Exhibition of the week Harland Miller: Imminent End, Rescheduled EternallyPaintings of book covers that evoke the reveries of readers who dream of writing. White Cube Bermondsey, London, until 22 January. Also showing Magdalena Abakanowicz: Every Tangle of Thread and RopeA surreal woven world by one of Poland’s most significant modern artists. Tate Modern, London, until … Read more
If it’s possible to identify exactly where it begins and ends, one might say the artwork started in a simple white-stucco storefront in Quemado, New Mexico. Inside a low-ceilinged room, a stack of release waivers on a clipboard reminded guests of the risks of walking through uneven terrain, or encountering the occasional rattlesnake. Overhead, a … Read more
The problem with the British Library’s ultimately maddening trawl through medieval and modern images of Alexander the Great is there in the show’s subtitle. The Making of a Myth sounds innocent until you discover they literally mean it. This exhibition takes such a thoroughly postmodern view of history that it tries to convince you the … Read more
“Once the queen’s head is severe, he walks away. A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner.” These are the first two sentences of The Mirror and the Light, the third volume of Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell and … Read more
HASta time when the art world is attempting to rewrite a history that has largely benefited male artists, Tate Modern is staging a show of work by Slovak sculptor Maria Bartuszová (1936–1996). Her unique biomorphic casts touch on big themes such as belonging, growth and infinity. Bartuszová worked outside the traditional centers of contemporary art, … Read more
NOTow 86, Renato Casaro is one of the world’s most influential poster designers, best known for his classical, windswept, airbrushed canvases: heady reminders of the pre-digital era. His style turns matinee idols into Michelangelos, from Stallone to Schwarzenegger, Costner to DiCaprio. His posters are unabashed theatrics, stuffed with sweaty biceps and heaving bosoms, which transport … Read more
A new open source AI image generator capable of producing realistic pictures from any prompt text has seen stunningly swift uptake in its first week. Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion, high fidelity but capable of being run on off-the-shelf consumer hardware, is now in use by art generator services like Artbreeder, Pixelz.ai and more. But the … Read more
Heist films need a shot in the arm. For too long, heist/thief movies have relied on the performances of a talented ensemble cast to compensate for the weak and convoluted scripts that typically power the genre. To be fair, it can’t be easy to write a clever heist film for a litany of reasons. For … Read more
Three artists who sued the Tate for victimization, alleging breach of contract and race discrimination, have told of their experiences after it agreed to pay them a six-figure settlement. The action was taken after the institution told one of the women, who had been commissioned to lead a major year-long program, that she could not … Read more
Edinburgh’s Collective is the most beautifully situated gallery in Britain, perched on top of Calton Hill with glorious views of Arthur’s Seat and the sea beyond Leith. Unfortunately every time I go there, the art is rubbish. Ruth Ewan’s Marxist cartoon The Beast lives down to this gallery’s sloppy standards. Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-born industrialist … Read more
