On View

The hotly anticipated blockbuster of Johannes Vermeer, which reunites 28 out of 37 known paintings by the mysterious 17th-century Dutch master, has finally opened.
But despite the Rijksmuseum’s to ensure that this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition can accommodate as many visitors as possible, many art lovers have been left disappointed. Within a matter of days after the opening, all available tickets were sold out. Before “Vermeer” opened to the public on February 10, the museum already sold more than 200,000 tickets and had extended its opening hours to 10 p.m. on Thursdays to Saturdays and also extended the running time of the show.
Some Vermeer enthusiasts vented their frustration on social media. The Rijksmuseum reacted to public’s overwhelming response promptly by squeezing out more tickets after the opening “without affecting the experience we wish our visitors to have,” a museum spokesperson told Artnet News. The second round of tickets released is now also sold-out. “[The] Rijksmuseum will continue to monitor our audience pattern carefully—and make necessary adjustments when possible to enable as many visitors to see the exhibition as possible,” the museum spokesperson added.
Given that chances of getting tickets to the show are slim, we are bringing you a walkthrough of the exhibition, including every single artwork featured.
Venturing into Town
Vermeer was born, raised, and died in Delft. Two paintings depicting the scenes of his hometown are featured in this section.
Johannes Vermeer, View of Delft (1660-61), oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, The Hague.
Johannes Vermeer, View of Houses in Delft, also known as The Little Street (1658-59) oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Gift of H.W.A. Deterding, London.
Early Ambitions
This section features four large paintings that are Vermeer’s earliest known works, executed in the artist’s early 20s. Vermeer was born into the times of religious conflicts. A Reformed Protestant by birth, the artist married Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic. The religious themes play a dominant role in works created during this period. The Procuress (1656), however, marks a turning point of Vermeer’s ambition as a painter, as he later chose to focus on capturing everyday life in his works.
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1655. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Diana and her Companions, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1653-1654. Mauritshuis, Den Haag.
Saint Praxedis, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1655. National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.
The Procuress, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1656. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.
First Interiors
The two paintings featured in this section depict what seems to be the mundane, everyday life, but art historians suggest that these two paintings illustrate how Vermeer mastered his skill in portraying a pictorial space on a flat surface, creating depth and composition with a single vanishing point.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Johannes Vermeer, 1657-58, oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.
The Milkmaid, Johannes Vermeer, 1658-59, oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt.
Gazing Out
This section identifies three works related to the windows, exploring how the inner world is connected to that of the outside, by either opening the windows or having someone looking out the window.
Officer and Laughing Girl, Johannes Vermeer, 1657-58, oil on canvas. The Frick Collection, New York. Photo: Joseph Coscia Jr.
Woman with a Lute, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1662-63. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Lady Writing with Her Maid, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1670-1671. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
Up Close
Is she looking at you or not? This group of paintings depicts women with mysterious gazes. But not everyone of them is engaging with the viewer. The Lacemaker, for example, keeps her head down on her work, but Vermeer brought the viewer so close to her that we can see the threads in her hands.
This section also includes the controversial Girl with a Flute, which has caused a debate on whether it was a genuine work of Vermeer.
Girl with a Flute, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1669-1675. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664–67, oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, The Hague. Bequest of Arnoldus Andries des Tombe, The Hague.
The Lacemaker, Johannes Vermeer, 1666–68, oil on canvas mounted on panel. Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Girl with a Red Hat, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1665. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. ‘Vermeer’ exhibition. Photo Rijksmuseum/ Henk Wildschut.
Musical Appeal
Music has a strong presence in Vermeer’s modest oeuvre, as highlighted in this section. Curiously, the women in both paintings are looking at the viewer, as if their music-making was interrupted.
Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1670-1672. Leiden Collection, New York.
A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, Johannes Vermeer, 1670–72, oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London
Letters From the Outside World
Widely seen as one of the most intriguing paintings by Vermeer, The Love Letter maintains a distance between the two women and the viewer, who is positioned as if taking a peep from an adjacent room. The women’s subtle yet dramatic facial expressions against the backdrop of the painting of the seascape on the wall, suggest a story behind the letter in the hands of the lady in the yellow robe.
Besides music, letters like a supporting character in Vermeer’s paintings. Characters are often depicted writing, reading, or receiving letters, suggesting life beyond the painting.
The Love Letter, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1669 – ca. 1670. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, Johannes Vermeer, 1662-64, oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest).
Mistress and Maid, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1665-67, oil on canvas. The Frick Collection, New York. Photo: Joseph Coscia Jr.
A Lady Writing, Johannes Vermeer, 1664-67, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Gift of Harry Waldron Havemeyer and Horace Havemeyer Jr., in memory of their father, Horace Havemeyer
Gentlemen Callers
The gentlemen in Vermeer’s paintings have a curious role to play, as seen in these two paintings below. Still donning a cloak or a cape, these men appear to have just entered the room from the outside, interrupting whatever the women are doing, whether playing the music or taking a sip of wine.
Girl Interrupted at Her Music, Johannes Vermeer,. 1659–61, oil on canvas. The Frick Collection. New York. Photo: Joseph Coscia Jr
The Glass of Wine, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1659-61, oil on canvas. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Gemäldegalerie
View of the World
Science is a key subject in Vermeer’s paintings, as seen in The Geographer. Another similar one is The Astronomer, which is in the collection of Louvre but not in this show in Amsterdam. Maps frequently recur.
The Geographer, Johannes Vermeer, 1669, oil on canvas. Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Reflecting on Vanity and Faith
This last section of the exhibition looks into the symbols presented in three particular paintings that may suggest Vermeer’s views of the world he lived in the, and the reflection of his inner struggles in relation to his faith and monetary values.
Woman with a Pearl Necklace, Johannes Vermeer, (c. 1662-64), oil on canvas. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Gemäldegalerie.
Woman Holding a Balance, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1662-64, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection
Allegory of Faith, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1670-1674. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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One of the most iconic artists of the early Renaissance whose ideas helped revolutionize Western culture forever, Donatello is the subject of a new once-in-a-lifetime survey at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The Italian artist is believed by many to be the greatest sculptor of all time thanks to his inspired reinvention of historical influences, including Classical antiquity and elegant medieval art. These ideas contributed to a novel and entirely unique vision that Donatello expressed through an impressive range of works in marble, wood, bronze, terracotta, and stucco.
Some of the best examples in the show, which brings together about 130 objects, include the marble David, the stone relief Madonna of the Clouds, and other works that have never before been seen in the U.K., such as the eye-catching gold reliquary bust of San Rossore.
Donatello’s varied life—from his humble beginnings as an apprentice goldsmith only to his time as an intimate of the powerful Medici family—also offers audiences a fascinating entry point into Florentine society during the 15th century. Building up this rich cultural context, the exhibition brings to life the old master’s artistic circle, including his teacher Ghiberti, one-time partner Michelozzo, colleagues from across northern Italy like Mantegna and Bellini and the goldsmith that his work inspired Beltramino de Zuttis.
See some of the highlights from the show below.
“Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” is on view at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London, through June 11, 2023.
Installation view of “Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A Museum. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Donatello, Spiritello with a tambourine. Photo by Antje Voigt, Berlin, courtesy of Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin.
Donatello, Pazzi Madonna. Photo by Antje Voigt, Berlin, courtesy of Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin.
Installation view of “Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A Museum. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Attributed to Donatello, Drawing of the Massacre of the Innocents, Rennes. Photo courtesy of Musée des Beaux-Arts.
Installation view of “Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A Museum. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Installation view of “Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A Museum. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Donatello, San Rossore. Photo courtesy of The Ministry of Culture Italy – Regional Directorate of Museums of Tuscany, Florence.
Installation view of “Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A Museum. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Installation view of “Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A Museum. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Michelozzo, Adoring Angel, commissioned from Donatello and Michelozzo’s joint studio. Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum London.
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The questions of motherhood—whether to do it, how, when—is a major part of the female experience, and comes with enormous pressures related to the biological clock and societal expectations.
At New York’s Trotter and Sholer gallery, the varied ways that women artists respond to this question is the subject of its current group show, “A Suitable Accomplishment.”
The title is taken from the groundbreaking 1971 Linda Nochlin essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” which examined the social constructs that have kept women artists from receiving the same recognition as that of their male counterparts. (Spoiler alert: the demands of motherhood have sabotaged many a promising career.)
And though the essay is more than 50 years old, it speaks to issues women still face in the year 2023.
“A Suitable Accomplishment” on view at Trotter and Sholer. Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer.
“I’m not sure that we’ve progressed as far as we like to think we have,” gallery cofounder Jenna Ferrey told Artnet News. “And we definitely haven’t gone as far as we need to go!”
Ferrey focused the show on a small group of women artists whose differing experiences of motherhood painted a wide picture of the subject.
Barbara Ishikura, Jen (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
For some artists, motherhood is a creative inspiration, as with Fernanda’s Feher’s watercolors, which were “art directed” by her two-year-old, who asks her to incorporate elements like toys, ice cream, and cupcakes into her delicate works.
Others reference multiple generations of women. One of Jessica Frances Grégoire Lancaster’s finely detailed paintings on glass is based on a drawing by her grandmother, with her mother’s reflection subtly included in the work to tie the three women together.
Bahar Behbahani, Untitled (Immigrant Flora) 2018. Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
There’s even a mother-daughter duo, Shamsy Behbahani and Bahar Behbahani, whose works appear in the show.
“They created individual works, but they are in conversation with each other,” Ferrey said. “Bahar’s mother created a large hanging installation piece out of silver and copper thread which is hung so the light casts a shadow from Shamsy’s piece onto Bahar’s piece.”
Bahar Behbahani and Shamsy Behbahani, All the Sea for You All the Pain for Me (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
The 13 featured artists in the show include both mothers and women who have decided not to have children of their own, as well as women who haven’t decided one way or another—a question that Ferrey, who has decided she does not want to have children, has grappled with herself.
“Its something that’s been on my mind lately, and it comes up in conversations with friends, both those who have children and those who are choosing not to,” Ferrey told Artnet News. “But there’s social pressure no matter which position you take. And this is a conversation that almost probably every single woman could contribute something to.”
See what some of the women in the show had to say in their artist statements about the question of motherhood and how it relates to their work.

Fernanda Feher
Fernanda Feher, Lilyland (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“As an artist, who is a single parent most of the time, I find it challenging not being able to go work whenever inspiration comes, and it is difficult for inspiration to come when having no alone time, having to do so many things at the same time and carrying so much responsibility by myself,” Fernanda Feher said. The artist credited her “infantile universe of imagination,” saying, “I can easily join my child in her fantasy to play and welcome her into creating worlds with me such as the ones we painted and drew together for this exhibition.”

Isabelle Higgins
Isabelle Higgins, A Feast (2021). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“Our culture does not support mothers or artists enough and this is something that comes to the forefront of my mind while weighing the option of taking on the role of motherhood,” Barbara Higgins said. “So for now, I am content with mothering my artistic works through care, time, and dedication.”

Barbara Ishikura
Barbara Ishikura, Holding Sho on Swing (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“When I gave birth to my children in the late 1980s, there was very little support for new mothers experiencing the demands of shifting cultural roles around career and childcare,” Barbara Ishikura said. “In my painting Holding Sho on Swing, I try to visualize the feelings of isolation that many young mothers experienced at that time. Looking at young women today, I see their vulnerability, but I also witness a level of confidence that was unfamiliar to me.”
Alex McQuilkin
Alex McQuilkin, Untitled (Blind Man’s Bluff), 2019. Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“Prior to having children, that idea of self, though far from uncomplicated, could be approached in a conceptual way. Since becoming a mother, even the fantasy of a singular self is out of the question,” Alex McQuilkin said. “After having my children, I began to layer archival fragments of historical wall coverings in a claustrophobically shallow trompe l’oeil space on top of repeat patterns. The specificity of these material objects with their cracks, wrinkles, and imperfections, complicates the façade of neutrality in the repeat patterns and disrupts their grid-like ability to run rampant below the surface.”
Jessica Frances Grégoire Lancaster
Jessica Frances Grégoire Lancaster, Trois gestes (Three Gestures) 2022. Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“Outside of this trio’ed collaboration, the women who precede me possess their own creative practices to sustain a fruitful life,” Jessica Frances Grégoire Lancaster said. “The act of making for us is as ordinary as drying dishes. My grandmother supplemented her husband’s income by selling her fiber arts, woven on her basement looms in order to dress her children. My mom fills her days with quilting after retiring from a career in cancer research, having fought to be considered both a scientist and mother. And I, after losing a child, have enveloped myself in painting.”

Anna Marie Tendler
Anna Marie Tendler, Good Mourning (2021). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“I do not particularly want children, yet at 36 I froze my eggs for fear I might change my mind,” photographer Anna Marie Tendler, who divorced her husband in 2021, said. “At first glance, my two works may appear to tell the story of a woman longing for motherhood, but I urge the viewer to consider the patriarchal conditioning that leads to this interpretation. Why does a woman clad in black and positioned in a room of empty twin beds signal loss? Why are we quick to assume she is sad? Perhaps she is Lilith, first wife of Adam, who in refusing to submit to her husband, left the Garden of Eden to become the figure of primal rage, stealing men’s sperm and devouring their babies in the dark of the night.”

Shantel Miller
Shantel Miller, Sherri and Sheryl (2018). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“These pieces are a labor of love for Black mothers in my life and for those who were not able to pro- vide love in the ways needed,” Shantel Miller said.

Azzah Sultan
Azzah Sultan, The Sewing Kit (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“Although we may grow up with our mothers, we never truly know their past and who they were before motherhood. These are conversations that are difficult to have with older generations, and I wish to explore it through a memory box,” Azzah Sultan said. “Here the biscuit tin has been reappropriated. Inside are pieces of fabric that hold personal stories. My mother starts to unveil a few but still keep some for herself.”

Chellis Baird
Chellis Baird, Hope (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“Artists, like mothers, also wear many hats, often functioning as both assistant and boss,” Chellis Baird said. The process of creation is often a juggle of several of these roles, with moments, sometimes unexpectedly, of absolute joy. Both job descriptions include the need for patience, love, and problem solving, with the witnessing of growth acting as a constant motivator and source of reward.”

Marika Thunder
Marika Thunder, Hungarian Woodshop (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“My mother is Hungarian and an artist herself. She didn’t allow her budding career and the inevitable challenges that came with raising a daughter to prevent her from achieving her dream. I’ll always admire her strength and courage to follow her own intuition,” Marika Thunder said. “The intuition of a mother, and intense psychic bond with the daughter always felt sacred to me. Though I am not a mother to a child, I feel very motherly toward each painting I make since they are objects that I’ve materialized from the ineffable parts of my lived experiences.”

Lydia Baker
Lydia Baker, Birth of an Idea (2022). Photo courtesy of Trotter and Sholer, New York.
“I’m interested in the psychological aspects of having an internal calendar—ovulation in particular, as it signifies letting go, an end, or potentially a beginning. My physical and mental experience with ovulation changes each year, and now in my early 30s, it’s become more pronounced,” Lydia Baker said. “As someone who adores children and doesn’t have them, it’s been interesting seeing my maternal energy announce itself in the studio.”
“A Suitable Accomplishment” is on view at Trotter and Sholer, 168 Suffolk Street, New York, New York, January 14–February 18, 2023.
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Roger Gastman, curator of the celebrated exhibitions “Art in the Streets” at L.A. MoCA and “Beyond the Streets” in Brooklyn, is heading to the U.K.
“Beyond the Streets London” opens today at the Saatchi Gallery, through May 9. Once more taking audiences along a journey through the history of street art, this latest offering includes entirely new works by Felipe Pantone that bring us right up to the digital age.
The mammoth survey features work from more than 100 artists, filling every room of the gallery’s multi-floored, 70,000-square-foot space. Special installations will invite visitors into traditional venues for graffiti when it was still an underground practice, such as the recreated shop Trash Records, public transportation and back alleys. Here, we come to understand the role the art form played in forging identity, youth culture and artistic resistance.
The exhibition also traces street art’s eventual acceptance by the mainstream art world, predominantly exploring its influence on leading contemporary artists as diverse as Todd James, Jenny Holzer, KAWS, Kenny Sharf, the Guerrilla Girls and Keith Haring.
Archival objects and rare documents bring to life a rich range of subcultures, from punk rock to hip-hop. Some collaborations between musicians and graffiti art on display include the styling of the Beastie Boys and the a backdrop produced live by artist FUTURA2000 during a performance by The Clash. As the exhibition shows, street art has also long been an important cultural reference for so many creatives working in fashion and film.
Check out some installation shots of the exhibition below.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May with headline supporter Adidas Originals.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May with headline supporter Adidas Originals.
Saatchi Gallery, London presents “Beyond the Streets London,” 17 February – 9 May with headline supporter Adidas Originals.
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Six months ago, the artist Brigitte D’Annibale took cultural strategist Vajra Kingsley to see an abandoned home in Malibu’s Point Dume.
With its sweeping views of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, this was where D’Annibale wanted to realize a dream of some 30 years: to create immersive environment that would bridge art, architecture, design, and the natural world.
What Kingsley saw was a boarded-up structure slated for demolition. “I said, ‘this is a depressing home, and if you think you’re going to reactivate it in sixth months, you’re out of your mind!’” Kingsley told Artnet News.
Brigitte D’Annibale, Shedding Layers of Blindness part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
But with a team of contractors and builders, D’Annibale gutted the home and stripped it to its studs, only to later reuse the salvaged raw materials to bring it back to life.
“As a metaphor, I took home, which is a point of origin, stripped it down, and everything I used to rebuild it as an installation came out of what was stripped away,” D’Annibale told Artnet News.
The installation is titled B=f(P, E), after Lewin’s Equation, which states that behavior results both from a person and their environment, reflecting D’Annibale’s hope that the immersive space will help visitors connect with their surroundings in moments of contemplation.
Brigitte D’Annibale, B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
The result, on view just in time for Frieze L.A., is like nothing you’ve ever seen. An imposing metal gate sourced from a Bali junkyard stands in front of the property, creating a dramatic reveal for visitors when the doors are finally opened.
The walls of the home are still boarded up in a patchwork of humble plywood. Visitors enter through a revolving sheet of glass that pivots to spin open.
Beyond it lies a two-story atrium, where D’Annibale has cut through to the basement below and installed a massive steel and glass skylight in the ceiling, from which hang spherical sculptures made from letters carved from reclaimed teak. The letter forms are references to the importance of communication, D’Annibale said.
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Oculus, and Amalgamation, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
She’s christened the skylight The Oculus, and the entire atrium feature, which is designed to be seen at different times of day as the light and shadow changes, is titled Amalgamation.
The rest of the first floor is something of a white cube. In it hang artworks by D’Annibale, including No Strings Attached, a 16-panel encaustic piece, and two pieces featuring canvas wrapped around darkened mirrors, inspired by the appearance of building materials that were delivered to the site.
There’s also a moody dining room installation titled Pigs in Zen, above which hangs The Killing Tree, a hollow, naturally occurring, sculpture of vines that once surrounded a tree trunk that died and rotted away.
Brigitte D’Annibale The Killing Tree, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
But the true marvel is what lies below, when one exits the side door and walks down a sculptural hand-poured concrete staircase to what was once the lower level of the home.
D’Annibale has completely opened it up to the backyard, covering the ground with 38,000 pounds of loose stone. Mounded beds planted with greenery and olive trees echo the shape of the mountains in the distance, and a sunken conversation pit beneath The Oculus is literally built out of the mud where the foundations once stood.
“Originally, I was going to carve out this area. I wanted it to be subterranean. After I excavated it, we had three weeks of incessant rain, so it became a mud pit,” D’Annibale said. “I decided to use mud as a medium. I mixed it with decomposed granite and road base with a binding material.”
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Basement, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
“I thought it would be beautiful to be able to have conversations in this very grounding environment,” she added. “I don’t think there’s a much more humble material than sitting in the dirt.”
The overall effect of the installation’s lower level is reminiscent of a Japanese rock garden or Chinese scholar’s garden, which D’Annibale said is a reflection of the years she has spent in Southeast Asia.
Brigitte D’Annibale, with Amalgamation inside B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
“I wanted to use the flow of the landscape to create this very holistic connection with nature,” she added.
Now that the ambitious project is completed, D’Annibale, Kingsley, and curator Elysia Borowy are beginning to formulate plans to activate the space. They envision performance events incorporating music and dance, and opportunities to host wide-ranging discussions around the conversation pit.
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Basement part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“This space is a vessel that Brigitte has created,” Kingsley said. “It’s so much bigger than one artist.”
Public visiting hours will be offered starting in June, with limited tours for registered guests during Frieze Week.
“This is just the beginning. This is designed to open up dialogue,” D’Annibale said. “It’s about immersion and interaction and connection.”
See more photos of B=f(P,E) below.
Brigitte D’Annibale The Oculus,part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Brigitte D’Annibale, Pigs in Zen part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Brigitte D’Annibale, Restraint 1, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Oculus, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Oculus, and Amalgamation, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Oculus, and The Basement, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
Brigitte D’Annibale, B=f(P,E), 2023, detail. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
Brigitte D’Annibale, The Oculus, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
Brigitte D’Annibale, Entropy 1, Entropy 2, Entropy 3, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Brigitte D’Annibale, No Strings Attached, part of B=f(P,E), 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
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When Frieze Los Angeles opens to the public this week, cultural stakeholders from all over will swarm the Santa Monica airport, seeking an intelligible narrative about the state of contemporary art—in a city famous for its lack of a coherent center. 
Indeed, L.A.’s marquee art institutions seem to be presenting very different pictures of what matters now. The Getty is devoting its contemporary show to conceptual photographer Uta Barth, while the Hammer celebrates Joan Didion and LACMA exhibits recent abstract acquisitions and artworks that trace African diasporic legacies.
L.A. gallerists, curators, and artists, too, have disparate ideas about which aesthetics are trending locally. If they can agree on one thing, however, it seems to be that artists are responding to or against the figurative mode that has, for nearly a decade, dominated contemporary art discourse. 
Daniel Gibson, Flower Head (2022). Courtesy of Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles.
“There’s a loosening up of paint styles in general,” said Esther Kim Varet, founder at Various Small Fires. Over the past couple years, Joshua Nathanson, one of her L.A.-based artists, has foregone stark, cartoonish outlines for hazy figures that blend with their backgrounds. This looser style has a reach far beyond the city’s limits. For Frieze’s online viewing room, Kim Varet will exhibit work by two other painters, Alvin Ong (based in London and Singapore) and Alex Foxton (Paris), who have also embraced more languid brushstrokes.  
The gallerist speculates that she and her collectors might be drawn to this kind of atmospheric work at this particular moment, valuing their own emotional responses more than they did pre-pandemic. Her client base is responding to “mood” and “loveliness” again, she says—to painting qua painting. Figurative work hasn’t completely disappeared, and abstraction hasn’t yet made a full-force comeback, but people are “getting a little more emotional” these days.
“It might be a pivot point,” she speculated. “There are so many other factors. My client base in Asia really loves figurative painting. Shifts and trends are really complex.” 
Ken Gun Min, Two Mothers (2022). Courtesy of Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles.
Seth Curcio, partner at Shulamit Nazarian, believes the pandemic has inspired local artists to move away from the figure as well, but in a different direction—towards landscape.
As indoor spaces shuttered across Los Angeles, artists meandered across hiking trails and their own neighborhoods, transmuting these experiences into new compositions. “Artists are using landscape to talk about social and cultural ideas,” Curcio said. They’re trying to “think about the world outside their studio and the world they’re building inside their studio, on their canvases.” 
As an example, Curcio cited the paintings of gallery artist Daniel Gibson, a local, whose “lush, psychedelic landscapes” feature imaginary deserts and very real, embedded concerns about migration and borders. Ken Gun Min, who settled in Los Angeles after living in Asia and Europe, creates imagined landscapes rooted in specific local sites: Buena Vista Park, Runyon Canyon, and Silverlake have all appeared in his canvases, transformed into queer utopias via thread, vintage beads, oil paint, and Korean pigment powder.
Annie Lapin, Light Folding (2022). Courtesy of Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles.
Finally, Annie Lapin amalgamates and digitally alters photographs and art historical imagery to create her own surreal, fragmented landscapes that evoke memories and dreams. According to Curcio, these artists are now thinking about the world in a way that’s dislodged from the body. “Landscape is a really fertile place to map those emotions,” he said.
Artist Nick Doyle also sees L.A. artists turning away from the body—but towards objects.
An Angeleno now based in New York, Doyle will exhibit collaged-denim-on-panel wall sockets at Reyes Finn’s Felix Art Fair presentation. He mentioned the work of local painters Mario Ayala, Sayre Gomez, and Kara Joselyn as emblematic of a flattened, airbrushed style that simultaneously references three major features of the Los Angeles landscape: cars, street signs, and film sets. The theatrical paintings of Justin John Green, he said, embrace a “romantic, Hollywood-esque quality.”
Nick Doyle, TBD (2023). Courtesy of Reyes Finn.
Doyle appreciates the atmospheric influences of the West and his hometown’s art history, relatively untethered to the intense East Coast legacies of minimalism and conceptualism. “What makes L.A.’s art scene interesting is that it’s unattached to longer art historical lineages and has room to expand into other visual languages,” he said. 
Zoe Lukov, cofounder at nonprofit Art in Common, also sees an environmentally conscious, surrealist trend rippling across the city’s art scene. “There’s proximity to film and major climate disaster,” she said. “It’s a surreal combination.”
Local artists are especially interested in themes related to the water, she finds. Fawn Rogers, Lukov noted, makes “lush, sexy paintings, often of oysters,” while Nicolette Miskhan’s canvases feature mermaids, undermining old tropes that have made the fantastical figures repositories “for shame, desire, and fear about the feminine.” Via performance, Deborah Scacco examines the body’s relationship to water. (During Frieze week, Art in Common will mount “Boil, Toil, and Trouble,” featuring work by all three artists.)
Nicolette Mishkan, The Protection Circle (2022). Photo: Anita Posada. Courtesy of Art in Common.
For his part, Felix Art Fair founder Dean Valentine believes the recent surrealist fad, along with the figurative arc, is coming to an end—at least from a market standpoint. “I think people are waiting to see what’s next,” he acknowledged. “I don’t think anyone’s seen over the horizon yet.”
If anything, he said, there’s a stronger disposition, among painters, towards “pleasingly colorful work.” Like Kim Varet, he thinks that collectors are turning towards more beautiful art. He conjectures that it’s an escape from worries about a slowing economy, conflict in Ukraine, climate change, and other global stressors. 
Valentine believes that as the city’s art scene has become ever-more global—as international blue chip galleries set up shop and the stylistic influence of artists and influential educators such as John Baldessari, Chris Burden, and Mike Kelley becomes more diluted—“L.A. art” loses some of its regional flavor. 
Fawn Rogers, Happy as a Clam (top) and The Most Beautiful Pearls Are Black (bottom, both 2021). Photo: Anita Posada. Courtesy of Art in Common.
Art advisor Irina Stark, on the other hand, continues to be astounded by the amount of painting in the city, thanks in part to its fantastic light. She noted a number of contemporary painters who have relocated to Los Angeles and made the city their home: Katherina Olschbaur, Simphiwe Ndzube (exhibiting in the Art in Common show), Veronica Fernandez (showing in Frieze Focus), Anna Valdez, Jonny Negron, Tala Madani (whose work is up at MOCA), Jill Mulleady, Katja Seib, and Claire Tabouret. 
Stark sees artists moving towards abstraction, but she also believes that ceramics and surrealism are still going strong. Like Lukov, she sees a “love for witchiness” across the city: “We’ve had figuration as a main trend for eight years, so I think it’s time to incorporate something new.” 
Debra Scacco, Channel (n.d.). Photo: Anita Posada. Courtesy of Art in Common.
Though painting trends may dominate the city’s conversation, Institute of Contemporary Art senior curator Amanda Sroka is focused on performance. Her institution just opened three solo exhibitions devoted to artists who explore sound: Jacqueline Kyomi Gork, Milford Graves, and Christine Sun Kim.
Sroka moved to Los Angeles this year and is still acquainting herself with the local art scene. “There is a real, thriving performance community here in Los Angeles,” she said, thanks to the L.A. spaces that support the medium (MOCA will also host Simone Forti dance performances during the fair week). 
Sroka also sees local artists using organic materials, integrating the earth into their practices—but she’s hesitant about calling out specific trends. Having just arrived, she is still wrapping her head around her new home.
“Los Angeles is dizzying and intoxicating,” she said. “As soon as you have your hand on the pulse of something, it’s changing.”
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It’s February, the dead of winter, and a recession might be on the horizon. Design galleries around the world are responding with exciting solo and group shows that aim to enliven our daily lives with color and texture. From tactile sculptures to textile-like glass works, galleries and designers are striving to connect with viewers. Here are five exhibitions reminding us to stay human.

Luam Melake at R & CompanyNew York, New York
Chairs by Luam Melake. Courtesy of R & Company.
Why can’t furnishings express feelings? The exhibition “Furnishing Feelings” takes a humanistic approach to design, showcasing California-based Luam Melake’s chairs, through April at R & Company.
Crafted out of foam, dye, and twine, eight monumental settees invite interaction. One of them, Listening Chair, was the first seeat Melake conceived with the idea of advancing interpersonal relationships, while Nestled Chair promotes cuddling by drawing from psychology and psychotherapy. 

Hamza Kadiri at Les Ateliers CourbetNew York, New York
Wardrobe by Hamza Kadiri. Courtesy of Les Ateliers Courbet.
In his solo show at Les Ateliers Courbet (through March 10), Moroccan talent Hamza Kadiri transforms pieces of found rare wood into otherworldly sculptures-cum-furniture. Kadiri revitalizes traditional Moroccan marquetry and cabinetry skills, working closely with local artisans. 
One credenza pushes the limits of what carved wood can be while a cabinet’s butterfly shape cleverly matches its own woodgrain. Kadiri and his team also look beyond these rich traditions to explore techniques like Shou Sugi Ban charring.

Brian Thoreen at Masa GalleryMexico City, Mexico
Installation view, Brian Thoreen, Masa Galeria. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco. Courtesy of Masa Galeria.
Coinciding with the 21st edition of Zona Maco—Mexico City’s art and design fair—Masa Gallery is setting up in the 18th-century home of patron and artist Federico Sánchez Fogarty, who threw the legendary Fiestas del Tercer Imperio (Parties of the Third Empire).
Brian Thoreen‘s solo show “Non-Zero-Sum” (through April 8) incorporates functional and nonfunctional designs, bringing together close to a dozen large-scale sculptural works that challenge the conventional use of rubber and bronze. 

정 Jeong at The Future PerfectNew York, New York
Padded chair series by Jineyoung Yeon. Courtesy of the Future Perfect.
Bicoastal gallery the Future Perfect is taking a serious look at contemporary Korean design. The “정 Jeong” group show—through March 17—surveys seven emerging and established talents who riff on the country’s artisanal vernacular.
Seungjin Yang challenges material limitations with his epoxy-coated balloon-like chairs; Myung Taek Jung’s conceptual furnishings distill ancient Korean architecture; Jineyoung Yeon upcycles unused goose-down jackets to create padded chairs; Junsu Kim’s soft focused, almost trompe l’oeil vessels are adorned with topographic patterning; and Brooklyn-based ceramicist Jane Yang-D’Haene reinterprets the age-old moon jar typology. 

Anthony Amoako-Attah at Heller GalleryNew York, New York
Anthony Amoako-Attah
Purveyors of contemporary glass art, Heller Gallery stands apart by exhibiting experimental practitioners, such as Ghanaian artist Anthony Amoako-Attah—a fixture of the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, United Kingdom, and the prestigious Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state. 
From February 9 to March 11, his exhibition “What Do You See?” incorporates new works that translate kente cloth designs and Adinkra symbols into layered sheets of screen-printed and shaped glass.
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In the 317th issue of Marvel Comics’s “The Amazing Spider-Man,” released in July 1989, Peter Parker’s nemesis, Venom, arrives at his house in Queens, New York, ready to do battle with the young superhero. That Venom managed to locate Spider-Man at his actual residence, where he lives with his Aunt May, is no surprise: Peter had left behind a change-of-address form in his jacket after changing into his Spider-Man suit. His new home was at 20 Ingram Street, Forest Hills, NY 11375.
And it’s a real address. Though depicted as a two-story boarding house in the comic book, the real-life 20 Ingram Street is a modest Tudor house in suburban Queens, shaded by a panoply of trees. Even more serendipitously, from 1974, the house has been occupied by a Parker family—Andrew, Suzanne, and their two daughters.
Since the publication of Spider-Man’s address, the Parkers have been inundated with mail addressed to the web-slinger. “We got tons of it,” Mrs. Parker told the New York Times in 2002. The family had no clue about the comic-book significance of their address until they were approached by reporters in 2002, when Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” adaptation hit theaters. 
A letter from Verlene in Lausanne. Photo courtesy of City Reliquary.
Nonetheless, the Parkers saved the letters they received over the decades—a trove that is now on view at City Reliquary, a community museum in Brooklyn that houses ephemera from New York’s history.
Unsurprisingly, most of the letters were penned by children eager to reach out to the comic book star. “I think your really cool,” reads one message; “I like how you swing,” reads another. Others urge Spider-Man to visit their homes: “Would you like to come to our house some time in summer? We live in Kentucky.”
An image of Spider-Man, colored by Sammy. Photo courtesy of City Reliquary.
Letters were sent from across the globe—Germany, Switzerland, Thailand—as well as curious artifacts, including candy, credit card approvals, and a check for $1,645 (which Suzanne Parker apparently cashed).
Pamela Parker, daughter of Andrew and Suzanne, and a board member at City Reliquary, told Hell Gate that her favorite letter arrived from South India, reading: “We would love to imitate you… but we know very well that happens only in reel life and not so in real life.”
A letter from South India. Photo courtesy of City Reliquary.
Some young fans also sought solace in their favorite web-slinger. “To Amazing Spiderman,” wrote a young fan named Clay, “I’m the awesome one but a secret nerd.”
When Hell Gate located Clay, now grown up and studying at the University of Tennessee, he said Spider-Man “helped me cope through the hard times as a kid.”
A letter from Clay. Photo courtesy of City Reliquary.
While the Parker family moved out of 20 Ingram Street in 2017, the house and its suburb remain a landmark for comic-book readers. Last year, a campaign was launched, though failed, to erect a Spider-Man statue in Forest Hills. 
“I never pinpointed the address,” said Stan Lee, the late-creator of Spider-Man, in 2002. But with the reveal of Spider-Man’s residence, he added, “We’ve created two new celebrities.” 
“Dear Spiderman” is on view in the front room of City Reliquary, 370 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn.
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