Two exhibits at the Asian Art Museum present beautiful works from the hedonistic society that dwelt in Tokyo's "floating world."
Emily S. MendelSan Francisco,
Two new excellent exhibitions about 17th- to 19th-century Japanese art and culture grace San Francisco’s well-respected Asian Art Museum, the largest museum in the United States devoted exclusively to the arts of Asia.
From 1615–1868, in Edo (now Tokyo), ...
This collection of intimate portraits demonstrates that John Singer Sargent was not only a master of his craft but also influential in the literary, artistic and musical circles of the late Victorian era.
Frances WilsonLondon,
Renowned for his portraits of the great and the good of late-Victorian society and dismissed by critics as a painter of “crowd-pleasers” after his death, a more personal side of the artist John Singer Sargent is revealed in a major ...
Though her work may be hard to fathom, Dumas can be enjoyed for her celebration of the physicality of paint.
Nicholas MarloweLondon,
Dead babies, zombie brides, sex workers, Osama bin Laden, Phil Spector without his wig; welcome to the world of Marlene Dumas. The subject matter Dumas chooses for her paintings certainly isn't for all tastes. "Crude" and "offensive" are among the ...
Though light on works by Rubens himself, the exhibition displays discoveries from other artists influenced by the Flemish master.
Nicholas MarloweLondon,
The Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) used to be known as "the Prince of Painters and the Painter of Princes." In a century overloaded with artistic talent, Rubens reigned supreme. But whereas the reputations of his contemporaries, including Caravaggio, ...
Though the show cashes in on the detective's enduring appeal with period bric-a-brac, a number of prints and paintings truly capture London's 19th-century atmosphere.
Nicholas MarloweLondon,
When the first Sherlock Holmes story, "A Study in Scarlet," begins, the narrator, Dr. John H. Watson, is kicking his heels in London, having recently been invalided out of the army. Watson isn't very complimentary about the capital, calling it ...
It's hard not to be seduced by the color, signs and symbols in Haring's work, and this show gives them all ample play.
Emily S. MendelSan Francisco,
Does art belong in a museum or on a T-shirt? When it’s the art of Keith Haring (1958–1990), the answer is both. The vibrant and striking “Keith Haring: The Political Line” at San Francisco’s de Young Museum explores his universal ...
Michael McDonaghNew York,
It's important to remind people that the West is the new kid on the block because our narcissistic Euro centric worldview is always telling us that "we" did everything first, and everyone else is a late arrival. But that, of ...
These frank depictions of the human body speak directly to the viewer of desires, tensions and fears.
Frances WilsonLondon,
Fin de siècle Vienna. A city fizzing with avant-garde intellectualism and “new” music. The city of Freud, Mahler and Schoenberg. A city teetering on the precipice of change in the twilight years of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Onto the ...
In this intriguing exhibit, the "transvestite potter" explores the fluid notion of identity.
Frances WilsonLondon,
Who Are You?, the question that forms the title of this new exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery, is one, according to British artist Grayson Perry, that we often try to avoid. He feels we have a “slippery sense of ...
The old master's bold experimentation in his later years comes across in this spectacular exhibition.
Nicholas MarloweLondon,
His hand rests affectionately on her bosom; she acknowledges his gesture with a gentle caress. Although it's called "The Jewish Bride," we don't know whether the painting depicts a contemporary couple or a historic union, perhaps Isaac and Rebecca. No ...
