The New Abstraction
True, it never really went away. But abstraction is in the midst of a revival, flaunting its brilliant past as it reconfigures itself for the future. Read More
Also in this Issue
What’s So Funny about Abstraction
Most well-known nonobjective painting fits into a tragic mode. But many contemporary artists are finding humor in the abstract
Peter Plagens
Ballerinas, Unicorns, and Boom Boxes
Ryan McGinness’s graphic icons are turning up on everything from T-shirts and skateboards to wall murals and outdoor sculpture
Hilarie M. Sheets
Artist Provocateur
Oleg Kulik has reformed. Moscow’s master of the outrageous has turned to spirituality and is trying to show other artists the way
Nora FitzGerald
Departments
Art Talk
Sandra Day O’Connor, Walter Bernard, Marc Pachter, David Levine, Nick Bertozzi, Ben Katchor, William Kentridge
National News
New York Assessing a salary; Dia names new director; Jules Olitski: Color was his passion Williamstown, Massachusetts Pollock analysis withheld Los Angeles Getty submits progress report
International News
Paris Omission: Apollo; Sentence upheld for urinal “vandal”; Heinz Berggruen: A donor who stayed close to his art Jerusalem Examining Israel’s heirless art Florence Looking for Leonardo, atom by atom Berlin Court bars claim by Nazi’s heirs London Adding curators to the force; Courtauld returns looted Old Masters
Art Market
London Winter sales shatter records; More demand, more questions New York Gilbert Edelson: “Soul of the ADAA”
Studio
Strip Malls in Paradise: In the landscapes of Lisa Sanditz, strip malls and casinos blight the desert
Hilarie M. Sheets
Working Habits
Two Conversions and a Lost Crucifixion: Why did Caravaggio paint two very different versions of the same subject?
Jonathan Turner
Looking at Art
Open Book: Using gouache and folded cardboard, Lygia Pape let the reader tell the story of the world’s creation
Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro
Books
Reading Between the Lines: In Pictures of Nothing, Kirk Varnedoe made a case for abstraction
Arthur C. Danto
Critic’s Pick
Nicole Cherubini: Bottomless pots
Cynthia Nadelman
Reviews
NEW YORK Robert Gober; “Victorian Bestsellers”; “Athens-Sparta”; Terence Koh; Robert Irwin; Robert Wilson; LeRoy Henderson; Larry Poons; “Primitivism Revisited”; “Mixed Signals”; Jacco Olivier; Robert Forman; Monica Bonvicini; Saint Clair Cemin, James Hyde, Jac Leirner; Michael Rakowitz; Elisabeth Kley; Henry Wessel; Wendy Mark
NATIONAL Washington, D.C. Jasper Johns Philadelphia Carlos Garaicoa Dayton, Ohio “Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art” Columbus, Ohio “Shiny” Beverly Hills Rachel Howard Los Angeles Odd Nerdrum Houston “The Modern West” San Francisco Grisha Bruskin Portland Cynthia Mosser
INTERNATIONAL Geneva John M. Armleder Vienna Erwin Wurm Munich Allan Kaprow; Conrat Meit Tokyo “All About Laughter” and “The Smile in Japanese Art” London “Mark Wallinger: State Britain”; Gillian Wearing; Richard Wilson; Darren Lago; Mariko Mori