By Rozalia Jovanovic 5/22/12 8:58am

Critics

View from 21st Street. The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia. (March 2012) © Tom Crane 2012

Critic Roundup: The Barnes Foundation

The reviews have been streaming in steadily since the opening of the Barnes Foundation, the collection of early modernist masterworks of Dr. Albert C. Barnes, on Saturday at its more centrally located site along Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The building, designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, at a cost of $150 million, replicates the galleries of the original structure while expanding its footprint to add new amenities like a central court, a café, a gift shop and an auditorium—a total of 93,000 square feet, compared to the original in Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, which was only 10,000 square feet. The critics are all over the place on the new building. Here’s a cheat sheet of where some of them stand. Read More

By Rozalia Jovanovic 2/20/12 6:37pm

Openings

IMG_2871

Charles Atlas’s Long-Awaited Show Opens at Luhring Augustine Bushwick

“I’m speechless,” said Ryan Estep, a visitor at the opening of “The Illusion of Democracy,” Charles Atlas’s show at Luhring Augustine Friday night. Mr. Estep was standing in front of Plato’s Alley, a 2008 video work by Mr. Atlas, comprised of a black and white projection of a grid of rapidly flashing numbers. The video was cast across several walls of a nook in the gallery the size of a small bedroom. An artist and art handler who works at a Chelsea gallery and lives in Bushwick, Mr. Estep was one of the first visitors to the show. He seemed mesmerized. “Things are coming toward me and receding. I’m blown away.” Read More

By Emma Allen 12/08/11 12:57am

Work of Art

Selling art to Simon de Pury, on Work of Art

‘Work of Art’ Recap, Episode 8: Take It Off, Take It All Off

“The following program may contain material that is unsuitable for young viewers. Parental discretion is advised,” read the ominous title card preceding last night’s episode of Bravo’s art-world reality romp, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. Immediately thereafter, the sassy sex-kitten contestant, Lola Thompson, — who probably still gets carded trying to buy tickets to R-rated films — proclaimed, “I need to put more of myself out there to show the judges more of who I am.” One didn’t really need to keep watching. It was already clear that Ms. Thompson was going to get naked. Read More

By Emma Allen 12/01/11 3:34am

Work of Art

China Chow and Simon de Pury on "Work of Art." (Courtesy Bravo)

‘Work of Art’ Recap, Episode 7: Rubbernecking

The art world is in Miami. The Sucklord has been booted from the rarefied realm of reality television and is lurking somewhere, probably in Miami. So what do we have left, here at home, to be thankful for? Why, the fact that the search for the next great artist continues for us on the Bravo cable television channel, of course. On Wednesday night, there were seven contestants left in the art-critical arena, and yes, they were challenged, as all artists have been since time immemorial, with the task of creating art to please car-manufacturing television sponsors. Read More