The Cathedral of Joy
One-on-one with Alfredo Jaar, Damien Hirst’s secret life, Anish Kapoor's optical trickery, and another BS "most influential" list.
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Disconcerting genre shift
If you sit down to watch a documentary and realize, about ten minutes in, that it’s actually a feature film, everything about it feels off until you shift into a different mode. Walk into a new doctor’s office, and it might take a few minutes to realize they’re not the kind of
No One Is Accountable in Taryn Simon’s Detective Story
In her ambitious exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, injustice seems purely systemic, not the result of individuals behaving badly.
Buffalo Puppet Procession Traces Native History Through NYC’s Streets
“Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi” pays homage to 38 Dakota men executed by President Abraham Lincoln in Mankato, Minnesota, in 1862.
Step Inside the Studios of 20 Contemporary Black Artists in ‘Another View’
Featuring Nick Cave, Nina Chanel Abney, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Kerry James Marshall, and many more. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article
New novel from Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven):...
New novel from Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven): Exit Party . “Los Angeles, 2031: The first spring after the collapse of the United States, peacekeeping troops withdraw from the city, the Jacaranda trees blossom, and the curfew is finally lifted.”
NYC’s Shelter Population Speaks Out in Public Art Project
Alex Strada’s “Public Address” brings handwritten testimonies from over 400 unhoused New Yorkers and shelter staff to a dozen locations across the Bronx.
Wes Anderson’s Criterion Closet Picks
Wes Anderson steps into the mobile Criterion Closet to select some films that he enjoys. One unsurprising thing about this video: Anderson says he has his own Criterion closet at home with all of the Criterion films. That’s maybe a $40-50K investment? (He probably gets them
The Titillating Tale of Damien Hirst’s Gay Hole
An infectious play by Sleth explores infatuation and fame through an imagined relationship between Hirst and his gay lover, a younger artist whose paintings consist of holes on the ground.
What “The Book of Genocides” Teaches Us
Dana Mashoian Walrath’s work of graphic nonfiction points to historical patterns across 10 genocides, from Germany and Turkey to Gaza.
“The clan of predators currently in charge of the...
“The clan of predators currently in charge of the U.S. federal government” are striving to make the world safe for grift, corruption, and theft , with their mob boss president leading the way.
Across Two Exhibitions, Jaume Plensa’s Monumental Sculptures Unite Scale and Material
An exploration of the human figure, architectural materials, and the perception of space. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Across Two Exhibitions,
Walking Men Worldwide
Artist Maya Barkai assembled a collection of pedestrian traffic signals from around the world: Walking Men Worldwide . I love all of these little people. The Warsaw one reminds me somewhat of Rocky from Project Hail Mary. Some of the ones from smaller places have more
Liu Wei’s Met Facade Comission Reflects Our Moment
On view through next June, Liu's sculpture series “Speculation” (2026) contemplates the contradictory elements of collapse and civic transformation.
Leon Black Plans to Turn Woolworth Mansion Into His Own Museum, Book Reveals
The disgraced financier, whose ties to Jeffrey Epstein are being investigated in Congress, told author William D. Cohan that he wants to turn the Manhattan property into “his version of the Neue Galerie.”
Instant click for me: how NYC street signs are made ....
Instant click for me: how NYC street signs are made . “The sign shop…has a staff of 46 workers, including seven letterers who lay out signs by hand and a blacksmith who makes custom brackets to securely attach signs to traffic poles.”
The History of Concrete , a new documentary film by John...
The History of Concrete , a new documentary film by John Wilson, who one review called “the Werner Herzog of the mundane”. This looks great!
Against the Cartesian Myth of Work/Life Balance: André Gregory’s Extraordinary Letter to Richard Avedon about the Nature of Creativity
Half a millennium into our recovery from the civilizational wound Descartes inflicted by severing the body and the mind, we are bleeding with a Cartesian cleft of our own making — the damaging divide between life and work. The notion of a “workaholic,” often worn as a badge on
The Stoic Key to Living with Presence: Seneca on Time Spent vs. Saved vs. Wasted
"Lay hold of to-day’s task, and you will not need to depend so much upon to-morrow’s. While we are postponing, life speeds by. Nothing... is ours, except time."
Borusan Contemporary Presents Two New Exhibitions
From “the act of looking” to intelligent technologies, “Olivo Barbieri: Time Space Geometry” and “Haunted” explore how images shape our perception of reality. Opening September 19, 2026.
Review of a new book on Stephen Hawking . “The...
Review of a new book on Stephen Hawking . “The uncomfortable truth is that Hawking’s overweening ambition and self-promotion, his repeated failure to acknowledge the work of others, his sexism and controlling behaviour were largely ignored…”
A View From the Easel
“Piles to start a project, piles during a project, and piles of stuff after it is finished.”
Through Carved Wooden Assemblages, Daniel Minter Communes with the Spiritual
"Do objects transmit spirituality? No, they remind us of our spirituality." —Daniel Minter Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Through Carved Wooden
The Blind Birdwatcher
Uruguayan birder Juan Pablo Culasso , who was born blind, has been recording and collecting bird songs for more than two decades. I think that because I’m blind, I enjoy birds differently. Bird songs are my way of appreciating and understanding this world. Culasso is aided in
From our own Edith Zimmerman for the New Yorker, some...
From our own Edith Zimmerman for the New Yorker, some Updated Jane Austen Titles like Dead-Ass Karen and Red-Flag Baddie and Brain-Rot Third Space.