All Photos By Gail
Identity has always been at the center of British artist Gillian Wearing’s work, and My Charms (2021) distills that lifelong fascination into an oversized charm bracelet displayed on a monumental scale. A close look reveals that its dangling charms aren’t tiny hearts, keys, or lucky horseshoes — they are deeply personal 3D-printed fragments of the artist herself.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Gillian Wearing’s My Charms
Photos By Gail
I’m a longtime fan of Paul Thek, particularly his famous wax meat sculptures, which remain some of the most unsettling and fascinating artworks of the 1960s. While exploring his work recently, I was captivated by a very different piece: Untitled (Hand with Ring) (1967), a colorful sculpture of a human hand encased inside a clear Plexiglas vitrine.
The work is part of Thek’s renowned Technological Reliquaries series, a body of work that helped establish him as one of the most original artists of his generation. At first glance, the hand appears almost archaeological, as though it has been unearthed from another time. Its surface is covered in layers of pink, blue, green, yellow, and silver, creating the appearance of peeling paint, weathered skin, or a treasured object transformed by age. A simple green ring adorns one finger, adding an unexpected touch of personality and mystery.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Paul Thek, Hand With Ring
Photos By Gail
Japanese artist Tomio Miki (1937 — 1978) was part of a generation of artists who addressed social and political shifts in Tokyo, following the end of World War II and the United State’s occupation of Japan. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Untitled (Ears) By Tomio Miki
Photos By Gail
Tim Hawkinson’s body is the foundation of his art, whether a kinetic sculpture of collaged pictures of the artist’s face or intricate animal skeletons assembled out of his fingernail clippings. Fragmentation of the body is typically associated with death, though in Hawkinson’s work, the effect is perhaps more absurd than morbid.
Continue reading Pink Thing of The Day: Tim Hawkinson, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
All Photos By Gail
The Destruction of the Father is a critical cathartic work in Louise Bourgeois’ artistic development and psychic life. Completed in 1974, the year after the death of her husband, Robert Goldwater, the work is a synthesis of the soft landscapes, poured forms, and sexually explicit part objects that she made starting in 1960. It is also the artist’s first installation piece and looks forward to the Cells of the 1990s.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: The Destruction of The Father By Louise Bourgeois