Contemporary Art

Contemporary Art

Retreating Landscape: Tracing Environmental Loss in the Work of Emma Stibbon

As climate change’s effects appear to manifest more vividly and urgently with each passing day on a global scale—from torrid fires plaguing...

Guest Author 19 June 2025

Contemporary Art

13 Black Folk Artists from the American South

The thirteen self-taught artists below, from Bill Traylor to Nellie Mae Rowe, Thornton Dial to Mary T. Smith, among others, created some of the most...

Adam Oestreich 19 June 2025

Yoshitomo Nara, One Foot in the Groove, 2012. Courtesy Private collection. © Yoshitomo Nara, courtesy Yoshitomo Nara Foundation. Review

Yoshitomo Nara’s Playful Art in London

A major retrospective at London’s Hayward Gallery invites visitors into the quietly unsettling world of Yoshitomo Nara—the first UK solo show at...

Ania Kaczynska 16 June 2025

Contemporary Art

The Multi-Sensory Universe of Nick Cave

Nick Cave activates our imaginations with his tangible soundsuit sculptures, soulful dance performances and whimsical installations.

Marga Patterson 16 June 2025

Pop art

Masterpiece Story: Once Upon a Time by Keith Haring

Keith Haring’s Once Upon a Time mural is a 4-walled orgiastic display of penises, eager orifices, splashing ejaculate, and extended tongues tangled...

Theodore Carter 15 June 2025

David Hockney, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)', 1972, private collection. British Art quiz Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) by David Hockney

David Hockney is an English artist born in 1937. He was a leading force in the 1960s Pop Art movement and a great innovator, considered, to this...

Ruxi Rusu 15 June 2025

Photography

Through the Lens of Activism: Zanele Muholi in 5 Photographs

Zanele Muholi is not only one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists but also a leading voice in the global conversation around...

Carlotta Mazzoli 12 June 2025

Artist Stories

Powerful or Problematic? Robert Mapplethorpe’s Photographs

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe shocked the world with his images of bondage, gay sex, female bodybuilders and naked black men. Technically brilliant or politically problematic, what do you think?

Candy Bedworth, Guest Author 9 June 2025

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Magenta), 1994-2000, Château de Versailles, Versailles, France. Photo by Marc Wathieu via Versailles' website. Contemporary Art

Jeff Koons and His Balloon Dogs

What do Jeff Koons, Jay-Z, Christie’s, and clowns have in common? Balloon dogs. Koons is a controversial figure in the contemporary art world,...

Zuzanna Stańska 5 June 2025

Art State of Mind

From Toys to Means of Transport: Balloons in Art

When we think of flying objects in art we might not put balloons at the top of our list, and yet they appear everywhere. As the words from Jethro...

Sarah Mills 5 June 2025

Art History 101

What Is Queer Art? A Short Introduction

The complexity and significance of queer art cannot be fully encapsulated within a single article. Its exploration permeates college courses, public...

Rachel Witte 2 June 2025

Contemporary Art

Modern Transgender Art

Are There Non-Modern Transgender Depictions in Art? How do you make a picture of something you can’t see? – Archie Barry, visual artist, in his...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 2 June 2025