Reviews

Untitled (1971), Philip Guston. Image © The Estate of Philip Guston. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth

Philip Guston’s Nixon drawings are a lesson in satire

It’s hard not to draw parallels between Guston’s biting caricatures of Richard Nixon and today’s political climate

18 Jan 2017

Paul Nash’s commitment to the English landscape

The artist’s feeling for place is a constant throughout his work – in both peacetime and war

13 Jan 2017
Mrs. Carl Meyer and her Children (1896), John Singer Sargent. Courtesy of Tate Britain

The glamorous family behind one of Sargent’s best-loved paintings

A personal history of a great painting currently on show in New York

12 Jan 2017

Why are there so many period rooms in US museums?

Influential private collectors were often keen to recreate their own experiences for the benefit of the public at large.

12 Jan 2017
All that is unknown (2016), James Webb. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Imane Farès. Photo © Maha Kays

The sound artist making a call for resilience

James Webb’s sound installations tackle difficult political, social and emotional issues with subtle immediacy

12 Jan 2017

Creativity and contradictions in Kochi

Kochi might be full of contradictions, but it remains a vibrant site for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale – now in its third edition

11 Jan 2017
Zerstörung einer Illusion (1977), Karin Mack. © Karin Mack / DACS, London, 2016 / The SAMMLUNG VERBUND Collection, Vienna

A fierce reminder of why we need feminism more than ever today

The Photographers’ Gallery has put together an exhibition of feminist art from the 1970s which is still worryingly relevant today

11 Jan 2017

Were the Egyptian Surrealists too unpatriotic to be popular?

Surrealism in Egypt was an international affair that lost out to more nationalist art movements

10 Jan 2017

Why it’s time for someone to catalogue Fra Bartolommeo’s drawings

As an exhibition in Rotterdam shows, Fra Bartolommeo draughtsmanship is ravishingly beautiful

9 Jan 2017
Pays Inconnu (2016), Vivienne Koorland. Courtesy the artist

William Kentridge and Vivienne Koorland peel back the layers of history

The two artists make a rewarding double act at Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery

4 Jan 2017
Postcard advertising the Garden City Pantomime, written by residents C.B. Purdom and Charles Lee, (c. 1910)

An alternative vision of life in Letchworth, the world’s first Garden City

The radicalism of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City is often overlooked, but Letchworth is an utopian success

3 Jan 2017

Beyond the myth of 1970s New York

Douglas Crimp’s memoir-cum-cultural history reveals the reality behind the myth of New York’s thriving art scene in the 70s

24 Dec 2016
Rama kills the demon warrior Makaraksha in combat. From a manuscript of the Ramayana (c. 1790), India; Himachal Pradesh state, former kingdom of Guler. Photo © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

An epic exhibition for an epic subject

Clever staging, excellent exhibits and a timeless story combine to make the Asian Art Museum’s Ramayana exhibition a great success

23 Dec 2016
Easter Monday (c. 1950), Winifred Nicholson.

Winifred Nicholson and the pleasures of colour

An exhibition on Winifred Nicholson shows why her painting had such an impact on the work of her peers

21 Dec 2016
Venus of the Rags (1964–2016), Michelangelo Pistoletti. Photo: Tom Lindboe. Courtesy of the Blenheim Art Foundation

Michelangelo Pistoletto goes from rags to riches at Blenheim Palace

The Italian artist uses humble materials to promote a high-minded utopian message. How does his work fare in such opulent surroundings?

20 Dec 2016

Reinventing Impressionism for a new Australia

A show at the National Gallery considers how four artists used international Impressionism to forge a new national identity

20 Dec 2016
Rene Magritte: Selected Writings

‘Humans hide their secrets too well…’ Magritte according to Magritte

A rich selection of essays, interviews and memoirs offer a unique glimpse into the life and works of René Magritte

16 Dec 2016
Cambodian Dancer in Profile (1906/07), Auguste Rodin. Musée Rodin, Paris, France

How Rodin channelled the spirit of dance into his drawings and sculptures

A perfectly realised exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in London explores Rodin’s obsession with dance and its expressive power

14 Dec 2016
Aline Renoir Nursing her Baby (1915), Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Kunstmuseum Bern

Why was Renoir so fascinated by flesh?

Renoir’s late paintings, particularly his nudes, provoke extreme reactions but these paintings are among his most interesting work

12 Dec 2016

Medieval Jerusalem comes to life in this mesmerising show

Expansive, near encyclopaedic within its limits, and very beautiful, this exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum is not to be missed

10 Dec 2016
The Gilbert Collection is back on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Gilbert Collection is one of the most exquisite collections ever given to Britain

The Gilberts wanted these astonishing treasures to be shared and enjoyed. Now, the V&A has given them the showcase they deserve

6 Dec 2016
Private collection

Introducing the family behind Verona’s great bronzes

A new book by Charles Avery looks at the history and maerial legacy of a family of cheesemakers turned bronze-founders

29 Nov 2016
Breathing Light (2013), James Turrell © James Turrell. Photo © Florian Holzherr

The James Turrell cure for election day blues

‘Hopefully some nice, trippy light installations will take my mind off the madness’

25 Nov 2016
screestage (2013), Phyllida Barlow. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The Hepworth sculpture prize exhibition is completely baffling – in a good way

Materials range from concrete to soap bubbles; subjects include mass extinction and internet cats. This is a bizarre mix of work, but a fascinating one

23 Nov 2016