"Confidential." That was the beguiling subject of an e-mail seemingly randomly addressed to the Village Voice in mid-September. "I represent... More >>
Jonas Wood's new paintings present seemingly straightforward scenes—rooms devoid of people, a poker tournament on TV—that front for... More >>
The artist's entertaining perversity veils his broad influence
You might assume that the Photoshop fantasias of our age would make the visual conundrums of René Magritte's pre-war paintings feel... More >>
"Are celebrities the new art stars?" asked a Newsweek cover story in July. A few months later, certain windy developments (or popcorn farts) that... More >>
Ruins are the remnants of man-made architecture: once-complete structures collapsed into timeworn bits through lack of upkeep or deliberate... More >>
Nestled in a central gallery on the fourth floor of the Museum of Modern Art, between rooms containing seminal works by the likes of Robert... More >>
Protest that got your hands dirty
In his introduction to this superbly illustrated compendium of underground newspapers, editor Geoff Kaplan channels the 1960s' exuberant ad-hoc... More >>
Essays: Art: The Return of the Real by Christian Viveros-Fauné Philip-Lorca diCorcia on turning the ultimate photographic trick Dance:... More >>
Philip-Lorca diCorcia on turning the ultimate photographic trick
In April 1993, a show took place at MOMA that turned the world of pictures inside out. The result of five trips made by New York photographer... More >>
Chris Burden: 'Extreme Measures' October 2–January 1, 2014 In 1971, L.A. artist Chris Burden spent five days jammed inside a school... More >>
Although the Museum of Modern Art garnered prestige (and occasional derision) by bringing such European exemplars as Picasso, Cézanne, and... More >>
Ben Davis sums up art, class, and criticism in 9.5 Theses
George Orwell inhabited a certain counterfeit Chinese curse like a silk kimono: He lived and wrote in interesting times. Having experienced world... More >>
Like time spent staring at roof pigeons, the summer doldrums in New York are good for stocktaking. A recent lunch with an uptown museum curator... More >>
A hole in art history
Ahhh, the '80s: Reagan was in the White House, Thirtysomething was on the tube, and Julian Schnabel's retrospective was at the Whitney. But the... More >>
The camera pans across battered cinder-block walls, a muddy infield, concrete stands shorn of awnings, and palm trees silhouetted against gray... More >>
While organizing the group show "Hair and Skin," curator Isaac Lyles considered recent research into "mirror neurons" and "physical empathy"... More >>
There's nothing more stubbornly middle-of-the-road than shock art. Like inflexible suburban Baptists and food co-op rules committees, purveyors... More >>
Outsider art is the new blue-chip art. Or so various New York insiders would have you believe. From this summer's Venice Biennial (curated by the... More >>
The brilliant ceramicist Ken Price was born in West Hollywood in 1935 and died last year in Taos, New Mexico. Too late (but not with too little),... More >>
Ah, summertime, when a gallery-goer's fancy turns to . . . group shows. "Sunsets and Pussy" (Marianne Boesky Gallery) focuses on two time-honored... More >>
"It's up to artists to make the art world they want." ¶ On the Acela Express from Penn Station to Providence, Rhode Island, with two members... More >>
"Confidential." That was the beguiling subject of an e-mail seemingly randomly addressed to the Village Voice in mid-September. "I represent the artist Banksy," the message began, "and I would like to talk… More >>
There’s something stupid about the ongoing condemnation of Millennials happening now in our culture. You know, the one that asks questions like: "Why are Generation Y yuppies so unhappy?" and… More >>
Jonas Wood's new paintings present seemingly straightforward scenes—rooms devoid of people, a poker tournament on TV—that front for dazzling formal invention. In some pieces Wood focuses on his childhood home, yet… More >>
Adriano Shaplin's gonzo epic Sarah Flood in Salem Mass blends Our Town and The Crucible with verve, slang, and hallucinogenic beaver stew. (Yes, the Wooster Group did it first—minus the… More >>
If the effigies of famous Yankees sluggers at Madame Tussauds aren't lifelike enough for you, cross 42nd Street to watch Eric Simonson's Bronx Bombers, a veritable walking-talking wax museum of… More >>
If Broadway musicals had trailers like movies, the one for Big Fish might go something like this: Meet Edward Bloom! He's a father and a husband with a big heart—and… More >>
What happens to a political play that's three decades old? Can it keep its emotional charge, or does it wither when its social relevance fades? You may be asking these… More >>
You might assume that the Photoshop fantasias of our age would make the visual conundrums of René Magritte's pre-war paintings feel quaint. Certainly the beguiling originality of his fractured figures… More >>
The theater is a swindle, an exercise in sham. Every play operates on principles of treachery: Flimsy set pieces substitute for solid spaces; people assume names and accents other than… More >>
Provocations don't come much gentler than Ain Gordon's Not What Happened, which concluded a brief run at BAM's Next Wave Festival. A meditation on truth and historical accuracy, directed by… More >>