November 27th, 2021 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, November 2021
Cincinnati Ballet celebrates a new home with a view to the future. Scott Altman, chief executive officer and president, Cincinnati Ballet talks enthusiastically about the organization, its new building at 1801 Gilbert Avenue, new programs, pivoting during COVID and a search committee to replace artistic director Victoria Morgan who has served the company for 25 […]
November 27th, 2021 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, November 2021
Krohn, Fechheimer, Wise… Every settlement is established by what is put in the ground. It all began with the arrival of a small man who was a professional jeweler, watch and clockmaker. As Joseph Jonas arrived in Cincinnati in March of 1817, the city’s residential population hovered around 6000. Jonas was to become the first […]
November 27th, 2021 | by Annabel Osberg | published in *, November 2021
Upon entering Pippa Garner’s show, “Immaculate Misconceptions,” at JOAN in Los Angeles, visitors are greeted by HOW TO COME UP WITH AN IDEA and HOW TO GET RID OF YOUR IDEA, a pair of vinyl wall text pieces whose contents are as wryly pedantic as their titles suggest. “As ironic as it seems, keeping your […]
November 27th, 2021 | by Annie Dell'Aria | published in *, November 2021
Ceramic arts often conjure notions of utility or delicacy. In the museum, pottery fragments from ancient societies shed light on their domestic lives, and ornate porcelain objects speak to opulence of periods of wealth. Contemporary ceramic artists might play with these assumptions but also frequently eschew them to explore more sculptural concerns. A selection of […]
November 27th, 2021 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, November 2021
In the Iris Cafe, a cozy booknook found in the hubbub of north Main Street OTR, one can enjoy savory menu, an assembly of used and collectable books and the visual experience of a photography exhibition. The current feature “Seven Cities” is the work of the engaging self-taught eye of Casey LeClair, whose urban street […]
October 31st, 2021 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, October 2021
Tamera Lenz Muente, curator at The Taft Museum of Art, said, “I think every museum has a responsibility to respond to its day and age. At the Taft, we continually consider how to make our collection–put together by a wealthy white couple between about 1900 and 1920–relevant to today’s audiences.” “Our latest endeavor has been […]
October 31st, 2021 | by Laura Winn | published in *, October 2021
In Alexander Brest Gallery’s first exhibition of the 2021-2022 academic year, Bill Davis, photographer and Associate Professor of Art at Western Michigan University, asks his viewers to reevaluate their relationship with darkness and become more cognizant in how the presence of synthetic light in the nocturnal landscape creates an unhealthy imbalance in ourselves and the […]
October 31st, 2021 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, October 2021
The apparent art works of Barbara Kruger are instantly recognizable. She is most known for her collage style that consists of black-and-white photographs, overlaid with declarative captions, stated in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Ultra Condensed text. The work is overlaid with phrases that often include pronouns such as “you”, “your”, “I”, “we”, and “they”, addressing cultural constructions […]
October 31st, 2021 | by Ekin Erkan | published in *, October 2021
It is a genuine tragedy that the art of Antonio Pietro Narducci (1915-1999) is not a staple within Abstract Expressionism but, luckily, curator Inhee Iris Moon has prompted what is hopefully the first step in changing this unfortunate art historical shortcoming. One reason why Narducci’s work and name is perhaps not as well-known as it […]
October 31st, 2021 | by Josh Beckelhimer | published in *, October 2021
Before heading to the LA Arts District for Hauser & Wirth’s presentation of Everrrything by Lorna Simpson, one would benefit from a brief reflection on the history of the artist. While working on her MFA in Visual Arts at the University of California at San Diego in the 80s, one of her teachers was the […]
September 6th, 2021 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, September 2021
The opportunity to write for AEQAI came at a time when I was feeling isolated in a new city (Houston, Texas) and felt an urgent need to connect to artists around me, but was having trouble finding a pathway. Daniel enthusiastically welcomed me and my writing to AEQAI, and his appreciation for my ideas, […]
September 6th, 2021 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, September 2021
In early June 2021 a Cincinnati treasure, the 200-year-old Taft house, closed for a year of renovations. Approximately 80 of the collection’s seminal works can be enjoyed in the Fifth Third Gallery. The exhibition is titled “In a New Light” and covers a broad range of cultures, eras, and artifacts that were collected by Charles […]
September 6th, 2021 | by Annabel Osberg | published in *, September 2021
The resort city of Palm Springs and its surrounding conurbations boast stylish modernist houses with gleaming swimming pools; carefully arranged plantings of cycads improbably protected from excessive heat by semi-permanent sunshades; and touristic enticements such as a giant, flashy statue of Marilyn Monroe. The trappings of this artificial oasis could hardly contrast more with the […]
September 6th, 2021 | by Josh Beckelhimer | published in *, September 2021
On the Getty Center’s sprawling picturesque campus, one room contains the small but powerful exhibition In Focus: Protest – on view until October 10th. The exhibition collects images from crucial points throughout US political history. Bound together, the images generate a patchwork history. I say patchwork, of course, because photography – by way of distilling […]
September 6th, 2021 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, September 2021
“Filling the Void” by Rick Mallette at the Summit Hotel Gallery is an agoraphobic’s nightmare. The aptly titled show perfectly describes the vast and spartan 5700 square foot gallery space, met by ambitiously scaled artwork that attempts to tackle that vastness with claustrophobic forms, blazing colors, and palpable energy. The artist presents twenty-three abstract paintings […]
July 23rd, 2021 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, June/July 2021
Robert Harris, 75, said he was a misfit – Black, disabled and an artist. He never let that stop him. Some people thought he was crazy to make a living as an artist, especially Black. He has a positive, ebullient personality that shines as he describes his work. A long-term resident of Cincinnati, he has […]
July 23rd, 2021 | by Christopher Carter | published in *, June/July 2021
Kent Krugh is a long-time contributor to the Ohio art scene, bringing a sophisticated historical sensibility to his work as a photographer and curator. After taking physics degrees from Ohio Northern University and the University of Cincinnati, he spent forty years developing his camera craft, winning a range of accolades including a gold medal at […]
July 23rd, 2021 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, June/July 2021
The backstory is important here. The movie The Monuments Men brought to light the very intriguing and powerful story of mostly middle-aged men and women – primarily art experts – who volunteered for the Army to rescue and hide art masterpieces, books and rare documents from the Nazis during WWII. These efforts were led by […]
July 23rd, 2021 | by Ekin Erkan | published in *, June/July 2021
MoMA PS1’s “Structures for Life” is the first major US exhibition of the Nouveau Réaliste artist Niki de Saint Phalle. French-born and American-raised, Saint Phalle is something of an “outsider artist”—entirely self-taught, Saint Phalle is known for her unconventional, characteristically whimsical, and at times childish sculptures, public artworks, artefacts, and drawings. MoMA PS1’s sprawling, impressive […]
July 23rd, 2021 | by Will Newman | published in *, June/July 2021
SOS ART 2021 EXHIBIT Curated by Saad Ghosn, the 19th annual SOS show with a cohesive theme of peace and justice showcases 94 works from student artists to professionals. With the year 2020 behind them the artists were obviously drawn to the subjects of racial oppression, isolation, fear and mortality. It is interesting to see […]
May 29th, 2021 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, May 2021
The Contemporary Dayton (aka The Co), formerly known as the Dayton Visual Arts Center, has moved. Its new home is a 6000+ sq ft. space featuring five galleries, including a video viewing room, that give it almost double the size it had at its previous location. The space itself is located in a years-in-the-making renovation […]
May 29th, 2021 | by Christopher Carter | published in *, May 2021
Jay Bolotin began exhibiting works of art at the Carl Solway Gallery in the 1970s. Nearly fifty years later, he maintains his relationship with the venue, which has staged a retrospective surveying his catalog of drawings, writings, sculpture, theatre, music, and film. That catalog pays homage to a variety of predecessors, demonstrating his deep feeling […]
May 29th, 2021 | by Ekin Erkan | published in *, May 2021
Gerhard Richter’s Cage paintings (2006), on display at the Gagosian Gallery at 541 West 24th Street, are named after the composer John Cage, apparently drawing on the theme of coincidence. The paintings are massive, sprawling works, constructed from intersecting fields, lines, and swaths of uneven smears that reflect the broad squeegee tool which Richter dragged […]
May 29th, 2021 | by Karen Chambers | published in *, May 2021
To state the obvious, the pandemic changed all of our lives, except, perhaps, the agoraphobic. The rest of us learned how to bake bread, cleaning out store shelves of packets of yeast, as well as tp. We made lists of things we could finally do–reorganize our closets–but didn’t. Sweat pants sales soared and khakis bottomed […]
May 29th, 2021 | by Megan Bickel | published in *, May 2021
Sam Gilliam’s Carousel Form II (1969) and Alisha Wormsley’s afro-futurist manifesto, “There are Black people in the Future,” announce their presence as you walk into the first gallery of Promise, Witness, Remembrance. Gilliam’s Carousel hovers. It is a monolith of canvas, pigment, and pure zeal. Promise, Witness, Remembrance at the Speed Art Museum “reflects on the […]
April 24th, 2021 | by Deborah Johnson | published in *, April 2021
While reading this review, I invite you to consider how to continue the rich tradition of art in Cincinnati. The exhibition Identity: (un)real presents artwork created by high school students from seventh through 12th grade. The exhibition is the culmination of relentless effort put forth by participants of the annual Taft Museum Artists Reaching Classrooms […]
April 24th, 2021 | by Karen Chambers | published in *, April 2021
The enchantment begins with the title of the two-person show at the Indian Hill Gallery: “The Sound of Still.” (The curator and exhibition coordinator, Casey Dressell, wisely stayed away from Simon and Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence.) The exhibition “contemplates the idea of the sound of stillness–moments, figures, and forms at a standstill,” according to Dressell. […]
April 24th, 2021 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, April 2021
A knitted banner that says “Stronger Together” stretches over the steps on the front porch of the Kennedy Heights Arts Center (KHAC). With its quirky multicolor letters, pompoms, and flowers crafted by members of the BombShells of Cincinnati, it’s a rallying cry for collaboration, and a fitting introduction to the Center’s current show, “Collective Impact: […]
April 24th, 2021 | by Josh Beckelhimer | published in *, April 2021
Give It Or Leave It is on view at the LACMA until October 31, 2021 Due to the Covid-19 pandemic my visit to the newly reopened Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) felt a bit utopian to me, allowing me to feel – in the words of Jose Esteban Muñoz – the then and […]
April 24th, 2021 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, April 2021
Carahna Magood, a single African American mother of 27, serves as creative director of the digital team for the White House. How does someone that young get to that position in Washington, D.C.? Magood,, who graduated from Howard University in 2016 with a BFA, rose quickly through the ranks. She started as an administrative assistant […]
March 27th, 2021 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, March 2021
In mid-March, the 2021 National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) annual conference was to be held in Cincinnati. Due to the pandemic, this highly anticipated event was changed to a virtual conference. However, in preparation for the conference, many exhibitions of ceramics were planned well in advance. The Cincinnati Art Museum, the […]
March 27th, 2021 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, March 2021
Clay and the Human Imprint: “Social Recession” at the Weston Gallery March 13-April 24, 2021; “Multi-Cultural Fellowship Exhibition” at DAAP Meyers Gallery, February 22-March 21, 2021; “Artifact: Ceramic-based Works,” “There is a Fly on a Plate” and “Firstlings,” “Sublimation,” all at Manifest Gallery, March 5-April 2, 2021; and “Sanctuary” at the Contemporary Arts Center, March […]
March 27th, 2021 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, March 2021
Every past era offers us a view of the cultural riches deemed significant in its time. Looking back on an era gives us a glimpse into the thinking of the era’s makers and those who evaluate the makers, and gives us a chance to brush off our knowledge and our recollections of the times. American […]
March 27th, 2021 | by Christopher Carter | published in *, March 2021
Featuring one or two works by twelve artists, Reflections of the Harlem Renaissance might at first seem a small show. But stopping to dwell with any piece reveals a vast and at times overwhelming attention to the history of art and politics in the U.S. Subtitled The Legacy Continues, the exhibit finds contemporary painters, photographers, […]
March 27th, 2021 | by Karen Chambers | published in *, March 2021
Organized by the New-York Historical Society, “Walk This Way: Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes” is a delight, sure to tantalize everyone with a foot fetish, or, at least, an awareness of how shoes make the man, or in this case, the woman. The 100 or so pairs shown span a couple of centuries […]
February 20th, 2021 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, January/February 2021
It’s long been discussed whether Duveneck’s lasting contribution to American art is more as a painter or a teacher. As a painter, his influence has been hard to characterize, but as teacher his impact is easier to trace. At various times and places, he was a mentor to artists as diverse as John Henry Twachtman, […]
February 20th, 2021 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, January/February 2021
The new installation at the Weston Gallery called “And the Presence of Light” by Oberlin, OH based artist Johnny Coleman is inspired by the story of 4 year old Lee Howard Dobbins, an adopted child and fugitive slave who died in Oberlin on route to Canada, and freedom, in 1853. He contracted tuberculosis while traveling […]
February 20th, 2021 | by Will Newman | published in *, January/February 2021
For their annual SOS ART 2021, the Kennedy Heights Arts center is presenting a retrospective of the past five years of SOS shows. In a nutshell, SOS ART showcases artists who work for change, and who advocate for peace and justice with their work. This five year retrospective includes eighty nine local artists who fall […]
February 20th, 2021 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, January/February 2021
Editor’s Note: This show has been extended until August 15, 2021 In writing about Bukang Yu Kim’s extraordinary solo show of ten paintings at the Dayton Art Institute, I need to make two disclosures. First, I confess to coming late to an appreciation of her marvelous and powerful work, though I’ve had plenty of chances […]
February 20th, 2021 | by Karen Chambers | published in *, January/February 2021
Printmaking encompasses a myriad of techniques. The processes can be complicated. The equipment is specialized. And often expensive. Some artists have the wherewithal to set up their own studios, but for most artists, it’s not possible. For them Cincinnati is fortunate to have the Tiger Lily Press, which celebrated its 40thanniversary in 2019. It exists […]
December 23rd, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, December 2020
I walked into the second floor gallery just as the choir began imitating the sound of pigs being slaughtered. “Four Industries,” the mesmerizing centerpiece of Mexico City-based artist Tania Candiani’s exhibition Sounding Labor, Silent Bodies at the Contemporary Arts Center, is a three-channel video installation in which an a cappella women’s choir mimics the sounds […]
December 23rd, 2020 | by Karen Chambers | published in *, December 2020
For decades, from the 1950s through 1970s, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) recorded the lives of the “rich and famous” He caught them at their favorite watering holes: Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, Park Avenue, Capri, Gstaad, the French and Italian rivieras. You name it and he was there. He was a documentary photographer as sure as Walker […]
December 23rd, 2020 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, December 2020
Cincinnati Art Galleries is on the bandwagon of regionalism with its current offering entitled: Panorama of Cincinnati Art 2020. The Queen City stands out historically in the Midwest region as a hotbed of art, music and culture. In the fine art field, the confluence of collecting, commissioning, and teaching legacies resulted in supporting a flourishing […]
December 23rd, 2020 | by Annabel Osberg | published in *, December 2020
Little need be said about the strangeness of 2020: A year inundated with historic events has brought to a standstill the customs and contact that once defined our lives. In March, as the reality of the pandemic set into Los Angeles, museums and galleries closed with the lockdowns, leaving in their wake a slew of […]
December 23rd, 2020 | by Daniel Brown | published in *, December 2020
2020 was a terrible year for most of us, between a rampaging and terrifying pandemic and a bizarre election that tested the very limits of democracy, but it was a splendid year for fiction. I’m offering my annual “best fiction of 2020” list this year, as I have for decades now. My list is very […]
November 25th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, November 2020
“Art Ascendant” at Cincinnati Art Galleries on 6th Street is a great show to see on a fall day. It’s a full show, with about 100 works on display by about 20 artists covering all of the gallery’s walls. The exhibit drew upon many of the CAG’s stable of living painters (and one sculptor). In […]
November 25th, 2020 | by Christopher Carter | published in *, November 2020
The Cincinnati-based Paloozanoire organization dedicates itself to creative collaborations and community health, linking the arts to the pursuit of mental wellness. In 2020, when the ravages of a pandemic combined with the shockwaves of racist violence, the need to support psychological and social wellbeing could hardly be plainer. Paloozanoire’s Black and Brown Faces at the […]
November 25th, 2020 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, November 2020
Emerging Arts Leaders had a creative and Facebook conversation about The Catalyst of Black Art on October 28. Participants included Emmitt Rider, education and community engagement coordinator, Cincinnati Arts Association, panelists Asha White, Latausha Cox, Brandon Hawkins, Adoria Maxberry, Cedric Michael Cox and Vinay Duncan. They talked about their experience in creating the Black Lives […]
November 25th, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, November 2020
Like the skies’ lightning, a flash of energy has come … to infuse its magic into history’s wavering course. …Then the gates of the possible swung wide. – Georges Bataille Two lightning strikes bracket Allora & Calzadilla’s exhibition at The Menil Collection in Houston. The first is a pine tree which the artists have presented […]
November 25th, 2020 | by Deborah Johnson | published in *, November 2020
On a dry breezy November Saturday morning I was greeted at the door of Gallery Askew by Stewart Goldman, creator of “War Zone.” The exhibit had opened October 10th during Camp Washington open studios and gallery day. Attendance had been minimal as it has been for most gallery exhibits during the pandemic. Indeed, I was […]
October 25th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, October 2020
In the 18th and 19th centuries, there was a popular genre of fiction known as “It-Narratives” or “Novels of Circulation,” which told their stories in the voice of some object which passes through many hands. Some of the earliest of these began with money (the story, say, of a bank note): the genre spread to […]
October 25th, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, October 2020
A few weeks ago I made my first visit to the Contemporary Arts Center since the pandemic’s beginning. After holding up my phone so the visitor staff could scan the QR code of my timed entry ticket, I stepped over to the lobby in order to behold the Brussels-based Marjolijn Dijkman’s newly commissioned wallpaper. Earthing […]
October 25th, 2020 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, October 2020
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen Island, Norway opened in 2008 as the world’s largest secure seed storage. Located above the Arctic Circle, it is designed to remain above water in the event of melting ice caps to protect its comprehensive catalogue of the world’s seeds. The opening of this facility fascinated photographer Dornith […]
October 25th, 2020 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, October 2020
Continuing my behind-the-scenes series is a look at smaller arts organizations and how they interact with the social justice movement. Starting off is Wave Pool, a contemporary art fulfillment center where experimental art connects community and creates change. Located in Camp Washington at 2940 Colerain Ave., Wave Pool offers a diverse menu of programs. Cal […]
October 25th, 2020 | by Deborah Johnson | published in *, October 2020
“Stillness and Receptivity: Modes in Contemporary Photography and Painting” Indian Hill Gallery, September 18th through November 1st, 2020. Participating Artists: Jonathan Eiten, Jordanne Renner, Sally Schrohenloher, Sarah Sedwick, Ed Shrider, John Sousa, Matthew Zory. Curated by Casey Dressell, Gallery Coordinator with support by FotoFocus The exhibit “Stillness and Receptivity: Modes in Contemporary […]
September 26th, 2020 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, September 2020
The retrospective exhibition “All Things Being Equal” by Hank Willis Thomas has recently opened at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Planning for this highly anticipated show began three years ago, and the timing of its opening was postponed for several weeks due to the Coronavirus pandemic. During those weeks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery […]
September 26th, 2020 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, September 2020
What does it take to be a curator? Aeqai continues its behind-the-scenes stories on how museums work internally. I talked to several curators from the Cincinnati Art Museum as well as the Taft Museum of Art to get their insight and perspective. Dr. Julie Aronson, CAM’s curator of American paintings, sculpture and drawings, was always […]
September 26th, 2020 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, September 2020
On Sunday, September 13th the Clay Street Press in OTR held a Pop-Up Exhibit from 12 – 5pm along with Volatile [redux], a Pop-Up Bookshop featuring artist monographs and art reference books and booklets at the Clay Street Press Gallery. It was a great idea to have this pop-up during a dreary there-is-no-art-to-see-time. Art in the […]
September 26th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, September 2020
The biggest current project at the Cincinnati Art Museum has nothing to do with the permanent art collections under its roof. Rather, it is a monumental set of steps—164 in all—connecting the north end of the CAM’s main parking lot to the corner of Gilbert Avenue and Eden Park Drive. At nine stories tall, it’s […]
September 26th, 2020 | by Christopher Carter | published in *
The Weston Art Gallery’s Beacon exhibition elicits a range of meanings from its title. Beacons in the show are by turns literal and symbolic, concrete and conceptual. Gallery notes invite us to watch for “luminary individuals, institutions, and ideologies” while remembering the sense of beacon as “a kind of warning.” Bringing together ten lens-based artists […]
August 23rd, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, Summer 2020
Francis Bacon’s last painting is mostly raw canvas. It depicts a single form: a ghostly bull bridging the blackness of an open doorway. A bit like one of those optical illusions where a shape simultaneously pushes forward and recedes, the bull alternates between presence and absence; charge and rest. Study for a Bull (1991) derives […]
August 23rd, 2020 | by Karen Chambers | published in *, Summer 2020
Each year the nonprofit Clifton Cultural Arts Center sponsors a juried exhibition. The first-place winner receives a Golden Ticket, redeemable for a solo exhibition. Last year Ct King nabbed it and cashed it in for “Ct King: Dangerous Little Strangers.” This year’s Golden Ticket is not as shiny as in the past because of the COVID-19 pandemic. King’s […]
August 23rd, 2020 | by Christopher Carter | published in *
When we encounter a portrait of the artist in her studio, a readymade that calls into question its own selection and display, or a time-lapse series that documents change in specific structures and locations, we receive an invitation to reflect on processes of artistic invention and performance. In most any exhibition, we can find works […]
August 23rd, 2020 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, Summer 2020
“I believe truly great art serves as a trigger into something deeper within all of us” Joseph Lorusso Nostalgic romance is alive and well at Miller Gallery in Hyde Park in the contemporary figurative work of Joseph Lorusso. Born of Italian descent in Chicago in 1966, Lorusso has been exposed to art from an early […]
August 23rd, 2020 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, Summer 2020
Before the pyramid builders in Egypt began their staggering achievements, in our Americas, ancient people were erecting pyramids that rose splendidly and improbably above the formidable rainforests of Central America and Mexico. Like the Egyptians, the ancient Maya civilization had an elaborate pictographic language. Little known too, is the fact that it was the Maya […]
June 27th, 2020 | by Ekin Erkan | published in *, June 2020
Recently, given the fomenting protests following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery (amongst countless others), much discussion has erupted amongst contemporary artist-activists about the proper place for art and the aestheticization of politics. This is, of course, by no means a novel conversation. Historically, the aestheticization of politics has been disparaged […]
June 27th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, June 2020
James VanDerZee (1886-1983) produced somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 photographs in his creative lifetime, maybe even more, almost all of them of African Americans who lived in or were passing through Harlem. He had a fraught relationship to street photography and worked predominantly out of his studio. At the height of his career in the […]
June 27th, 2020 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, June 2020
What to write about Mark Bradford? His ascent into the art world seems to border on the magical. His story makes for a perfect Hollywood movie if Hollywood was inclined to turn its lens to artists more often, which it does not. Mark Bradford is African-American, born and raised in South Los Angeles, in the same […]
June 27th, 2020 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, June 2020
Can’t you see it Can’t you feel it It’s all in the air I can’t stand the pressure much longer Somebody say a prayer Alabama’s gotten me so upset Tennessee made me lose my rest And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam -Nina Simone In 1963, Nina Simone wrote this song in protest of the atrocities […]
June 27th, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, June 2020
![Kahlil Robert Irving “Ground Water From Screen Falls [(Collaged Media + Midwest STREET)]” at the Contemporary Arts Center](http://aeqai.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DSC8949-1-150x150.jpg)
Engaging with Kahlil Robert Irvings’s installation requires action. Its scale requires moving one’s body, viewing it first from afar and then up close. From a distance, such as viewed from outside standing on 6th street, it’s a frenetic tableau of screenshots. There are memes and browser tabs, overlapping digital prints filling the lobby’s central wall. […]
May 23rd, 2020 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *, May 2020
This first image shows Hildegarde receiving Divine Inspiration and sharing it with the monk Volmar. She was famous throughout central Europe in the late Middle Ages, advisor to kings; venerable abbess, composer and musician, artist and mystic. She is called the ‘Sibyl of the Rhine.’ Hildegard of Bingen was as Sir Roger Penrose is to […]
May 23rd, 2020 | by Annabel Osberg | published in *, May 2020
Mother Superior and her creepy bearded henchman have come to retrieve the septet of uniformed captives from their human beehive. It is time for the girls to go to work. As always, mysterious hypnotic forces compel them to mount their bicycles, starry-eyed, and follow their captors towards the tower. The tails of their habits become […]
May 23rd, 2020 | by Susan Byrnes | published in *, May 2020
During this time of the pandemic, in addition to reading, what I have been doing a lot of is walking. Every day, sometimes going two or even three times, just for the purpose of getting out of the house, getting some space to think or reflect. A change of scenery at a slow pace. An […]
May 23rd, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *, May 2020
A few years ago, way back when art could still be encountered in person, Emily Bauman, Photography Curatorial Assistant at the CAM, wrote an online note about the experience of being able to handle and see up close a cyanotype by Anna Atkins, the figure who is generally credited with being the first woman photographer […]
May 23rd, 2020 | by Laura Hobson | published in *, May 2020
What goes into acquiring art institutionally? Aeqai takes a look at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Skirball Museum at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Cynthia Amneus, curator, fashion arts and textiles at CAM, is an expert in acquisitions which can be gifts or purchases. Sometimes, a curator will receive a call […]
April 25th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *
The High Renaissance portrait sought to depict dignity—the sense of worthiness that was, typically, an even more valuable quality in a portrait than likeness—in repose. The great 16th century portraits tried to capture what was least changing about their subjects. Though the period knew, of course, that human beings were subject to time, they assumed […]
April 25th, 2020 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *
Damn. I should take drugs when I paint. Look at French painter Gustav Moreau. He must have taken something to make these mind-bending paintings in the 1800’s. I know contemporary painter Peter Doig takes drugs because he admitted so, figures; his paintings are breathtakingly hypnotic, mystical, irrationally emotional and compelling. But Moreau? He’s dead. We […]
April 25th, 2020 | by Annabel Osberg | published in *
During this time of quarantine, it’s enjoyable to get lost in The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot (1946) by Leonora Carrington (1917-2011). Delicately limned in egg tempera on a small panel, the scene is easy to enter online, and its cryptic serenity casts a rosy glow over one’s feelings of confinement. A sense of mystery […]
April 25th, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, April 2020
“These capricious vagabonds fly somewhat in the manner of bats,” Camille Flammarion wrote in 1872[1], “which seem to dive at the turrets, and suddenly turn back, describing a parabola, to vanish in an unexpected direction.” Although the French astronomer was describing the movement of comets through the cosmos, he may as well have been describing […]
April 25th, 2020 | by Megan Bickel | published in *, April 2020
There are / were a lot of holidays effected by COVID-19 measures this spring; Ramadan, Passover, and Easter to name the heavyweights. For me what stood with a heavier weight than normal was Earth Day. Every year on April 22, we celebrate the beginning of what is now known as the official beginning of the […]
March 28th, 2020 | by Cynthia Kukla | published in *
It is a major coup that the Cincinnati Art Museum is showcasing the work of the renowned African-American artist Romare Bearden who launched his career during the height of the early twentieth-century’s Harlem Renaissance in New York. The exhibition “Something Over Something Else”: Romare Bearden’s Profile Series gives Cincinnatians a visual treat this spring and […]
March 28th, 2020 | by Steve Kemple | published in *, March 2020
It was a drizzly Tuesday afternoon. With long sleeves balled around his hands, Matt Distel opened the front door of The Carnegie. The previous Friday would have been a big night for the Exhibitions Director, but along with art and cultural events across the country, the opening reception for four new shows was cancelled due […]
March 28th, 2020 | by Laura Hobson | published in *
From soup to nuts. Ever wonder how a piece of art makes it to the gallery floor? Here’s an inside look at the Cincinnati Arts Association’s Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery and the Cincinnati Art Museum and how that happens. Weston Art Gallery shows an eclectic mix of emerging and professional artists […]
March 28th, 2020 | by Marlene Steele | published in *, March 2020
A contemporary analysis of social stress is the subject of investigation of Perin Mahler’s colorful, large scale narrative figure paintings at the Manifest Gallery in Walnut Hills. On viewing this work serially, one cannot avoid becoming cognizant of the artist’s social perceptions as well as his personal introspections which inspire the narrative scenarios of these […]
March 28th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *
I was looking forward to reviewing the N. C. Wyeth show at the Taft, and was planning on seeing it on a Sunday with my wife. We’d see the show, have brunch, check out the gift shop. On Friday the 13th—I know, right?—I went online to check out the museum’s hours—is it that they open […]
February 15th, 2020 | by Jonathan Kamholtz | published in *
When I first came to Cincinnati, I was told that I-75 had been designed by someone who had heard of an interstate highway but never actually seen one. At times, it feels like it was little more than a good guess on the builders’ part. I-75 sprouts red barrels as empty fields sprout crabgrass, and […]
February 15th, 2020 | by Christopher Carter | published in *
Revolutionary: Being American Today advances a poignant, collaborative statement about the contradictions of contemporary U.S. citizenship. At once historically dense and urgently contemporary, it draws together works by John Brooks, Kiah Celeste, Amanda Curreri, Stephanie Cuyubamba Kong, Brianna Harlan, Anissa Lewis, Melissa Vandenberg, and Renzo Velez. Curator Jessica Oberdick assembles those works in ways that […]
February 15th, 2020 | by Josh Beckelhimer | published in *, January/February 2020
On view through April 5th at the Weston is an exhibition by a Cincinnati native and current New York dweller, Todd Pavlisko. Pavlisko’s “Pop Supernatural,” is – as you might guess – guided by conversations with popular culture. The Weston’s two floors organize the exhibition. The entrance level floor holds a few different threads, while […]
February 15th, 2020 | by Laura Hobson | published in *
“The city has room for three different art centers,” said Elise Solomon, director of learning and engagement at the Taft Museum of Art. Shawnee Turner, Elizabeth Hardin-Klink and Emily Holtrop, her counterparts at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAM) and the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) respectively would agree. Often under the radar, they all actively develop […]
February 15th, 2020 | by Stewart Maxwell | published in *, January/February 2020
In the midst of Downtown Cincinnati, there is a much beloved architecturally and historically significant building celebrating its 200th birthday. With the exception of a few other early American and European Colonial and Native American structures on this continent, most have not survived and even fewer in this region of our country. Cincinnati was founded […]
