Ellen C. Caldwell | ECLAIRE.me

When discussing such works, he said, “I don’t want to hit people so hard that they don’t respond.” So he doles out kernels of truth, wild imaginings, and pieces of fact and fiction laced with humor, expletives, and explosives, all in order to pull people in to look closer, to do their own research, to grapple with history’s gaping holes, and to make them laugh.

Hauser & Wirth’s exhibit, Dark Years, features three gallery floors of work from painter Luchita Hurtado. Venezuelan-born and Los Angeles-based, Hurtado is 98 years old and beyond deserving of the show and recognition. This is a real celebration story of a life-long artist finally getting her due, with many solo shows in the works for the coming years, including her upcoming exhibit at the Serpentine Gallery in London.

Through Paa Joe’s work, the museum is able to bring these forts to a larger public, specifically a greater number of people than might be able to go to Ghana. In this way, there is exposure in touring the architectural remnants of slavery’s brutal past. Additionally, the exhibit is able to set a more sacred tone of mourning and silence for visitors who are viewing these large-scale sculptures.

In the end, “Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving” helps to construct — or perhaps helps us to see — yet another view of Kahlo and her many lives, incarnations, and selves.

Paige Jyoung Moon’s subtle messages are powerful and direct, connecting the everyday fabric of our lives directly to both the viewer and our emotions as well. Because as mundane as something like a box of tissue might be, Moon also points out how it is also quite profoundly there for us in moments of need too. In capturing these small details of life, Paige Jiyoung Moon captivates.

Through her photographs and the smaller, personal space of the Underground Museum, Lawson creates a timeless space and subject for viewers to enjoy and explore. Deana Lawson’s Planes runs through February 17th, 2019 at The Underground Museum.

A Holy Motherfucker (2017)
Robert Pruitt: Devotion is showing at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles through February 17, 2019. If you are looking for inspiration and awakening in the new year, this is the show for you.

In Umar Rashid’s world, the past intermingles with the present, constantly reminding viewers of the history and many stories that have brought us to where we stand today.

Cosmic Traffic Jam is a show for all ages that asks viewers to think, act, and do while appreciating the art. It is on view through August 25, 2018, at Zevitas Marcus.

Painter Ria Brodell has gained fame in the way they disrupt and update both the artistic cannon and history itself. In their painted series “Butch Heroes,” Brodell takes the form of traditional Catholic Holy cards depicting saints and martyrs, and instead paints “butch heroes” on a reinterpretation of the cards. Brodell highlights queer heroes from across the world and ages, showcasing and celebrating lesser-known, “butch” (female assigned, but masculine presenting) historical figures.