Reviews

Untitled (2002), Page from Art & Beauty Magazine, #2 (2003), R. Crumb.

Crumbs! Here’s a gallery full of somebody else’s seedy secrets

‘I began wasting my god-given talent drawing pictures of sexy women the way I liked ‘em’. An exhibition of R. Crumb’s work invites us all to become voyeurs

19 Apr 2016
Robert Ryman, installation view, 545 West 22nd Street, New York City

Robert Ryman and the many shades of white

An exhibition of Ryman’s eerie paintings in New York rewards repeated viewings

16 Apr 2016
Four Marilyns (Reversal Series)

Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon and five Marilyn Monroes

For a handy reminder of why Warhol was so radical, head to Gagosian Gallery’s ‘Avedon Warhol’ exhibition in London

15 Apr 2016
The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers by Ben Rivers, installed at the Whitworth, 2016.

A strange tale of cruelty and creativity in the Moroccan desert

Ben Rivers’ attempt to reveal the artifice of filmmaking is somehow dull and disconcerting at the same time

12 Apr 2016
East pediment of the Parthenon frieze at the British Museum.

Should museums be ideology-free?

A new book which argues that museums should be above politics is hardly above politics itself

11 Apr 2016
Allegory of the Immaculate Conception (detail; 1566), Carlo Portelli.

Never mind the buttocks

An exhibition in Florence finally gives Carlo Portelli the attention he deserves

7 Apr 2016

Surveillance and secrecy in Gateshead and London

Hajra Waheed’s exhibitions at BALTIC and the Mosaic Rooms are full of strange, evocative details

6 Apr 2016

Dorset, in a Mediterranean light

John Craxton is known today for his sparkling paintings of Greece. But he first found inspiration in the colder, darker landscapes of rural England

5 Apr 2016

British artists at the seaside

Dorset had a profound impact on a group of Slade painters, as an exhibition at Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy makes very clear

2 Apr 2016
A RESTORATION (2016), Elizabeth Price, two-screen video still.

This is reckless restoration of the very best kind

Elizabeth Price’s new video is an audacious act of extrapolation, that asks deep questions about our impulse to preserve, restore, and destroy

1 Apr 2016

G.F. Watts used to be ridiculed – how did he make a comeback?

With the reopening of the Watts Studios, an amazing revival of the painter’s reputation, and of his wife Mary’s, is almost complete

26 Mar 2016

An artistic pilgrimage that will make you see London in a spiritual light

You don’t have to be Christian to appreciate the ‘Stations of the Cross’ trail this Easter weekend

22 Mar 2016

Ed Ruscha mixes it up in Turin

The artist turned collector – and a display that reveals his very diverse interests

22 Mar 2016

The Met Breuer’s biggest strength is its ability to make you think

Two fresh and distinct inaugural exhibitions could set a new blueprint for the museum

17 Mar 2016

Nikolai Astrup shines outside Norway

The Norwegian painter gets some overdue recognition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery

16 Mar 2016

Mark Wallinger’s uncanny identity parade

There’s no shortage of ideas in Mark Wallinger’s psychoanalytically-inspired new show, but it’s hardly a walk on the wild side

16 Mar 2016
Group IX/SUW, No. 17. The Swan, No. 17, by Hilma af Klint.

Category error: Hilma af Klint

The Swedish painter wasn’t a pioneer, she was an anomaly

15 Mar 2016

Terrorism, anarchy and revolt in 1970s Portugal

Stan Douglas turns to espionage in his latest re-examination of cultural history

15 Mar 2016

Rocking out in Berlin

Copying prehistoric rock painting was an art in its own right – and one that had a striking impact on modernism

14 Mar 2016

A closer look at Ingres’ impossible ideals

Oddities and masterpieces abound in Spain’s first exhibition devoted to the French artist

12 Mar 2016

Smart art that will make you reconsider your smartphone

Art inspired by science can be hit and miss. But here’s an artist who really gets its beauty and complexity

9 Mar 2016

The brightly painted books that outshine Botticelli

An exhibition at the Courtauld proves few things are more tantalising than a beautiful manuscript under glass

4 Mar 2016

A collection of Victorian drawings land in the UK

Leighton House proves a perfect backdrop for a remarkable collection of drawings

25 Feb 2016

Graphic surprises from Sergei Eisenstein

The master of the Soviet avant-garde had a soft spot for England – and the works of Arthur Conan Doyle

24 Feb 2016