Cuban Painting at the LA Art Show
Tucked into the Contemporary wing of the LA Art Show was a little treasure trove of Cuban art in the booth of Miami-based gallery Cernuda Arte. Characterized by a whimsical air and intensely vibrant palettes, this selection of paintings by Cuban artists reflects the myriad influences of the European, African, Chinese, and North American cultural…
I Got a Bunny for Christmas!
This Christmas/Hexmess I got a really cool and unexpected present from ceramicist Max Lehman–one of his signature bunny sculptures. I had met Max and his partner Mark Burton when I went to Denver in November for the opening of “Toy Stories 2” at William Havu Gallery which featured Lehman’s sculptures celebrating Anahuak-Mayan culture (more on…
Baron Samedi’s Rituals of Sex and Death Rule the Fowler Museum’s In Extremis: Death and Life in 21st Century Haitian Art
West African Diasporic Religions—especially santeria and that all-American version, hoodoo—are important aspects of my belief system, and have been for decades, spawned by my Southern roots and fascination with Haiti, where the syncretic religion Vodou (popularly known as “voodoo”), combination of West African faiths and Catholicism, was one of the driving forces in the island’s…