Art Talk

When a few years ago, two Los Angeles museums, MOCA and the Hammer, jointly organized a sprawling exhibition devoted to the history of the American comic strip and comic book, I felt underwhelmed and…

So, ladies and gentlemen, if you, like me, have been procrastinating on filing your taxes until the very last moment, then today – April 15 – is your Atonement Day. Why this Christian reference? Prob…

For me, last weekend turned out to be anything but usual. It's Saturday: I am drinking my morning coffee and, all of a sudden, I am in the presence of...Madonna, staring at me from the cover of Vanit…

My fellow Angelenos, judging by the numerous exhibitions of contemporary art currently on display in various Los Angeles museums, I want to assure you that the state of art in our city is strong...

The news about the recent acquisition by the Getty Museum of a rare painting by Paul Gauguin came as a welcome surprise. Though this work is known to specialists, it has rarely been seen, as its Swis…

As far as the Los Angeles art scene is concerned, last week was a winner. Consider this: in celebration of its tenth anniversary, the Getty Center held two special conferences. The first was focused …

We are lucky to have here, in southern California, some of the best art schools in the country. But when several years ago, I went to one of them to see an exhibition of works by students graduating …

In the heady art scene of the 1980's, with New York as its epicenter, there were several brash, young artists who ruled the day. Their paintings were big, their personalities even bigger. Julian Schn…

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that artists cannot make good art from, including such strange substances as bodily fluids and excrement, both animal and human. You may remember the controversy…

Last week I talked about the theft of four priceless artworks from the Bührle Museum in Zurich and wondered what the hell the idiot burglars were planning to do with the stolen French paintings, so f…

Every time I see an artwork appear on the front page of the newspapers, my heart sinks, because I know: the news, most of the time, is not good. Today's headlines announce the brazen theft of four pr…

This morning, when the Academy announced the Oscar nominations, all other front-page news -– the stock prices plunging, the gas prices rising –- seemed less important to me. Hey, after all, I live in…

It's been a week since the New York Times broke the story about Eli Broad's decision to retain permanent control of his foundation's art collection instead of gradually transferring its governance to…

What would A Christmas Day Art Talk be without Mr. Scrooge? His latest misdeed is a royal screw-up of a major cultural exchange between Russia and Great Britain. A few weeks before the opening in Lon…

There are a number of reasons why the remarkable photographs by Graciela Iturbide probably would not be used in an advertising campaign to lure tourists to Mexico. She works primarily in black and wh…

Surrender was the only option I had upon entering the festive photo installation by Jenny Okun at Craig Krull Gallery in Bergamot Station. Close to two hundred photographs cover the walls salon-style…

It's been more than three weeks since I returned from Beijing, but thoughts and impressions of it resurface on a daily basis. Friends and colleagues keep asking all sorts of questions about China, as…

If you've seen Gordon Matta-Clark's artwork -– even once -– you will remember the rush of adrenaline it sends through your veins. After all, this is an artist who loved to display the results of viol…

Though the invitation to travel to Beijing came up only a couple of months ago, I was preparing myself for this trip – without even realizing it – for almost a year...

Eight days in Beijing. Never been in Asia before. It's my first trip to China. Always felt slightly intimidated by the huge span of its history, by the intricacy and "otherness" of its culture. B…