Recent Articles
Before Abramović: Four Ill-Fated OMA Museum Proposals
05/16 |
Amanda Ryan
Last week, Marina Abramović announced that she has commissioned OMA, Rem Koolhaas’s architecture firm, to develop her massive performing arts center in Hudson, New York. Over the years, Koolhaas has produced many ambitious plans for museums, quite a few of which haven’t seen the light of day.
Influential Curators Choose Pivotal Artworks from the Past Twenty-Five Years
05/16 |
Serena Qiu
Defining Contemporary Art: 25 Years in 200 Pivotal Artworks takes an innovative approach to surveying the art of the last quarter century, which is notoriously difficult to periodize or define. Eschewing grand narratives, Phaidon asked for individual artwork selections from eight of today’s most influential curators.
POP: This Week's Performances, Openings, and Parties
05/16 |
Amanda Ryan
This week in NYC, enjoy the warm weather on the Met roof, explore the Martian landscape at the Park avenue Armory, and party for your favorite non-profits at their annual benefits.
Understanding the World in Images
05/15 |
Betsy Mead
An art historian and an art editor have teamed up to produce Information Graphics, a new Taschen publication (slated for release on May 27) that encyclopedically chronicles the images that make sense of the torrent of data rushing past us. The book itself provokes information overload with four hundred infographics about subjects from sleep to politics and four essays about the history of graphic design. Preview a few highlights from the collection below.
Helmut Lang's First New York Solo Show
05/15 |
Tiffany Jow
Former fashion designer Helmut Lang is focusing on art full-time and has quietly opened his New York exhibition at a Village townhouse.
Construct Something Out of a Cereal Box, Leave It in a Museum
05/15 |
Serena Qiu
Unfortunately (or fortunately), we can’t all afford to go to art school. But now there’s a much cheaper way to learn from the likes of John Baldessari or Liam Gillick. The Brooklyn-based contemporary art journal Paper Monument, a sister publication of literary magazine n + 1, has released Draw It with Your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment, which proves that the studio classroom isn’t the only place to learn about making art.
Bright Spots in Public Spaces: Baji Lives!
05/14 |
Lindsey Grothkopp
One year ago, a curious intervention popped up overnight on the Williamsburg Bridge: egg-shaped swatches of green, yellow, blue, maroon, purple, red, and blood-orange lined the beams above the bike lane, a subtle yet peppy addition to commutes and weekend rides. Such is the work of Brooklyn-based artist Peter Brock, who founded the ongoing project known as Baji Lives! with the M.O. of brightening public spaces (and eliciting the occasional smile).
A Family at the Center of the Parisian Avant-Garde
05/14 |
Kelly Hill
The Steins Collect at the Metropolitan Museum of Art demonstrates how Gertrude, Leo, Michael, and Sarah Stein promoted and supported some of the greatest artists of their time, including Matisse and Picasso.
Clinical Photorealism and Psychedelic Sketches
05/14 |
Tiffany Jow
Marissa Textor and Ryan Travis Christian are not only long-time friends, but also share a serious love for graphite. Textor’s painstakingly photorealistic graphite drawings depict forces of nature at their most ruthless and unsympathetic. Christian makes work that mix ’30s cartoons with ’80s design, evoking reactions ranging from humor to disgust.
Artists and Architects Offer a Vision for Long Island City
05/11 |
Amanda Ryan
Once a heavily industrial area, Long Island City has been experiencing rapid change over the past few years. As many formerly commercial neighborhoods are being rezoned as residential, community activists and developers are at odds as to the best way to reinvigorate the area. Among the most contested issues is the development of the waterfront, which is both a vital public space and plum property for high-rise residential construction.
Tom Sachs Is on a Mission to Mars
05/11 |
Betsy Mead
In 2007, American artist Tom Sachs used everyday materials to painstakingly build a 1:1 model of the Apollo lunar probe and stage a moon landing within the confines of the Los Angeles branch of Gagosian Gallery, complete with mission control monitors relaying footage of the astronauts in space suits. Sachs’ latest project takes his fascination with the challenges, ingenuity, and wonder of space travel even further.
Tacita Dean and the Process of Creation
05/11 |
Betsy Mead
British artist Tacita Dean is widely recognized for her work in a quickly disappearing medium: 16mm film.


















