Two Photographers: A Personal Appreciation Part Two
New York City in the 1950s and early ’60s was alive with art and music. The Abstract Expressionists were painting, the Beats were writing and
Within The Walls, The Beach! – Alexander Squier’s “Earthly Bodies: The Houston Brick Archive”
“Sous les pavés, la plage!” (“Under the paving stones, the beach!”) went the rallying cry of French students in the protests of May ‘68. Referring
Letter from Reykjavik: Erró: Mao‘s World Tour Reykjavik Art Museum Hafnarhus May 1, 2019-January 26, 2020
Located just below the Artic Circle, Iceland is the Land of Fire and Ice: a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic defined by its
The Task of the Curator: “Everything is Rhythm” at the Toledo Museum of Art
A dilemma faced by any art museum is how to keep the public consistently engaged. One way to do this is through visiting exhibitions, which
I R E M E M B E R F E E L I N G F A R
Carried across the country by a Seattle transplant, a little piece of Cincinnati finds its way into the Emerald City’s soil. Now on display at
Fashion for Life – La Mode Pour La Vie
176 looks. 50 years of fashion. One iconic runway show. That’s how you end a career. Or, more aptly, that’s how iconic fashion designer Jean
“American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins
“American Dirt”, the new and much anticipated novel by Jeanine Cummins, has caused a huge kerfluffle in leftist literary circles and amongst a number of
“This is Happiness” by Niall Williams
A very good friend of mine recently observed that I probably read more than most people do; I’ve been a serious reader of mostly fiction
December Issue of Aeqai Online
The December issue of Aeqai has just posted, and, holidays nothwithstanding, we have a full and rich issue for you. We have reviews from two
“Tell Me What’s Beyond the Levee”: “The Levee: A Photographer in the American South” at the Cincinnati Art Museum, October 5, 2019-February 2, 2020
Sohrab Hura is a young Indian photographer (b. 1981) who in 2016 came to the cities, towns, and countryside that stretch along the Mississippi River
Semiotic Overloads and Proxy Dimensions: Joomi Chung and John Humphries at the Weston Art Gallery
Changes of shape, new forms, are the theme which my spirit impels me now to recite. Inspire me, O gods, and spin me a thread
Henry Lawrence Faulkner
The bohemian life and creative mission that drove Henry Lawrence Faulkner encompassed more than visual art, but it is perhaps his stylized and sometimes colorist
Art of Ernest Blumenschein
The Dayton Art Institute continues its celebration of its Centennial year by highlighting the career of one of Dayton’s most successful 20th century artists: Ernest
Best Fiction of 2019
2019 was an exceptionally fine year for new fiction. My list of the best fiction of this year was difficult to make, as so many
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
Intervening on the Museum – Lauren Henkin’s “Props”
When you visit the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center within the next few months, you’ll notice some oddities hiding in the buildings’ nooks and crannies. If
“A Celebration of Life,” YWCA Greater Cincinnati Women’s Art Gallery, through January 10, 2020
The Women’s Art Gallery at the Greater Cincinnati YWCA ends the year with “A Celebration of Life,” which was co-curated by Ricci Michaels, Urban Expression
Kienholz' Fortune-Telling Carousel Revolves Around Empathy and Chance
Currently on view at LA Louver, Ed and Nancy Kienholz’ playfully eerie mixed-media tableau, The Merry-Go-World or Begat by Chance and the Wonder Horse Trigger
Gerhard Richter’s Distorted Fields of Vision and Allen Feldman’s “Photopolitics”
A collection of Gerhard Richter’s prints are currently being exhibited at the Gagosian Gallery in New York City’s Upper East Side. The works include two
15 ͤBiennale de Lyon – Art Contemporain – Là où les eaux se mêlent
This past October, I spent three serendipitous days in Lyon, France where the 15th Biennale de Lyon Art Contemporain Là où les eaux se
Profile of Patricia Olding
Patricia Olding says she likes to paint something others might miss. To call attention to it. “Not an apple, but this particular thing about apples.
Harmon Museum and Art Gallery in Lebanon, Ohio
Big is not always better. Look no further than Lebanon, Ohio’s Harmon Museum and Art Gallery, 105 S. Broadway, not well known, but with distinctive
November Issue of Aeqai Online
The November issue of Aeqai has just posted; we decided to put this issue up a week early, in order to avoid the demands and
Drifting and Digging: Birgit Jensen’s Flugblätter at Clay Street Press Gallery
In Birgit Jensen’s Flugblätter (Flying Letters), nothing settles comfortably into place. The purportedly autonomous artist ruptures into the collective. The collective expands and contracts like
“DARK: Shadows, Nightscapes, and Darkness,” Manifest Gallery, through December 6, 2019
“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” A single sentence from Anne Frank encapsulates Manifest Gallery’s “DARK: Shadows, Nightscapes,
Robert and Chuck’s grand adventure: “Into the Wilderness” Eisele Gallery, Cincinnati
Leave your comfort zone and imagine trekking into the wilds of Wyoming with artists Chuck Marshall and Robert Hagberg. Descriptive plein air paintings, several of
Castanets and Castas: “Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum and Library” at the Cincinnati Art Museum, October 25, 2019-January 19, 2020
This is a big show with a big story to tell, one that both celebrates and critically examines what it means to be Hispanic. The
Paul Mpagi Sepuya at the Blaffer Art Museum
“Yes, I understand these,” I might have said to myself on my first encounter with Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s photographs at Houston’s Blaffer Art Museum. In
Profile of Joe Girandola
Joseph Girandola, president of the Art Academy of Cincinnati since mid-summer, first came here in 2012 to join the faculty of University of Cincinnati’s College
Bits N’ Pieces Jo Ann Berger and Suzanne Fisher Caza Sikes Gallery
Sometimes disparate styles meld together to create a more cohesive whole. “Bits N’ Pieces” brings together Suzanne Fisher, a multimedia artist and mosaic muralist, and
Tyler Shields Flirts with Danger and Darkness
Tyler Shields, a photographer who’s been described as “the Warhol of his generation” by Sotheby’s, came to Cincinnati this month to open his new exhibition
The Aesthetic Experience of Machine Learning: Grounding Control
Turkish media artist Refik Anadol’s public art installation synthesizing architecture and intermedia, Machine Hallucination, is quite possibly one of the most interesting recent new media
Site Specifics – Kiki Smith: Memory at Project Space Slaughterhouse
Each year the Athens, Greece-based Deste Foundation commissions an artist to create an exhibition for Project Space Slaughterhouse, a small stone building once used to
Harvest: A Photo-essay
“Harvest.” The very name cultivates savory mental images: farms bearing crops in extensive rows; gardens dotted with aromatic delights; green fields as far as they
Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati is Still Going Strong
The Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati is the oldest existing woman’s art club, dating to 1892, operating without interruption in the United States. President Dodie
“Olive, Again” by Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kittredge, one of the most beloved–and feisty–characters in contemporary literature (the novel “Olive Kittredge” won The Pulitzer Prize) has returned in Elizabeth Strout’s new
“The Shadow King” by Maaza Mengiste
Ethiopian-born novelist Maaza Mengiste has just burst onto the literary scene with her magnificent novel “The Shadow King”. (An increasingly large number of African, and/or
“Union Station”, “The Topeka School” and “The Grammarians”
I’m learning that when “The New York Times Book Review” tells its readers that new books are experimental, or are breaking new boundaries in the
“Find Me” by Andre Aciman
Two of the most sophisticated and beautifully written novels, both dealing with the dynamics of desire, sexuality, gender, and a strong emphasis on memory and
Aeqai Annual Silent Art Auction and Benefit November 14th
Aeqai, an international online visual arts journal, hosts its twelfth annual silent art auction and benefit from 5:30 pm to 8 pm on Thursday, November
October Issue of Aeqai Online
The October issue of Aeqai has just posted. It’s a very full issue, as the fall art season is now in full swing. The three
Distant Vistas and Closer Looks: “The Poetry of Nature: Hudson River School Landscapes from the New-York Historical Society” at Taft Museum of Art, October 5, 2019-January 12, 2020
I grew up in New York, and so the Hudson River was the river of my childhood. As a child, I thought of it starting
Stride Piano on Canvas: Robert Colescott at the Contemporary Arts Center
More than thirty years after Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center staged a mid-career celebration of Robert Colescott, the arts center has assembled the first survey of
"Women Breaking Boundaries" Cincinnati Art Museum from October 11–April 12, 2020
In this the one-hundredth anniversary of the Women’s Suffragette Movement, the Cincinnati Art Museum joins numerous museums across America to focus on and celebrate women’s
Dress Up, Speak Up: Regalia & Resistance at the 21C Museum Hotel Cincinnati
In the exhibition “Dress Up, Speak Up: Regalia & Resistance”, 21C Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites assembles an impressive group of international artists whose work
“Paintings by Bessie and Herman Wessel from the Estate of Helen Wessel,” Cincinnati Art Galleries, through November 23, 2019
“They (Herman and Bessie Wessel) believed that recording the infinitely varied pageantry of the visible world with paint was an exceedingly and challenging pursuit; one
“Diagrams of the Unseeable”: Photography by Olivia Parker at the Peabody Essex Museum
“She has an interesting eye… but it’s wildly different than anything I would hang in my house.” I overheard a woman say that to her
Future Retrieval’s Leaves of Plates Launches a New Artist-in-Residence Program at the Lloyd Library and Museum
Earlier this year, the Lloyd Library and Museum in downtown Cincinnati, OH, launched their Artist-in-Residence program with an aim to enrich and bolster support for
“AutoUpdate”: The Future of Photographic Arts
Cincinnati appreciators of art are, at this point, more than likely familiar with the FotoFocus Biennial. Every other year since 2010 FotoFocus has brought compelling,
A Bowling Pin Turned Sideways Becomes a Lopsided Way to Signify Infinity: Jim Condron at Wilson College’s Cooley Art Gallery
Jim Condron’s newest show, “You Never Wash It Off Completely,” was commissioned by Wilson College as part of its sesquicentennial celebration and will run until