CURRENT PROJECTS—ESSAYS and ART REVIEWS—2011 to Present
Ambergris and Alchemy — a Pilgrimage to John Singer Sargent’s “Fumee d’Ambre Gris”
An essay in The Arts Fuse about John Singer Sargent’s mysterious Woman in White, the Nature of Ambergris, and the Alchemy of Art.
Gods in the Gallery — A Visit to the Russian Icon Museum
An essay in The Arts Fuse about Byzantine and Russian icons, and about what happens to us as we look at all the Gods in museums. This one is rather long and has 28 images, all of which can be clicked on for high resolution.
Known and Mysterious — Wendy Artin’s Watercolors in “From the Roman Studio.”
An essay in The Arts Fuse about the wild generosity and utter mastery of Wendy Artin as she finds beauty in a clutch of beets, old paintbrushes, ruined statues, and the human body.
What is a Moment? — Two Paintings of the Wounded Eurydice by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot
An essay in The Arts Fuse about what we can see when we juxtapose two very similar paintings by Corot showing Eurydice in solitude before dying.
The Riddle behind the Riddle — William Kentridge’s Fifth Norton Lecture at Harvard, Spring 2012
A review in The Arts Fuse of one of the stunning lectures of contemporary South African artist William Kentridge. All of his 2012 Norton Lectures can be found on line Here .
The Strange Beauty of Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge
A review in The Arts Fuse of the large exhibition “Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe” at the Harvard University Art Museums.
Wendy Artin — Translating Marble onto Paper
A review in The Arts Fuse of the mastery and beauty of contemporary painter Wendy Artin’s Watercolors of the Parthenon Friezes.
Flowers as the Work Table for the Imagination
A review in The Arts Fuse of “Global Flora: Botanical Imagery and Exploration” a show of contemporary and historic floral works at the Davis Museum of Wellesley College.
Emotion, Time, and Eros in the Paintings of Damon Lehrer and Rick Berry
A review in The Arts Fuse of two very different contemporary figurative artists currently working in Boston.
Hinging between Worlds: The Paintings of Anne Leone
A review in The Arts Fuse of contemporary paintings of swimmers in otherworldly cenotes in Mexico.