April 25, 2022 • View in browser

Good morning. ☁️ Today, a Palestinian artist, who is facing the death penalty in the UAE, says she was framed, 70 erotic artworks from Pompeii are going on display, and reviews of Fiona Connor, Carl Cheng, James Bidgood, Cindy Ji Hye Kim, and more.

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief 

The Experimental Laboratory of Artist-Inventor Carl Cheng

Cheng is equal parts inventor and artist, breaking both technological and cultural ground as a Chinese-American artist. | Vanessa Holyoak

WHAT'S HAPPENING

“Leda and the Swan,” a fresco discovered in a bedroom in Pompeii, shows the mythological Spartan queen and the Roman god Jupiter disguised as a swan. (courtesy Archaeological Park of Pompeii)

• A new exhibition of erotic art in Pompeii encompasses 70 works from the archeological site’s vast troves.

• Sk8 Liborius is raising funds to turn its church-turned-skate park into an arts hub for under-resourced youth.

• UAE sentences Palestinian photographer Fidaa Kiwan to death for drug possession, although the artist maintains she was framed.

• Nannaria swiftae isa newly identified millipede named after Taylor Swift.

LATEST REVIEWS

Fiona Connor’s Portals Into Closed-Down Clubs

Connor creates a simulacrum of closed-down businesses she would frequent or come across in Los Angeles, New York City, and New Zealand. | Cat Yang

Cindy Ji Hye Kim Mines the Dark Recesses of Memory

In Kim's art, peculiar characters may be skulking out of sight, shrouded in shadow, forever forgotten in bygone dreams, or inscrutable in the recesses of her memory. | Catherine Yang

ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC

Artists Go DIY in the Desert

A tight-knit community of art entrepreneurs in Albuquerque launched their businesses in the wake of the pandemic. | Marya Errin Jones

Remembering James Bidgood, a Pioneer of Gay Film

I vividly remember the first time I saw James Bidgood’s underground film Pink Narcissus (1971): I was 15 and still in the closet. | Francesco Dama

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