Visual Arts
Surprisingly, the 17th- and 18th-century drawings and prints in “Pastoral on Paper” proffer bold experiments in charcoal, chalk, and gouache.
Viewing the art while strolling along the Muddy River gives city-dwellers and visitors a reason to linger and enjoy one of the city’s oldest and most beautiful open spaces.
“Matisse in Morocco” is a 35-year labor of love, as meticulously researched as a Ph.D. thesis but without the turgid language, as charmingly composed as the travelogues of Goethe, and with characters worthy of Balzac.
“The MFA is a place that really matters to a lot of people, and it is the safety of this place that matters and its commitment to excellence. These are things that must never be compromised.”
This exhibition is evidence of the venerable museum’s interest in expanding its collections so that more voices and perspectives can contribute to our understanding of our own complicated history.
Phyllis Ewen ponders humanity’s perilous relationship with the earth, expressing her concerns through her artwork.
Every subject in Jim Dine’s richly rendered work seems to edge towards something other than itself, deeper and more personal.
I wish this catalogue spelled out John Singer Sargent’s professional stance as a “juste milieu” painter more methodically. That term refers to those eager to be associated with new stylistic tendencies yet careful not to transgress the establishment’s norms.
While he paints, Stanley Whitney listens to and is inspired by jazz. Miles Davis’s album “Bitches Brew” is his constant companion in the studio.
Reluctant to explain the meaning of her art, Leonora Carrington chose to let the magic and mystery of her inner life reveal itself through the imaginary animal/human creatures and fantastic landscapes of her paintings.
Visual Art Commentary: Silence Is Complicity — Why Museums Must Use Their Voice to Defend Democracy