The Devil’s Company: A Book Review
I’m a big fan of Benjamin Weaver, the Jewish prize-figher turned “thief taker,” who is the hero of David Liss’s The Devil’s Company, the third in the series of crime novels set in 18th century London. (The other two are The Whiskey
Dear Gary Lang
Dear Gary, I trust this finds you thriving, and as deeply immersed in your work as ever. I wanted to report back to you on the “One Hour/One Painting” session with one of your paintings at the Museum of Art
RICHARD JACKSON at Orange County Museum of Art
If you’re in the area, don’t miss the rare opportunity for a Richard Jackson retrospective exhibition at the Orange County Museum of Art. In fact, it’s worth traveling a good long way to see: I’m surprised to be informed that it
The Sense of An Ending by Julian Barnes – A Book Review
I read the last pages of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes before turning out the light last night. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I wanted to like the narrator more than I
A Late Quartet – Movie Review
We stumbled upon this marvelous film the other night. I was scrolling through my Apple TV movie selections and came upon this title, A Late Quartet, that rang a bell as having something to do with Beethoven. So we downloaded, and
One Hour/One Painting – Laguna Art Museum
Another good session last night, this time at Laguna Art Museum–the first of another series of three–with a fine painting by Allison Schulnik. Working with thick, juicy layer of paint, laid on directly from the tube, impasto’ed, applied with heavy brush
ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC
I was delighted, a while ago, to be invited by Berenson Fine Art in Toronto to write a catalogue text for Aleksandar Antonijevic, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada who is also a remarkable photographer. I had
THE FEAR PROJECT: Book Review
Jaimal Yogis is the kind of writer who is willing to plumb the depths of his own lived experience—and his own heart—for his material. I’m not surprised to find him quoting Michel de Montaigne , the granddaddy of this approach to
SPIELBERG’S LINCOLN
We saw Lincoln yesterday. It’s a fine piece of historical drama, with a flawlessly credible performance by Daniel Day Lewis of Lincoln as the most melancholy of men, faced with the dire situation of Americans at war with Americans, the evil of
Caravaggio
I’ve no doubt I’ll have more thoughts about Caravaggio–and more informed ones–when I’ve finished reading the new book about him, Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane, by Andrew Graham-Dixon. I bought it at the museum bookshop on leaving the current
The Art Dockuments, Carlton Davis
As anyone knows who has followed its fortunes over the past few decades, the story of contemporary art in Los Angeles has been a peripatetic one. The center of energy has shifted variously from La Cienega to La Brea to
BOOK REVIEW: John Grisham, “The Confession”
It’s hard to explain why I keep reading a book as dreadfully bad as John Grisham’s The Confession to the end. In part it’s out of that old addiction I have written about before: the need to know how the story will
