Interviews & Essays

Contemporary museums and galleries are faced with the dual challenge and opportunity of working directly with living artists to display work in a way that feels authentic to both parties. However, in an increasingly politicized and polarized world, it has become harder than ever for exhibitions to strike a mutually agreeable balance between presenting the artists’ intended messages and the ones that will keep other stakeholders happy. 

As government funding for cultural programs decreases in Western countries, a different trend appears in the Middle East, where culture is increasingly viewed as a key driver for economic and social progress. Dubai, benefiting from its cultural diversity— home to over 200 nationalities— thrives on a mix of global ideas, fueling innovation and creativity. Through strategic investments in cultural tourism, Dubai has established itself as a major international hub. 

Michelangelo, Van Gogh, and Picasso have been alluring subjects for filmmakers throughout the history of cinema. Artists of far lesser stature have also inspired filmmakers over the years. Some are deserving of our attention while others are better left “undiscovered.” Here are a few examples that may surprise you and further ignite your curiosity to explore their legacy.

The impending closure of Christie’s digital art department and the reduction in staff working on NFT sales at other auction houses during the past year calls into question the future of once-astronomically-priced blockchain assets.

Before he had reached the age of 30, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) did something that some of his fellow artists considered somewhat odd: Dürer, a highly skilled painter, devoted a significant portion of his artistic output not to the lucrative creation of paintings but to the making of multiples—woodcuts and engravings intended not as versions of paintings or illustrations for books but to be collected and enjoyed as works of art in their own right. 

Alone, occupying a single wall in the Parrish Art Museum’s light-drenched first gallery space in Water Mill, NY is an improbably massive (10 feet by 20 feet by 1 inch), strangely delicate sculpture that the artist refers to as a painting. Enigmatically titled Fern Friend Grief Growth (2024), it is made of marble and acrylic on plaster-coated canvas mounted to medium-density fiberboard.

At a time when climate change solutions feel farther from the national agenda than they have in years, cultural institutions across the United States are staging exhibitions that seem like well-timed efforts to keep the environmental conversation alive.

Considered a founder of Impressionism, Edgar Degas actually disliked the label, preferring Realist or Independent. Best known for his paintings and bronze sculptures, Degas was also a printmaker and photographer.

Leonardo da Vinci and his works have attained a level of global notoriety unparalleled by many other artists. His paintings, inventions, drawings, and codices are coveted by art and history institutions as testaments to his genius and technical prowess.

What constitutes an artist? Perhaps your first thought is as straightforward as this author's was: An artist is someone who creates masterful works of art. And yet, many masterful artworks, past and present, were created by the artist and a team of assistants.