The Nation

In a though-provoking profile of painter Frank Bowling, John-Baptiste Oduor contemplates Bowling's “uneasy relationship to the external sources of influence on his work" given his stated interest in paint as subject. “For Bowling,” Oduor observes, “‘the subject of painting is paint.’ This might be a difficult idea to grasp, but accepting it—or at least finding

Barry Schwabsky reviews an exhibition of works by Dana Schutz at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and subsequently reflects on Schutz's controversial painting of Emmett Till shown in the recent Whitney Biennial. Schwabsky observes: "It’s in the gap between what can be imagined and what can be represented that art’s capacity for surprise is

Barry Schwabsky investigates connections between the portrait paintings of Alberto Giacometti and those of Alice Neel. Schwabsky observes: "Although Neel and Giacometti both emerged from a left that was aligned with communism, neither one produced anything in a social-realist vein. It would also be wrong to see their insistence on portraiture as an acceptance of

Ratik Asokan reviews Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's recent exhibition Under-Song For A Cipher at the New Museum, New York. Asokan observes: "For a portraitist, it’s a strange approach. But perhaps we aren’t dealing with portraiture. Abstract painting, as defined by Octavio Paz, 'suggests contemplation to us—not of what it shows but of a presence which the colors

Barry Schwabsky reviews Kerry James Marshall: Mastry at the Met Breuer, New York, on view through January 29, 2017. Schwabsky observes: "Marshall is something we haven’t seen for a while, at least in a very convincing way: He is what Baudelaire called for 171 years ago, a painter of the heroism of modern life—and the