Art & Architecture

Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT)

Interview with Director Vlanka Robles-Santana

Toba Singer September 21, 2019

The Tijuana [Mexico] Cultural Center merits a far more titillating acronym than CECUT! It stands out as one of my two favorite Tijuana institutions (the other being the Dance Conservatory of Mexico/Conservatorio de Danza de Mexico-CDM).  Built in 1982,  ...

No Horizon: Recent Art Works by Helen Mirra and Sean Thackrey

Emily S. Mendel July 17, 2019 Berkeley,

On display in one large gallery at UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is “No Horizon,” comprising the recent works of two contemporary Bay Area artists, Helen Mirra, and Sean Thackrey. Their ethos has been influenced  ...

Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Emily S. Mendel May 18, 2019 San Francisco,

The first retrospective organized in the U.S. since 1989 looks afresh at the oeuvre of Andy Warhol (1928–1987), one of the most talented American artists of the second half of the 20th century. He was a creative and thoughtful  ...

Queer California: Untold Stories

Oakland Museum of California

Emily S. Mendel April 22, 2019 Oakland,

The distinctive multimedia and interactive exhibit, “Queer California: Untold Stories,” the first in California to focus on LGBTQ+ history and culture, just opened at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). The exhibition contains a variety  ...

Andy Warhol— From A to B and Back Again

Nancy S. Bishop March 20, 2019 New York,

The blockbuster exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art could be called Andy Warhol—From A to Z and Back Again. Because it’s a very comprehensive view of the life and art of the man  ...

Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

Emily S. Mendel March 17, 2019 Berkeley,

“Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction,” the exceptional and significant new retrospective by the world-renown and influential abstract artist, Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), presents a fresh  ...

Mildred Howard

“TAP: Investigation of Memory”

Emily S. Mendel March 3, 2019 Oakland,

A powerful multimedia piece entitled newly installed at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is the creation of lauded artist and long-time Berkeley resident, Mildred Howard. I spoke with Mildred Howard about the origins of her mixed media work,  ...

Monet: The Late Years

Emily S. Mendel February 17, 2019 San Francisco,

“Monet: The Late Years,” an exquisite and enlightening exhibition, presents the evolution of the fabulous French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) from 1913 to his death. After a lapse in painting brought on by the deaths  ...

Kimono Refashioned

Emily S. Mendel February 11, 2019 San Francisco,

An exquisite experience awaits all who see the San Francisco Asian Art Museum’s new exhibit, “Kimono Refashioned,” which examines the influence of the kimono on global fashion from the Victorian era to the 21st  ...

Q & A w/ Masako Miki

Emily S. Mendel January 28, 2019 Berkeley,

Much-admired Berkeley-based artist and designer Masako Miki is the 273rd artist in the MATRIX Program for Contemporary Art at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. (BAMPFA). MATRIX is an ongoing series dedicated to presenting cutting-edge art and  ...