Author Archives: melissa

WEIRDEST YEAR EVER

A rant about 2020…….. Housebound- 2020. Oilstick, graphite. 10 x 8 I haven’t posted a rant or a rave in many years. But man, oh, man, if ever there was a time in the history of the Universe to post … Continue reading

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A Memorial to Crimes Against Women and Children in Ghostly Glass

Published in Hyperallergic August 22, 2019 Northern Irish artist Alison Lowry addresses the 200 years of crimes perpetrated by the Catholic Church in collaboration with the Irish state. Alison, Lowry, “Instead of the fragrance there will be stench; instead of … Continue reading

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Figural Sculptures That Weave an Enigmatic Story of Disassociation and Isolation

Claudette Schreuders’s most recent show at Jack Shainman gallery, In the Bedroom is perhaps both her most revealing and most enigmatic body of work to date. published June 17. 2019 Install shot: “School Days” (2019) Lime wood, enamel paint. 10 x 9.) … Continue reading

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Claudette Schreuders occupies an intriguing place in the contemporary art world. Born in South Africa in 1973, before the end of apartheid, but in the center of its crumbling, her work has always elegantly danced the line between the personal and the political. Mention … Continue reading

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An Exhibition About a Book That Rejuvenated an Indigenous Culture

The show tells a success story not often heard in the world of Indigenous art and culture, chronicling how the Boas/Hunt book has acted as a guide for contemporary Kwakiutl peoples. Melissa Stern March 14, 2019 Settee back, unknown Kwakwaka’wakw maker, … Continue reading

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A Treasure Trove of Oddities and Timely Exhibitions at Oxford’s Ethnography Museum

September 14, 2018 in Hyperallergic Originally defined as an academic museum of Anthropology and World Archeology, the Pitt Rivers Museum has morphed into something much more extensive and meaningful. The Pitt Rivers Museum (all images by the author for Hyperallergic) … Continue reading

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Artists and Scientists Concoct Immersive Projects at the Wellcome

Published July 3 in Hyperallergic The Wellcome Collection in London introduces four mixed-media installations in an immersive, collaborative show between artists and scientists. Maria McKinney, Sire series, C-print, 147 X 220 cm. (all photos courtesy of the author for Hyperallergic) … Continue reading

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Artists Who Unlocked the Modernist Grid

published April 11, 2018 in Hyperallergic A gallery show that turns the form of the grid inside out, shedding more light on this iconic 20th-century favorite. Arshile Gorky, “Still Life” (c.1930s), oil on canvas, 8″ x 10″ (all photos by … Continue reading

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Tantalizing Quilts Woven with Poetic, Political Messages

published March 13, 2018 in Hyperallergic The artists in Piecework embed intriguing, coded messages into their quilts. Vanessa German, “Delia Quilt 1” (2015), silkscreen on found quilt (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic) Pavel Zoubok gallery is currently hosting … Continue reading

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The Story Behind Northern India’s Breathtaking, Disappearing Frescoes.

In Hyperallergic-January 23, 2018 The Shekhawati region covers almost 5,000 square miles and hosts an estimated 2,000 frescoed buildings built from the 17th to the early 20th century. A ceiling fresco in a haveli in India’s Shekhawati province (all photos by … Continue reading

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