Untitled (Boom Box, Double-Sided) by Mary Ann Aitken is representational painting of a boom box on an unconventionally long canvas painted on both sides, to mimic the scale and appearance of the actual appliance. Known for going against trends, Aitken often favored dimensions, such as the square, that were otherwise considered out of style in contemporary painting. In this double-sided painting, one side depicts the titular boombox set up—a boxy cassette player, flanked by a pair of stereo speakers in front of wood panelling. The reverse side portrays a more abstract composition in textured and dimensional layers of black and white, with hints of yellow, red, and green. As in most of her work, the paint is layered on thick in an impasto style. Because of the slow-drying nature of oil paint, Aitken would wait days at a time for a single layer to dry before working the next layer, demonstrating a degree of patience with the medium similar to that of old masters. Time and effort are evidenced in her strokes, the visible brushwork reminds the viewer of the labor of its construction, rather than presenting a seamless representation of its subject.
Mary Ann Aitken was known to be very private about her art practice; she was considered somewhat of an outsider by her peers affiliated with the second wave of Detroit’s Cass Corridor arts movement. Aitken created observational paintings that transcribed ubiquitous imagery of still lifes and street views, some from near her parents’ home and others looking out the window of her studio. She typically employed colors reminiscent of everyday objects in ways that rendered her abstracted views of quotidian scenes unfamiliar. Aitken always followed the same routine in building up her paintings, beginning with flat strokes, then adding numerous layers over the course of months or years. Aitken’s paintings are immensely personal, yet approachable because of her use of images from everyday life.
London’s Middle Eastern art sales have defied tensions Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Israel-Hamas war news London’s Middle Eastern art sales have defied tensions Auction purchases by Arab cultural entities overcome early uncertainties of Israel-Hamas war Melissa Gronlund 7 December 2023 Share Samia Halaby’s Seventh Cross No...
The Desi Boys will show you Kolkata from the streets - 1854 Photography Subscribe latest Agenda Bookshelf Projects Industry Insights magazine Explore ANY ANSWERS FINE ART IN THE STUDIO PARENTHOOD ART & ACTIVISM FOR THE RECORD LANDSCAPE PICTURE THIS CREATIVE BRIEF GENDER & SEXUALITY MIXED MEDIA POWER & EMPOWERMENT DOCUMENTARY HOME & BELONGING ON LOCATION PORTRAITURE DECADE OF CHANGE HUMANITY & TECHNOLOGY OPINION THEN & NOW Explore Stories latest agenda bookshelf projects theme in focus industry insights magazine ANY ANSWERS FINE ART IN THE STUDIO PARENTHOOD ART & ACTIVISM FOR THE RECORD LANDSCAPE PICTURE THIS CREATIVE BRIEF GENDER & SEXUALITY MIXED MEDIA POWER & EMPOWERMENT DOCUMENTARY HOME & BELONGING ON LOCATION PORTRAITURE DECADE OF CHANGE HUMANITY & TECHNOLOGY OPINION THEN & NOW All images from Desi Boys © Soham Gupta Soham Gupta made his name capturing Kolkata’s unseen poor...
A painting reminiscent of a certain “naive primitivism,” Untitled (Colors) and Untitled (Ghost) are representative of McCarthy’s work...
Efectos de familia (Family Effects, 2007–9) is a series of 13 videos that dramatize an array of abusive events derived from Edgardo Aragón’s family’s history—specifically its involvement with organized crime...
Patria - Photographs by Oleñka Carrasco | Interview by Valeria Posada-Villada | LensCulture Feature Patria Oleñka Carrasco’s latest photobook and exhibition at the Rencontres d’Arles recounts how grief prompted her search for a lost connection with the house and land in which she grew up — Venezuela...
This work presents the image of an immolated monk engraved on a baseball bat...
Explain Me with Andy Adams of FlakPhoto: From Idyllic Photos to The Surveillance State About AFC Board AFC Editions Donate Art F City Explain Me with Andy Adams of FlakPhoto: From Idyllic Photos to The Surveillance State by Paddy Johnson and William Powhida on November 2, 2020 Explain Me + Podcast Tweet Image by Andy Adams...
The Immense Charm of Miniatures Skip to content Possibly by Streeter & Co., bicycle brooch (mid-1890s), gold, enamel, diamond, and ruby, 1 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 3/8 inches (all photos Julie Smith Schneider/Hyperallergic) BOSTON — From ancient Egypt to the modern day, miniatures have charmed humans for millennia...
The installation Breathspace by Eduardo Navarro encompasses all the content presented at the artist’s first solo exhibition, of the same name, at Gasworks, UK...
Memory Mistake of the Eldridge Cleaver Pants was created for the show Paul McCarthy’s Low Life Slow Life Part 1 , held at California College of the Arts’s Wattis Institute in 2008 and curated by McCarthy himself...
Proyecciones Espacio Odeón (Bogotá, Colombia) y Museo La Tertulia (Cali, Colombia) ¿Cómo enfrentamos la incertidumbre de estos tiempos? ¿Puede el juego, los sueños, o incluso las alucinaciones ayudarnos a imaginar otras posibles trayectorias? ¿Qué tipo de prácticas nos permiten relacionarnos con los territorios que habitamos? Tomando como punto de partida el potencial de lo inquietante en medio de una amenaza invisible, Sigo esperando es una serie de proyecciones en las fachadas del Espacio Odeón (Bogotá) y del Museo La Tertulia (Cali)...
Los Angeles museum repatriates Asante artefacts to Ghana Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Repatriation news Los Angeles museum repatriates Asante artefacts to Ghana The Fowler Museum at UCLA has repatriated seven artefacts that were taken during the Sagrenti War of 1874 Scarlet Cheng 5 February 2024 Share Unidentified member(s) of gold workers' guild (Asante peoples, Kumasi, Ghana), Royal necklace (gorget) or stool ornament; Before 1874; gold Fowler Museum at UCLA, Gift of the Wellcome Trust Seven handcrafted Asante objects have just travelled halfway around the globe to be returned, 150 years later, to the family of their original owners in Kumasi, Ghana...
Designed as an installation timed spent is determined by the viewer, as with classical sculpture, Anthems is a piece that is in place, and in time, and an important genre of video within the collection...
That $4 Thrift Shop Painting Finally Does Sell for Big Bucks - The New York Times Arts | That $4 Thrift Shop Painting Finally Does Sell for Big Bucks https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/16/arts/nc-wyeth-sale-thrift-shop.html Share full article Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The saga of the $4 thrift shop painting has a happy ending after all...