Sydney James, Bereavement?, 2023, acrylic, acrylic gel, non-surgical masks, k-95 masks, reflective paper and fabric trim on canvas, 108 x 84”. Collection Cranbrook Art Museum. Gift of Rose M. Shuey, from the Collection of Dr. John and Rose M. Shuey, by exchange. Photo courtesy Anthony Hughes.
Celebrating Detroit Artists
How We Make the Planet Move is the inaugural exhibition highlighting the Detroit Collection at the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Started in 2016, this important permanent collection is devoted to celebrating and preserving the work of artists and designers in the Detroit metro area, focusing on artwork from the 1960s to the present day in a variety of mediums. Artists include Sydney James, Charles McGee, Joshua Rainer, Gordon Newton, Sherri Bryant and more. The show will hang through March 2, 2025.
+++
Bennett Prize 4.0 announces finalists
Ten women from across the country who paint in the figurative realist style were recently named finalists for the $50,000 Bennett Prize, the fourth iteration of the largest art award ever offered solely to women figurative realist painters. The winner and a $10,000 awardee will be named in 2025. The talented finalists of the Bennett Prize 4.0—designed to propel the careers of women artists—are Olivia Chigas, Nimah Gobir, Ambrin Ling, Salem, Jane Philips, Audrey Rodriguez, Abbey Rosko, Nicole M. Santiago, Amy Werntz, Helena Wurzel and Rei Xiao. An all-woman jury of artists, educators and curators selected the 10 finalists from hundreds of entries.
+++
COMPLEX DREAMS installation view at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, 2024. Photo by Kyle Flubacker Photography.
Complex Dreams
A groundbreaking exhibition at Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum features the artwork of Canadian sculptor Esmaa Mohamoud. Shining a spotlight on the experiences of young Black girls, COMPLEX DREAMS includes ethereal sculptures and installations by Mohamoud that respond directly to the unique, Zaha Hadid-designed architecture of the MSU Broad Art Museum and “explores the transformative power of art to express the enduring perseverance and strength of Black girlhood in the face of great adversity.” The exhibition will be available to explore through February 16, 2025.
+++
Stephen W. Douglas (1949-2024), Maria, 1994, oil on panel, 10 x 8"
Stephen Douglas passes away
Artist Stephen W. Douglas passed away in August after a months-long battle with cancer. An important figure in the resurgence of figurative painting in Southern California in the 1990s, Douglas created figurative works, landscapes, historical and allegorical portraits, tree portraits and more. One of Douglas’ most famous works is a depiction of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The artist’s work has been exhibited at institutions across the country including the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Washburn Mulvane Museum, Arnot Museum, Laguna Beach Museum, Frye Art Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art.
+++
Charles Gaines, Numbers and Trees: Arizona Series 1, Tree #3, Agua Caliente, 2023, acrylic sheet, acrylic paint and photograph in three parts, 951/8 x 132½ x 6”. © Charles Gaines. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Keith Lubow.
Charles Gaines at Phoenix Art Museum
Known for converting images and text-based documents into numerical structures, musical notations and other sign systems, renowned conceptual artist Charles Gaines creates artwork that challenges notions of modern aesthetics, politics and philosophy. On view through summer 2025, the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona debuts the complete series of the most recent body of work by Gaines, Numbers and Trees: Arizona Trees 1, 2023. This new series features eight large-scale triptychs depicting cottonwoods that were photographed along the San Pedro River outside Sierra Vista, Arizona. —Powered by Froala Editor
