Author: Iris

As the year 2024 draws to a close, we take a moment to reflect on the artists who the artists who have created some interesting works. Among them is Randa Hijazi, a Syrian-Canadian painter based in Laval, Quebec. Hijazi’s artistic journey has been shaped by her experiences in Damascus, Dubai, and Canada, with each chapter influencing her perspective and craft. She earned a Fine Arts degree from the University of Damascus in 2000 and later pursued Mass Communication and Media Science, graduating in 2008. This blend of art and media education honed her ability to tell stories that resonate on…

Gordon Parks, “Department Store” (1956) in Mobile, Alabama, from Race Stories: Essays on the Power of Images by Maurice Berger (Aperture, 2024) (© The Gordon Parks Foundation; image courtesy the Gordon Parks Foundation)Art critic and Harvard professor Sarah Lewis is perhaps best known for her groundbreaking Vision & Justice initiative, sparked by her 2016 guest-edited issue of Aperture of the same name revealing the role visual art plays in defining and challenging racial ideologies. Her continued collaboration with Aperture includes Race Stories: Essays on the Power of Images (2024), the first posthumous collection of writings by art critic Maurice Berger,…

The early days of Werner Herzog’s new documentary Theater of Thoughts (2024), we meet Bryan Johnson, a venture capitalist who has invested in several science companies and founded the neurotech company Kernel. We see Johnson and neuroscientist Raphael Yost (who sometimes serves as Herzog’s sidekick in the film) trying on Kernel’s diagnostic helmet, which monitors blood levels in the brain and highlights activity with color area. Yost tests the helmet by telling an “outrageous” lie and watching how his brain lights up. But the most outrageous thing he could think of was that five plus five equals 11, and the…

Holly Lane, Companions, The Three Graces (2021), acrylic and wood sculpture, 24 x 16 1/4 x 4 7/8 inches (approx. 61 x 41.3 x 12.4 cm) (Photos by Patrick Tregenza, courtesy of the artist and Wingfield Gallery; all other photos John Seid/allergic)LOS GATOS, Calif. — As carved, gilded and decorated frames fell out of fashion in the mid-20th century, another idea took hold: Modern paintings required only a simple molded strip around the edge. In addition to being expensive, this handmade frame can also be called an “antique”. When artist Holly Lane was an undergraduate painting student at San Jose…

Barbie (2023), Girl Dinner, Roman Empires, and yacht-hunting orcas were microscopic glimmers of joy in last year’s memescape, grasping at relatability, connectivity, and misplaced optimism amid live-streamed global atrocities. This year, however, was different. The disparate and chronically unserious nature of virality in 2024 stems from accepting an uncertain expiration date for our survival on a burning planet with no extinguisher in sight. Feeble and superficial connections over common interests and shared notions of 🎀girlhood🎀 were fun while they lasted, but they can no longer cover or even fog up the inscrutable fuckery around us, exacerbated by finger-wagging, virtue-signaling keyboard…

LOS ANGELES — The Autry Museum of the American West often paints romantic images of the Wild West in faded gold, brown and sage tones. Off the Field: Investigative Science and the Hidden WestHowever, he swapped these colors for silver and black, creating a dark atmosphere that illustrates the sinister undertones of the art.The exhibition, part of Getty’s PST: Art and Science Collide, focuses on the scientific tools used to map the resource-rich landscapes of the West and explores how these technologies transformed into destructive forces. Actor Gene Autry’s jubilant Hollywood playground sits on a land scarred by genocide, genocide…

In another leadership reshuffle, Phillips named Martin Wilson as the company’s new CEO, replacing Ed Dolman, who last year served as CEO and executive The dual role of chairman will now leave the company after a decade. Wilson previously served as Phillips’ chief legal officer. The move coincides with the departure of the company’s deputy chief executive, Amanda Lo Iacono, after just one year in the role. Lo Iacono took over the role just last year, when Stephen Brooks, the former CEO of Phillips and a former Christie’s executive, abruptly left the company after more than two years at the…

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has named Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit-Unangax̂) as this year’s recipient of the Don Tyson Award for outstanding achievement in American art. A press release called Garanin a “well-known figure in the art world” for his multidisciplinary practice that blends traditional Tlingit art forms with modern techniques and themes. The Tyson family established the biennial $200,000 cash prize in 2016 in memory of the former chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods. “Receiving the Don Tyson Award is a tremendous honor,” Galanin said in a press statement. “My work seeks to break down colonial frameworks while…

Archaeologists in rural Kent, England, have unearthed a “truly incredible” sixth-century sword in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery near Canterbury. Several other striking objects were discovered at the same location. It is exceptionally well preserved; the silver gilt handle has exquisite decorative patterns and the blade is engraved with runes. Parts of the weapon’s leather and wooden scabbard and its beaver fur lining also survive. It had a ring attached to its pommel, which archaeologists believe may have symbolized an oath to the king.The weapon’s condition is so impressive that it has been compared to the famous well-preserved Anglo-Saxon sword discovered in…

As the year 2024 draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on artists who have produced some interesting works. Among them is Aliza Thomas, an artist and papermaker whose work seamlessly blends ancient traditions with contemporary insight. Based in the Netherlands but originally from Israel, Aliza is inspired by the practices of Asian papermaking and shamanic art. Her dedication to Qigong and Taiji Quan, disciplines that emphasize harmony between the mind, body, and spirit, informs her creative philosophy. For Aliza, art is not merely about the finished product; it’s a dialogue that bridges the tangible and the…