The March issue of Aeqai has just posted. It’s replete with fascinating reviews and profiles, and for those of our readers particularly interested in the digital world and its effects on contemporary art, we offer three columns which specifically address some of those issues. Ekin Erkan provides two of those; he’ll be reviewing shows in New York for us now; one of his reviews is of a show at The New Museum, “Tracing net.art’s Archival Poets”, and his other review is of filmic and other work called “Twitchy” by Harmony Korine at Gagosian Madison. And Megan Bickel reviews a show at The Cressman Center at The University of Louisville called “Conspiratorial Aesthetics”. These three reviews are on the cutting edge of the digital world and the critical discourse therein. And Tony Huffman returns with his review of the 25th Anniversary Armory Show in New York, too, which gives a splendid overview of the newest contemporary art.
March is Women’s History Month, and we offer two reviews of exhibitions honoring same, one by Karen Chambers of a large group show of work by women also honoring the late poet Mary Oliver, at the l628 Gallery space in downtown Cincinnati, and the other by Marlene Steele, of a show of work by 5 white and 5 African-American women artists at the Women’s Y Gallery downtown. That gallery is now being curated by Ena Nearon Menefield, so Jane Durrell offers a profile of Ms. Menefield for our readers concurrently.
Jonathan Kamholtz reviews the large, very exciting show “Paris l900: City of Entertainment”; his analyses of culture high and medium in Paris during the Belle Epoque is brilliant, offering exceptional insights both into the role of women in that city at that time and also the role of electricity, which allowed people to enjoy urban delights at night safely. Amy Bogard examines the amazingly detailed work of Clint Woods at UC Clermont Gallery; Kent Krugh’s FotoFolio this month features the work of photographer Sunjoo Lee. Jonathan Ryckman, new to Aeqai this month, offers a thoughtful review of work by sculptor Ron Isaacs at Manifest Gallery, and Saad Ghosn returns to Aeqai with his “Letter from Oaxaca”, Mexico. Annabel Osberg’s review this month is of work by Iranian artists, showing in “Focus 3 Iran: Contemporary Photographs and Video” at Contemporary Craft, in L.A.
Architecture critic Stewart Maxwell analyzes a show about the history of Cincinnati architecture at the downtown Public Library with his usual insights, and we offer an essay by Zsolt Batori about new work by Cincinnati photographer Bill Davis, who teaches in Michigan, for his show at the Richmond Center. Laura Hobson gives us a profile of Cincinnati art dealer/gallerist Litsa Spanos, one of this region’ s most successful with her company ADC, Inc.
I offer two book reviews this month, of “Death is Hard Work” by Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa, and the astonishing “Bowlaway” by Elizabeth McCracken.
We hope that you find this issue of Aeqai stimulating and eclectic, and we welcome your comments, as always. We’ll return in April with another issue of Aeqai; to read the new issue, click onto www.Aeqai.com/main which will take you directly to our site.
Daniel Brown, Editor
