art makes it to the gallery floor? Here’s an inside look at the Cincinnati Arts
Perin Mahler: “Storytellers and Other Works”
A contemporary analysis of social stress is the subject of investigation of Perin Mahler’s colorful, large scale narrative figure paintings at the Manifest Gallery in
Phantom Pleasure: Consolations from Some Online Art
I was looking forward to reviewing the N. C. Wyeth show at the Taft, and was planning on seeing it on a Sunday with my
Amid Social Distancing, Clay is a Unifying Medium
Few materials embody human experience as naturally as clay. In its malleable state, clay is fleshly, easily wounded but easily healed. Fired, it ossifies. Surface
CURATOR ESSAY: Daniel Brown, “ATMOSPHERICS”
The exhibition “Atmospherics” coincides with the beginning of spring, when, after the long grey days of winter, color begins to burst forth in Nature’s annual
Michael Casselli: ‘a tacit agreement’ at the Blue House Gallery
A Dayton, Ohio living room has been converted into a simulation death chamber. Walk through the door and it hits you in the stomach: the
Your Past Needs You: “Cat Mummies Came First” at Sheherazade
In mid February I had read Alex Greenberger’s overview of several New York Museum exhibitions that all mirrored the strained sensation that is overwhelmingly pervasive
Fotofolio: John Blom
“Common Sources”, 2018-2019 John’s statement: Currently, I am creating digital works using my own photographic images. I found a passion for photography late in my
Profile of Bonnie Goldberg
“Blue will give me fits. Red, I can tame” Bonita Williams Goldberg told me. We were in her studio, the walls alive with her paintings.
“The Mirror and The Light” by Hilary Mantel
The astonishing English novelist Hilary Mantel has completed her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and his relationship with King Henry VIII in “The Mirror and The
“little gods” by Meng Jin
“little gods”, a debut novel by Meng Jin, is exceptionally fine; the author deeply understands aspects of Chinese culture in this novel about a woman
January/February Issue of Aeqai Online
The combined January/February issue of Aeqai has just posted, and it’s a rich and full issue, covering art shows both regional, national, and international. When
Trail of Tears: “Motel X: A Multimedia Human Trafficking Prevention Art Installation” at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, January 11-April 4, 2020
When I first came to Cincinnati, I was told that I-75 had been designed by someone who had heard of an interstate highway but never
Refusals and Offerings: Revolutionary Identity at the Kennedy Heights Art Center
Revolutionary: Being American Today advances a poignant, collaborative statement about the contradictions of contemporary U.S. citizenship. At once historically dense and urgently contemporary, it draws
“Pop Supernatural” at The Weston Art Gallery
On view through April 5th at the Weston is an exhibition by a Cincinnati native and current New York dweller, Todd Pavlisko. Pavlisko’s “Pop Supernatural,”
Art Education for All at the Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum
“The city has room for three different art centers,” said Elise Solomon, director of learning and engagement at the Taft Museum of Art. Shawnee Turner,
Where The Sidewalk Begins
In the midst of Downtown Cincinnati, there is a much beloved architecturally and historically significant building celebrating its 200th birthday. With the exception of a
MIDWESTHETICS: “Sentiments of Here” at Wave Pool and “Leap Year Cake Farm” at Thunder-Sky
As a longtime resident of the Midwest I’ve come to know the region less as a single place but rather as a transient crossroads of
“We Don’t Have Anesthesia But We Have Music. . .” Feras Fayyad’s “The Cave” (2019) at Speed Museum Cinema
There is tragedy in losing control where control has been sought as a defense. “The Cave” of the title is the nickname for an underground
ON THE BASIS OF SEX
By Sara M. Vance Waddell Edited by Michelle Vance Waddell There have been numerous women pioneers that have made strides for themselves and their gender
Craig Britton, Ruth’s Parkside Café, through March 1, 2020
At Ruth’s Parkside Café, a popular eatery in Northside (try the salmon), co-owner David Tape continues his commitment to showing local artists. He’s be Born
WILD TALES IN OAKLEY
Two exciting artists are exhibiting at Caza Sikes Gallery in Oakley and their work is well married in a number of ways. Jan Wiesner continues
Along the Line Holland Davidson at the Indian Hill Gallery
Holland Davidson’s paintings have a compulsive quality; it is as if she cannot not help but paint them and we cannot help but try to
CAROLYN SHINE: IN MEMORIUM
Carolyn Shine, who died late last year at the age of 101, lived a life illuminated by visual arts and illuminated those arts for others.
Two Photographers: A Personal Appreciation Part One
In the autumn of 2019, two giants of American photographic arts died, a mere seven days apart from each other. They were close friends and