February 10, 2023
Good morning. 🌤️ How did a cute little mural that high school students painted on a New Hampshire doughnut shop become the center of a First Amendment lawsuit? I'm glad you asked because we have that story for you today.
I don't think it's controversial to argue that Italy does (almost) everything with style. Just look at the avant-garde Italian commercial posters that we collected for you, now part of an exhibition at Manhattan's Center for Italian Modern Art.
Also today, Maurice Sendak's magical children's books illustrations, Judy Ledgerwood's subserve patterns, and how two artists are reimagining the Jewish traditional tzitzit garment to be more gender-inclusive. Finally: Why should you stop using the term "precolonial"? Find out the answer to that in this week's Required Reading.
— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor
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Italy’s Commercial Posters Are Works of Fine Art
A new exhibition at Manhattan’s Center for Italian Modern Art looks at the cross-pollination between avant-garde art and commercial posters in post-WWII Italy. | Sarah Rose Sharp
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IN THE NEWS
Leavitt's Country Bakery in Conway, New Hampshire (courtesy Institute for Justice)
A New Hampshire bakery is suing the town of Conway to save its pastries mural painted by high school students.
The Frankenthaler Foundation pledges $10 million in grants to stimulate clean energy projects across cultural institutions in the US.
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Push Boundaries With MFA and MA Programs at the University at Buffalo
Fully-funded teaching assistantships are standard for MFA students at the top-ranked, flagship research university in the state of New York. Learn more.
EXHIBITIONS ON OUR RADAR
Judy Ledgerwood's Playfully Subversive Patterns
What distinguishes Ledgerwood’s work from the earlier generation of women artists working in the domain of Pattern and Decoration is its bluntness and humor. | John Yau
What Does It Mean to Be a Latina/x Artist?
A small but impactful exhibition at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art complicates questions of identity and the canon. | Scotti Hill
Tales of Endurance Etched on Vinyl
The semi-durational installation The Mountains Wore Down to the Valleys poetically frames the challenges of the pandemic and more. | Nancy Zastudil
ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC
Maurice Sendak’s Life Among the Wild Things
Sendak’s illustrations carry weight all on their own for children and adults alike, and this book beautifully captures his prolific career. | AX Mina
A Radically Inclusive Vision of the Jewish Tzitzit
LA-based artists Julie Weitz and Jill Spector are reimagining the traditional Jewish garment to include a wide spectrum of identities. | Matt Stromberg
Required Reading
This week, feline cinematography, two writers on Salman Rushdie, your guide to Valentine’s Day cards, and what happened to the documentary industry? | Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin
TRANSITIONS
Kelly Baum was named director of the Des Moines Art Center.
Jessica Taylor Bellamy is now represented by Anat Ebgi Gallery.
Julie Buffalohead is now represented by Jessica Silverman Gallery.
Sheila Shin was named chief experience officer at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
The Laundromat Project announced the 2023 cohort of its Create Change Artist Development Program. Shanna Sabio, Aisha Shillingford, Genel Ambrose, Faith Robinson, Pedro Juan Cruz Cruz, Joseph (Solaris) Capehart, and Kira Joy Williams were named 2023 Create Change Artists-in-Residence. Leslie Mejia, Kearah-Armonie Jeudy, Fayola Fair, Fei Li, Hannah Miao, Gloria Lau, Daequan Alexander Collier, Maat Silin, Anna Parisi, Claudia Maturell, Katherine Miranda, Mica Verendia, Marwa Eltahir, and Steven Anthony Johnson II were named 2023 Create Change Fellows.
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation announced the recipients of its 2022 Biennial Grants. They are Farah Al-Qasimi, Yasi Alipour, Hector Dionicio Mendoza, Nikita Gale, Shaunté Gates, Mark Thomas Gibson, Nicki Green, Julia Haft-Candell, Donté K. Hayes, Pao Her, Lisa Kereszi, Matvey Levenstein, Cy Morgan, Fahamu Pecou, Lamar Peterson, Ronny Quevedo, Elena Sisto, Liza Sylvestre, Anna Tsouhlarakis, and Didier William.
EDITOR'S PICKS: FROM THE ARCHIVE
An Indigenous Perspective on Frida Kahlo
In both her art and personal style, Kahlo promoted the construction of a mythologized Indianness at the expense of Indigenous people. | Joanna Garcia Cheran
