Art gallery

Faber-Castell’s Perfect Pencil makes a bold claim in its name. Can one pencil really satisfy every single need? As John Steinbeck once observed, “A pencil that is all right some days is no good another day. . . . I have my plastic tray you know and in it three kinds of pencils for hard writing days and soft writing days.”

Equipped with a rich, B-hardness core, the Perfect Pencil might be best suited for those soft days, but Faber-Castell confidently calls it a “true all-rounder” for writers and artists. What makes this implement particularly notable is not just its ability to lay down silky-smooth, grit-free strokes but also its design: It’s equipped with a protective cap that doubles as a sharpener so a clean point is always immediately attainable. When flipped to cover the velvety eraser, the cap also extends the length of any pencil that’s worn down to … Read the rest

Kevin McNamee-Tweed’s proclivity for the fragment and for small to very small formats can make his shows read like trails of clues. “Probable Presence,” an assemblage of nearly seventy works dated between 2019 and 2021, feels like an unspooling of partial disclosures, an aggregation of winks and nods. Throughout his drawings, paintings, and works in clay, McNamee-Tweed borrows words and images from vintage comics, art history, advertising, and other sources, replicating and repurposing each bit of material to archive wonders from the external world, and fashion an ongoing portrait of his domestic, psychic interior. Across media, he quotes and cheekily misquotes. One of his colored pencil drawings, Long Red Haired Woodpecker (2020), transforms a naturalist’s record of a hairy woodpecker into an incongruously sultry pinup by trading the bird’s distinctive red cap for a long, cherry-red tress. Another drawing, Blowing Bibbles of Sibbles (2020), recasts Chardin’s Soap Bubbles (ca. 1733–34) … Read the rest

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From ancient times until now, every artist has kept an assortment of necessary tools in his or her studio, and many of the objects found in contemporary work spaces would have been familiar to an artisan or craftsperson of medieval and Renaissance Europe or to a scholar-painter in ancient China. Just call to mind Ming dynasty painter Xie Huan’s Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden, with its image of an artist’s work table complete with brushes, a water container, and an inkstone. Despite the differences in ambience and setting, the functions of those implements were the same as they are today.

In our own era, tools for drawing or sketching are used by artists working in three dimensions as well as two. Inks and pigments, whether black or in … Read the rest

One of the country’s most closely watched curators has resigned from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, accusing its leadership of being resistant to adhering to its commitment to diversity.

Mia Locks, who joined MOCA in July 2019 as senior curator and head of new initiatives, resigned from the institution late last month, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

One of the initiatives that Locks began at MOCA shortly after her appointment began was one devoted to IDEA, an acronym for inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. In an email from Locks to staff announcing her resignation on March 26, the curator said, “MOCA’s leadership is not yet ready to fully embrace IDEA,” according to the L.A. Times, which verified the email.

In an email to the L.A. Times, a MOCA spokesperson said, “We are working across our organization to fulfill our IDEA … Read the rest

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Acrylic medium is a versatile product for use with acrylic paint and in mixed-media projects. A liquid that’s milky when wet and translucent when dry, it can be added to acrylic to increase fluidity; the more you add, the thinner and more transparent the color will become. This makes it particularly handy for glazes and blending. It can also be used to create a clear ground on canvas or paper in place of gesso, and it works as an adhesive for use in collage and image transfers. Most acrylic mediums come in two finishes: glossy and matte. Since acrylics tend to have a glossy finish to begin with, choosing a matte medium to mix in with your paints can make a significant difference in your work’s final appearance. Whether … Read the rest