Ever since that mythical day when the serpent tricked the original couple into taking a bite from the apple, the desire for domination has been a common human sentiment. It takes various forms, which have been illustrated by artists down the ages. Not long ago, the...
The scene takes place in Amsterdam’s red-light district. In the old alleyways thronging with groups of pimply teenagers doing the kind of window shopping that would be impossible anywhere else, somewhere amid these old, narrow streets where sailors once used to go to...
It is one of the miracles of the American art world. In the land of rapid consumption, there exists an institution that takes its time, lots of it, and takes up space, again, lots of it. It’s called the Dia Art Foundation and its exhibition space at Beacon, located in...
We are all familiar with the Galeries Lafayette, established in 1893, which have become synonymous with luxury consumption beneath that great cupola adorned with Art Nouveau glasswork. Less familiar for an international audience perhaps is that the French family-run...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NLVDadpcQ The most powerful pieces of art are the ones that offer the potential for multiple readings. In the work of the French artist Annette Messager (born 1943) ambiguity itself becomes an art form. The winner of the Golden...
On 16 April of last year I posted an article about a fabulous exhibition by the Greek artist Jannis Kounellis at La Monnaie in Paris. He has just died at the age of 80. Here is a homage to an artist who created harmonious works from the most thankless raw materials....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-53EMSOgRQ Anyone who has visited Naoshima and Teshima, the art islands in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan which have been transformed by the visionary businessman Soichiro Fukutake into spaces that marry beauty and nature,...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vInG1XY5GjE Â Philippe Parreno (born 1963) the French artist who lives in Paris (for an artist to remain in Paris after becoming known is a rarity) has filled the entire Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern. The length of the...
Let’s be frank.  Among the art lovers of this world – that vast group of individuals that loves flaunting its coffee table books and haunts Moma, the Centre Pompidou and the Tate Modern – how many can tell you why Carl Andre is an important artist? Why exactly should...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaHUv_Ytr2g If there's one artist you have a hard time equating with sequins, bikinis, fake boobs and Miami beach parties it’s Mark Dion. This American artist (born 1961) is known all over the world for his cabinet of...
Here in France, where people have  a new habit of vandalising artworks, the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson arrives to face-off against the opulence of the Sun King but also, alas, against reactionaries of every stripe. Until 30 October he’s taking up residence in...
In the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, there’s something different about the scenery. From the distance, it’s a bundle of colours criss-crossing in strange patterns that you first notice. Up close, the colossal object is breathtaking. The roof of the Frank Gehry-designed...