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Art In Conversation

Laurie Anderson with Paul D. Miller

On the occasion of Laurie Anderson’s exhibition, The Weather, at the Hirshhorn Museum, Editor-at-Large, Paul Miller spoke with Anderson on episode #483 of the New Social Environment. Their discussion touches upon Anderson’s attraction to the taboo, her desire to make a “walk-in comic book filled with words,” and her fascinating collaboration with a supercomputer at the Australian Institute for Machine Learning.

Art In Conversation

Bernard Piffaretti with Raphael Rubinstein

In early May, French painter Bernard Piffaretti was in New York for the opening of his exhibition at Lisson Gallery in Chelsea. On the morning of the opening, Bernard and I sat down at the gallery to talk about his work. In preparing for our meeting, it struck me that even though I have known Bernard for a long time—we met in Paris around 1990 through Shirley Jaffe—I knew very little about his early years, so that’s where we began. The interview was conducted in French, which I have translated. A few brief written passages, also originally in French, were added later.

Art In Conversation

Kenny Scharf with Jason Rosenfeld

California-born artist Kenny Scharf, who made a name for himself in the 1980s East Village street art scene, is having his second solo show at TOTAH, on view through June 25, consisting of paintings and two works involving the bodies of TV sets. Titled WOODZ ’N THINGZ, the exhibition opened the day before Earth Day and many of the works, all dated 2022, respond to the dire health of the planet, a long-time concern of the artist. I sat down with him at the gallery during his first visit back to New York in three years.

Art In Conversation

Tavares Strachan with Amanda Gluibizzi

Tavares Strachan’s current exhibition at Marian Goodman’s New York gallery leads its viewers through experiences that refute passive contemplation. Installed in several interlocking rooms, The Awakening continues Strachan’s project of uncovering the lives and achievements of forgotten—in his words, “invisible”—people that Western history books regularly overlook. The major character here is Marcus Garvey, an early 20th-century orator and entrepreneur, but figures such as United States congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, and the astronaut Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. also make appearances, either directly by being represented by Strachan in paint or objects or obliquely through suggestive iconography such as depictions of the night sky.

Art In Conversation

Cecilia Alemani with Natalia Gierowska

As COVID-19 grips the world and Europe sees war for the first time since the defeat of the Axis, the desolate and demoralized reality depicted by T.S. Eliot echoes the current state of affairs. The opening of the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia was a respite from April’s proverbial cruelty. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the biggest international art exhibition evokes our pre-pandemic memories and inspires hope for a return to normality. I sat with Cecilia Alemani to gain insights into the organization of what is arguably the most prestigious event in the art world under these challenging circumstances.

Joan Mitchell Foundation

In order to understand the motivations and mission behind the Joan Mitchell Foundation, it is helpful to first understand that artist Joan Mitchell (1925–1992) placed art above all else, both at the center of her own life and through supporting her artist peers—thick in the battle and euphoria of the studio—who surrounded her during her lifetime. Mitchell was a pioneer artist in Post-War New York, earning an esteemed reputation among her Abstract-Expressionist cohort while also creating a dialogue with the French Impressionists of the previous century.

From the Publisher & Artistic Director

Dear Friends and Readers,

According to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), there are a total of 3,838 civilian deaths during Russia’s military attack on Ukraine as of May 19, 2020. Among them are 256 children, along with 4,351 who were reported to have been injured.

Editor's Message

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Disappearance

The ways of disappearing are as myriad and complex as they are mysterious and unpredictable. To disappear does not mean to escape, and it is not the same thing as to be missing, absent, or invisible. To disappear does not mean to not be here; it means something more akin to finding a way to matter while not appearing to [or as] matter. To disappear is to raise recursive questions: if something is gone, is it in a better place? Will it reappear? Should we try to find it? Does it still exist? Was it ever here? These questions are as true of a magic trick designed to make the Statue of Liberty disappear as they are of a lost sailor, an altered sign, a former country, or a dry lake—to name but a few of the subjects touched on by the writers whose contributions follow.

Critics Page

ArtSeen

Table of Contents

Editor's Message

Publisher's Message

Art

ArtSeen

Critics Page

Books

Music

Dance

Film

Theater

Fiction

Poetry

  • two

  • three

  • three

  • two

  • ten

  • five

  • six

Art Books

In Memoriam

ArTonic

Field Notes

The Miraculous

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The Brooklyn Rail

JUNE 2022

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