Tag Archives: art

World War Gucci

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

[Subheading] Whether designers acknowledge it or not, World War II still shapes their collections. Even at Gucci.(Guy Trebay, “At Milan Men’s Week, the War Lives On,” NYTimes, 1-15-20) I can’t resist marveling at the look of this Gucci lineup and … Continue reading →

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“Tiepolo Meets Mad Magazine”

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

The 61 works in this exhibition… span the career of an American painter whose art has, for more than half a century, both diagnosed national maladies and been shaped by them. The result is work that’s virtuosically bizarre in style … Continue reading →

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Goya on My Mind

Posted on January 30, 2020 by JMN

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/28/goya-paintings-many-not-work-of-spanish-master-studio-assistants She spoke of her “trepidation” about challenging attributions as Goya’s pictures change hands for millions of pounds: “If a picture turns out to be by an assistant, of course the value collapses. “Artists in the shadow of a great … Continue reading →

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Art Wins, Artists Lose

Posted on January 18, 2020 by JMN

Among the biggest losers in the current system are artists themselves. With art now considered an asset class to equities and commodities, collectors are forever on the lookout for rising stars whose work can be bought at bargain prices and … Continue reading →

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Vija Celmins

Posted on January 13, 2020 by JMN

Vija Celmins (pronounced VEE-ja SELL-mins) was born in 1938 in Riga, capital of Latvia. Fleeing the Soviet invasion of 1944, her family immigrated to the United States in 1948. She earned an undergraduate art degree in Indiana and an M.F.A … Continue reading →

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Therianthropes

Posted on January 12, 2020 by JMN

In December 2017, an Indonesian archaeologist discovered a cave painting on the island of Sulawesi that dates back at least 43,900 years — “the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world.” In the story … Continue reading →

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Feminized Heroes

Posted on January 10, 2020 by JMN

Images of historic persons have been depicted recently in novel ways by artists in Mexico and in Canada. Both cases have a gender-fluid slant; the contrast in public reaction in each country is notable. Emiliano Zapata, betrayed and killed in … Continue reading →

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Degas: Opéra Superfan

Posted on December 23, 2019 by JMN

This painter who “didn’t like women,” in van Gogh’s estimation, found at the Opéra [de Paris] an arena of desire and depredation that he could translate into pure form — beautiful and stifling, modern and cold. This is the truth … Continue reading →

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Benjamin Creme

Posted on December 19, 2019 by JMN

This article introduced me to Scottish artist Benjamin Creme. Mr. Creme, who died in 2016 at 93, was born in Scotland and started painting at age 13. At 16 he dropped out of school to focus on his art… Inspired … Continue reading →

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Tenangos

Posted on December 19, 2019 by JMN

The tenangos, as the embroidered pieces are called, have evolved into richly detailed works reaching a worldwide market. Tenango embroidery is made by the indigenous Otomí community in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, whose main town is Tenango de Doria. … Continue reading →

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