Tag Archives: modern art monday

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Mickalene Thomas, Portrait of Qusuquzah #6

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portrait of qusuquzah #6 photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

Mickalene Thomas‘s glittering, maximalist paintings of Black women, such as this work from 2012, investigate how Black femininity, sexuality, and empowerment are represented in visual culture. She draws inspiration from popular culture, music, and Western art history, while embodying the aesthetic of the 1970s with embroidered rhinestones and bold patterns.

Portrait of Qusuquzah #6 depicts one of the artist’s frequent models embodying the glamour of Black women in the 1940s. The subject assumes a central, dynamic position, commanding undivided attention.

Photographed in The Brooklyn Museum as Part of the 2024 Exhibit Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Happiness by Victor Estrada

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happiness by victor estrada photo by gail worley
Photos By Gail

At first glance, Happiness (1994–95) by Victor Estrada seems to promise exactly what its title suggests: something bright, buoyant, and easy to love. The sculpture greets viewers with a riot of color and a playful, almost cartoonish presence. But as is often the case with Estrada’s work, things get more complicated the longer you look. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Happiness by Victor Estrada →

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Inflatable Felix By Mark Leckey

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inflatable felix by mark leckey 2 photo by gail worley
Photos By Gail

While searching the Internet, London-based artist, Mark Leckey (b. 1964) came across an unusual photograph of a papier-mâché model of Felix the Cat surrounded by an array of strange machines. The photo was taken in 1928 at NBC’s Studios in New York, where the then-radio broadcaster was experimenting with the first television transmissions. Surrounding Felix – a cartoon character who first appeared in 1919 – was a primitive array of mechanical scanners that were used in the first attempt at transmitting pictures over the air waves.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Inflatable Felix By Mark Leckey →

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Kelly Akashi, Monument (Regeneration)

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kelly akashi monument regeneration photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

Kelly Akashi’s work often explores the impermanence of the natural world. In 2024‘s Monument (Regeneration), the artist draws inspiration from nature’s regenerative resilience. A delicately latticed borosilicate-glass sphere – balanced between fragility and strength – rests a top a weathered, steel plinth reminiscent of a tree trunk.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Kelly Akashi, Monument (Regeneration) →

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: A Cup of Tea By Lilla Cabot Perry

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lilla cabot perry a cup of tea photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

In this glowing portrait, the American impressionist painter Lilla Cabot Perry (1848 – 1933) renders,  in loose and expressive brush strokes, a fashionable young woman sipping a cup of tea. Initially trained in an academic style, Perry traveled to France in 1887, first to Paris and then to Giverny, where she forged the close friendship with Claude Monet. Her technical and aesthetic approach was further informed by three years in Japan, where she met Okakura Kakuzo (1863 – 1913), a cofounder of the imperial art school, who exhibited her work in Tokyo.

Photographed in the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA)