Family and friends gathered in Charleston, S.C., on Friday for the funeral of the New York-based artist Merton D. Simpson, a painter and pioneering champion of African art who accumulated a collection said to be worth millions of dollars. Gathering in the city of his birth, eulogists celebrated Mr. Simpson’s expertise on the saxophone, his [...]
Merton D. Simpson Left Fortune in Art, Yet Family Has No Money to Bury Him
March 26, 2013 | Posted by
Kenyan Artist Michael Soi Masters Political Commentary
March 19, 2013 | Posted by
When it comes to Michael Soi’s bold paintings, don’t let the bright colors and cartoon-like characters fool you. Each one of the Nairobi-based artist’s pieces provides satirical commentary on contemporary social, economic and political trends in Kenya. Soi depicts Kenyan society in his paintings to build a complete story of what his country experiences. Like any story, [...]
Red Rooster in Harlem Serves Up Fine Art with Fine Cuisine
March 5, 2013 | Posted by
Restaurant “art” doesn’t usually attract more than a cursory glance from diners— reproductions of vintage Lillet posters or landscapes in soft tones are the norm. But the carefully curated collection at Red Rooster Harlem has been given just as much thought as the menu. The restaurant’s chef and owner, Marcus Samuelsson, together with Thelma Golden, [...]
Iona Rozeal Brown’s Art Reflects a Collage of Cultural Influences
February 27, 2013 | Posted by
Max Ernst wrote of collage, though he could just as easily have been referring to his painting, that it is “the noble conquest of the irrational, the coupling of two realities, irreconcilable in appearance.” Over the last decade, the painter Iona Rozeal Brown has created a fantastical body of work that unites so many seemingly [...]
‘Crowns of Color’ Poster Series Celebrates Black Women’s Hair
December 19, 2012 | Posted by
It does not take much to get folks worked up about black women’s hair. For some, their personal choices about their hair become public cultural events. (See: Oprah Winfrey. Gabby Douglas. Viola Davis.) But while black women’s hair is obsessively discussed and debated, it’s rarely celebrated. Enter Andrea Pippins. Last week the Baltimore-based graphic designer [...]
Mystery of the Disappearing Wall Mural in Philadelphia
December 1, 2012 | Posted by
Has Ad Reinhardt risen from the grave to vandalize the East Coast? Probably not. But officials don’t have a much better idea of who destroyed this culturally significant mural, which was an important milepost on the city’s tour route of black history-themed public art. “We’re not exactly sure what happened at this moment,” says Thora [...]
The International Art World Focuses on Art Basel Miami Beach in December
November 21, 2012 | Posted by
If the works presented at America’s most visible fair reflect art world attitudes, then Barbara Kruger’s 2012 painting bearing the words “Money Hungry” at the Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) booth of Mary Boone Gallery could suggest a growing ambivalence toward the profusion of art fairs. Though facing increased global competition, ABMB “remains the main [...]
Artist Frida Kahlo Posthumously Graces Cover of Vogue Mexico
October 26, 2012 | Posted by
Better late than never. Nearly 60 years after her death, artist Frida Kahlo will be a Vogue cover girl. Vogue Mexico used photographer Nickolas Muray’s iconic 1939 portrait of Kahlo taken in New York for its November 2012 cover to coincide with the November 22 opening of “Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida [...]
‘Now Dig This!’: New York’s MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Museum Exhibition of ‘Art and Black Los Angeles 1960 – 1980′
October 23, 2012 | Posted by
On first glance, some may wonder why MoMA PS1, a New York contemporary art museum, has just opened a historical exhibition of art from Los Angeles. But as MoMA PS1 curator Peter Eleey explained at the press preview last week, the show in question, Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960–1980, actually has a connection [...]
Uncertain Art Market Makes Jean-Michel Basquiat Safer Investment Than Warhol
October 10, 2012 | Posted by
“The only thing the market liked better than a hot young artist was a dead hot young artist, and it got one in Jean-Michel Basquiat,” the art critic Robert Hughes once said. Almost 25 years on from the artist’s death, the obsession with his work continues to grow, as for the second year running his [...]
