An exhibit of ancient Maya art may seem like a puzzling choice for a museum, located in an historic New England seaport and best known for its collections of maritime and Asian art. But the relatively recent deciphering of the Maya hieroglyph for “sea”—literally the ‘fiery pool’—in the late 1980s, has radically changed the understanding »more
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Contemporary Art Exhibit Revisits a Founder of the Movement
Amei WallachStereotype and cliche are to Marjorie Strider as Istanbul is to Orhan Pamuk or the chador to Shirin Neshat. They are goads to her art. She first came to art world attention in the 1965 “International Girlie Show,” with her blandly outrageous bikini girls flaunting their flawless suntans and smiling their Ipana smiles. They were »more
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Review of the 2010 Whitney Biennial Exhibition
Edward RubinIf ever there were a middle-of-the-road exhibition, this year’s Whitney Biennial is it. In the spirit of an Obama promise for ‘Change’ and to ostensibly try to please everyone—traditional nattering nabob art critics included—guest curator Francesco Bonami and Whitney senior curatorial assistant Gary Carrion-Murayari transformed, with a few standout exceptions, what is usually a »more
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The Hudson River School of Painting Helps Define American Identity
Richard FriswellBy the mid-17th century, English claims in the New World were well-established for those colonies along the New England coastline. The hard-scrabble existence and high mortality which had so characterized the early years of settlement had given way to communal permanence and relative prosperity. Still, the relationship of these growing settlements, with the surrounding forest »more
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Contemporary Artist Wolf Kahn: Discovering Symbolism in the Ordinary
Diane DeweyWhat do you think of when you think about Wolf Kahn? Is it the fantasia palette, the barns glowing ember-like, the tangled rushes as if singed by a fire, or his hot pink shirt, green tie and strawberry socks? The artist did not disappoint on Thursday evening at the Center for Creative Printmaking in Norwalk, »more
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French Impressionism Shares a Key Feature with American Impressionism
Richard FriswellIs light the unifying element in these schools of painting? Claude Lorrain, Landscape (1648) The short, obvious answer is, yes…and the impact of light on the final result can vary dramatically. Many painters promote themselves as ‘painters of light’. The simple reality is that without light, there would be no subject matter to paint. Even »more
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Faithful Restoration of Rhode Island Architectural Landmark by Centerbrook Architects
Jefferson B. RileyMore than half a dozen grand hotels once graced the Watch Hill, peninsula on the western shore of Rhode Island, but a decade ago only one remained, Ocean House, an aging and ailing wooden behemoth whose top floors had been condemned for years. Odds were increasing that this iconic landmark, its era long past, would soon »more
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The Hudson River School of Painting Helps Define American Identity
Richard FriswellAmerican poet, William Cullen Bryant declared, ‘the light of distant skies’, is found in the unique history, literature and art of the Hudson River Valley, birthplace of our national identity. This article (in four parts) considers the many influences (historical, literary, artistic) of a period that helped shape the American character. Understanding the emergence and role of the Hudson »more
