The greatest honor and privilege as an arts writer is being afforded the opportunity to lift up creative talent and the people who work long, hard, and tirelessly to bring new, risky, and important forms of expression to life. A few of my picks made this list, and they are […]
DETROIT — When the streets are your gallery, your artistic process — successful and otherwise — becomes a public affair. This potentially high-pressure learning curve is a comfortable state of being for husband-and-wife public art duo, Hygienic Dress League, who invited me along for a behind-the-scenes peek at their latest […]
I was thrilled and delighted and pleased to receive a copy of “Miles to Empty” about the artwork of Shannon Goff, for which I wrote an introductory essay. I wrote about Miles to Empty at Susanne Hilberry Gallery in 2015 for Hyperallergic, and was extremely flattered that Shannon asked me […]
On paper, the premise of the most recent special exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts is simple: Use the overarching theme of coffee, tea, and chocolate to showcase some exquisite examples from the Decorative Arts collection (as well as some strategic objects on loan). But as the title suggests, […]
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Every new season, the fashion industry rings with buzz about innovation, when in reality fashion is a giant ouroboros, infinitely consuming and re-presenting itself. True innovation is difficult to master in a field so fast-moving and codified, and is an accomplishment that makes Dutch designer Iris van Herpen stand out. […]
For Leila Abdelrazaq, comics are not just an expressive medium, but an instructive one. As is apparent from her solo show, Drawing the Diaspora: Comic Art & Graphic Novels by Leila Abdelrazaq in the Lower Level Gallery at the Arab American National Museum through April 19th, the young Palestinian-American artist […]
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit now has a fifth successful Monster Drawing Rally fundraiser under its belt. The Knight grantee‘s annual event, held this year on Dec. 9, makes art accessible and affordable for a broad audience while showcasing a superstar lineup of Detroit talent. Falling under the organizational […]
The magnificent K.A. Letts wrote a reflection for Rustbelt Arts on my show, Girlfriend Material, which closes this weekend at Public Pool. Saturday, Dec. 17, from 1:00-6:00 will be your last chance to see it, and I’ll be there making coffee, so come on over and say hey! In Girlfriend […]
While I’m super proud of the work we’ve done, the Knight Arts grant, and all future pursuits, it seems like an opportune time to state that I have dissolved my relationship with Essay’d and am no longer a part of that project. Creative partnerships can sometimes make rough transitions to […]
CLEVELAND — Maybe I haven’t yet recovered from binge-watching Stranger Things, but my immediate reaction as I crossed the threshold into Unit 1: 3583 Dubois, an immersive installation work by Anders Ruhwald at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, was that I’d somehow stumbled into “the upside-down.” Ruhwald, a ceramic […]