The Encyclopedic Palace, 55th Venice Biennale

The Encyclopedic Palace 55th Venice Biennale Central Pavilion and Arsenale June 1 – November 24, 2013 Massimiliano Gioni, curator     The encyclopedic impulse was a dream of knowledge and collection. An obsessive reverie of gathering and classifying that rejoiced on a sense of knowledge that, as Aristotle said, began with wonder. Side-stepping into the margins […]

Above + Below The Clouds: Chen Xiaowei

  The work of Boston-based Chinese artist Chen Xiaowei 陳篠薇 (b. 1978) encompasses a wide range of media, including video, painting and drawings on paper.  Through her work, she explores and expresses the intersections between the natural environment, natural disasters and human emotion.     Above + Below The Clouds 雲上雲下, a solo exhibition of […]

Bernini’s Models: Displaying Process in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bernini: Sculpting in Clay Metropolitan Museum of Art: October 3 – January 6, 2013 Also: Kimbell Art Museum: February 3 – April 14, 2013 Curated by Ian Wardropper, Anthony Sigel, and C.D. Dickerson, with Paola D’Agostino     There is a Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) that is pervasively known: the baroque artist that created dynamic […]

Editorial: Reminiscences of Expo Chicago

  It’s been a while since the inaugural edition of Expo Chicago (September 20-23, 2012 at Navy Pier) came and went.  Here are some of my reminiscences from my day at the fair:   I began the day at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago and attended a tour of the museum with the […]

Distilling the Artist’s Hand: Late Raphael in El Prado

  Late Raphael Museo Nacional Del Prado June 12-September 16, 2012 Curated by Paul Joannides and Tom Henry   The Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain, will be holding until September 16 an exhibition focused on the late works of Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) and his workshop. The exhibit presents forty-four paintings and twenty-eight drawings made […]

The Art of Video Games @ Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Art of Video Games Smithsonian American Art Museum Curated by Chris Melissinos March 16, 2012 – September 30, 2012   Currently on display at the American Museum of Art in Washington DC is an exhibition on The Art of Video Games. I feel this is a timely exhibit as new media and interactive art […]

Spectral Landscape @ Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art

Contemporary Art in Canada series, March 2012   Spectral Landscape Peter Doig, Tim Gardner, Sarah Anne Johnson February 4 – April 1, 2012 Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and the National Gallery of Canada. While wandering the city of Toronto surrounded by people, cars and tall skyscrapers, I found respite while visiting […]

Toronto NOW @ Art Gallery of Ontario

Contemporary Art in Canada series, March 2012   NOW:  A Collaborative Project with Sean Martindale and Pascal Paquette Curated by Katherine Dennis January 21-April 1, 2012 On a recent visit to Toronto, I had a chance to pop into the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), one of Canada’s premier destinations for Canadian, European and Contemporary […]

Yael Bartana …And Europe Will Be Stunned @ Art Gallery of Ontario

Contemporary Art in Canada series, March 2012   Yael Bartana …And Europe Will Be Stunned Art Gallery of Ontario January 25-April 1, 2012  On a recent visit to Toronto and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), I was moved by the presentation of three films by the filmmaker Yael Bartana in the AGO’s Lind Gallery. […]