February 13, 2023
Good morning. ⛅ AX Mina ventured to Amsterdam last week to write about the once-in-a-lifetime Vermeer exhibition that just opened at the Rijksmuseum. She writes:
Spiritual elements aside, Vermeer’s work is a treasure of composition, color, and caricature that long predates the rise of photography and cinema. In a religious context, light may be a vessel of God, and in a secular context, it offers a wide range of health benefits, including vitamin D and serotonin. There is good reason we find the glow of Vermeer’s paintings so resonant.
Stateside, the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum has stepped into a reality show, as it pretends to find the country's next top artist. Is anyone else experiencing deja vu? To stave off the inevitable ridicule, the show will not be streamed. Go figure.
And Indiana University is causing a stir with its plans to deaccession artworks, including some by Frederic Church and Georgia O'Keeffe, to build dorms.
— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief
Basking in Vermeer’s Light at Rijksmuseum
In Vermeer’s paintings, the world is much larger than we imagined and yet somehow deep, meaningful, and magical. | AX Mina
SPONSORED
Lee Mullican, On View at James Cohan’s 52 Walker Street Gallery
Lee Mullican: The Nest Revived spans six decades of formal experimentation by the late West Coast artist. This exhibition brings together important early paintings and rarely-seen wooden assemblages from the 1940s and ’50s along with a monumental painting, totemic ceramics, and a groundbreaking digital artwork from the 1980s.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING
Detail of Johannes Vermeer, “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (1664-67) (image courtesy Mauritshuis, The Hague)
Researchers believe the pearl earring in Johannes Vermeer’s iconic masterpiece was likely a fake.
Seven artists will compete for a cash prize and a chance to exhibit their work at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum in a new reality show.
The Brauer Museum of Art comes under fire for its plan to sell $20-million-dollars’ worth of art to fund the construction of new dorms.
SPONSORED
Tulsa Artist Fellowship Calls for Artists and Arts Workers of All Disciplines
Ten awardees will receive a total of more than $1.95 million in support and resources in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Learn more.
FROM OUR CRITICS
The Art World "Darling" Who Went Rogue
Joan Brown resented the easy commodification of her work, and the incessant demand for her to create something just so others could own it. | Bridget Quinn
How Anthony Daley Abstracts Rubens
In the work of Rubens, painter Anthony Daley finds correspondences of color that can carry expressive meanings abstractly. | David Carrier
INCLUSION AND FILM
Native Filmmakers Decolonize the Screen
“Only Indigenous voices can tell their stories with dimensionality, and the tools to make that happen are incredibly accessible,” says film director Christian Rozier. | Lynn Trimble
Netflix Forgot to Include Puerto Ricans in Production of Reggaeton Show
Critics say the new comedy series Neon was written, directed, and produced by non-Puerto Ricans. | Denise Zubizarreta
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EDITOR'S PICKS: FROM THE ARCHIVE
Library of Congress Digitizes 19th-Century Photos of Black Women Activists
The Library of Congress has digitized rare 19th-century photographs of African American women active in suffrage, civil rights, temperance, education, reform, and journalism. | Allison Meier
