@mlobelart
Professor of Art History, Hunter College & CUNY Graduate Center. I look at things and then write about them. Author of Van Gogh and the End of Nature, from Yale University Press: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300274363/van-g
Édouard Vuillard, The Newspaper, 1896-98, showing a woman reading a newspaper in a decorated interior
If I were to recommend only a single exhibition in NYC right now it wouldn't be a big, splashy museum presentation but rather a small, ravishing show of Édouard Vuillard's early interiors at Skarstedt in Chelsea. Absolutely stupendous. Open through April 25 (thread) www.skarstedt.com/exhibitions/...
I already know I'm going to go back several times because those paintings are just so small and visually dense and heartbreakingly gorgeous
Painting of a female figure at or walking through a door
Characteristically, one of my favorite works in the show is also one of the smallest & simplest: Édouard Vuillard, "Woman in Front of a Glass-Partitioned Door," c. 1891
Painting, composed of many dots of different colors, of an old woman at a sink
Pointillism gone wild: Édouard Vuillard, "Grandmother at the Sink," c. 1890
Painting of a man at a desk in an interior space
Édouard Vuillard, "At the Revue Blanche (Portrait of Felix Feneon)," c. 1896-1901, from the Guggenheim Museum collection
Édouard Vuillard, The Newspaper, 1896-98, showing a woman reading a newspaper in a decorated interior
If I were to recommend only a single exhibition in NYC right now it wouldn't be a big, splashy museum presentation but rather a small, ravishing show of Édouard Vuillard's early interiors at Skarstedt in Chelsea. Absolutely stupendous. Open through April 25 (thread) www.skarstedt.com/exhibitions/...
Image of a woman crucified on a cross, in a gas mask, with large text reading "it's our pleasure to disgust you," and smaller text elements, including "forget heroes," "forget morality," "forget innocence," et al.
"It's our pleasure to disgust you": Barbara Kruger made this in 1991 but it seems pretty relevant right now tbh www.moca.org/collection/w...
Four men, one of them shirtless and tattooed, stand around watching a seated instructor finishing a pastel drawing
Reminds me of one of my favorite 1930s era photos: Members of the WPA Federal Art Project art class at the Seamen's Institute, NYC, 1935. I can't quite understand why you'd be shirtless in a pastel drawing class, but maybe he was the model..? www.aaa.si.edu/collections/...
Four men, one of them shirtless and tattooed, stand around watching a seated instructor finishing a pastel drawing
Reminds me of one of my favorite 1930s era photos: Members of the WPA Federal Art Project art class at the Seamen's Institute, NYC, 1935. I can't quite understand why you'd be shirtless in a pastel drawing class, but maybe he was the model..? www.aaa.si.edu/collections/...
Edelman’s personal favorite is an haute couture piece that the French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier made for the 20th anniversary of the first gay pride celebration in Brussels in 2015, which Gaultier insisted on presenting in person.
Yes I know there are important things happening in the world, but as a pedant who cares about writing this NYT sentence bothers me. It should read "...Gaultier made in 2015 for..," to reduce confusion between the first celebration & its 20th anniversary. That is all www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/a...
Poster for Hunter College BFA & MFA Open Studios Saturday March 14 5-9pm 205 Hudson Street
If you're in the NYC area and interested in what younger artists are up to, the @huntercollege.bsky.social open studios event—next Saturday March 14, 5-9pm at 205 Hudson Street—is always a blast, a great way to see many different types of art all in one place. Come join us..!
Pizza Man
Amery, WI
Cartoon-like ad for Canadian airline Porter with text, "Fly non-stop to Ottawa" and image of a cartoon raccoon (I guess it's a raccoon?) taking a photo of Louise Bourgeois's sculpture "Maman" outside of the National Gallery of Canada
Don't think I would have foreseen a Canadian airline using a Louise Bourgeois sculpture in its advertising, but if your cartoon raccoon mascot wants to take a photo of a contemporary artwork I'm here for it
Painter's dropcloth with drips and spatters reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting
The painters here @huntercollege.bsky.social are doing some work on nearby offices and I have to say I'm kind of loving this #AccidentalJacksonPollock
#OnThisDay in 1985, @newyorker.com published this stunning illustration by Eugene Mihaesco titled “City Walkways in the Sky,” depicting Hunter College’s iconic Skybridge over 68th Street and Lexington Avenue. #TheMoreYouKnow #HunterPride 💜 ✨️ 🌟
Cartoon-like ad for Canadian airline Porter with text, "Fly non-stop to Ottawa" and image of a cartoon raccoon (I guess it's a raccoon?) taking a photo of Louise Bourgeois's sculpture "Maman" outside of the National Gallery of Canada
Don't think I would have foreseen a Canadian airline using a Louise Bourgeois sculpture in its advertising, but if your cartoon raccoon mascot wants to take a photo of a contemporary artwork I'm here for it
Thanks for sharing!
Simple black and white drawing of a cat, who's looking out at us, adorably
One more adorable cat illustration by Félix Vallotton, from Der bunte Vogel von achtzehnhundertundsiebenundneunzig, 1896 archive.org/details/voge...
Painting of a stage-like setting with a spotlight on the ground, in which appear a tiger laying on a clown. They seem to be kind of chilling together I guess, although it could be viewed in a more sinister way, not sure
Today's mood: Wayne Thiebaud, "Clown & Beast," 2018-19
How I arrived on Bluesky
Artwork by Lutz Bacher: a B&W photo of Marlon Brando with added text, "Every night fifty million women get into bed to masturbate, thinking of sex with Marlon Brando"
Lutz Bacher, "Jokes (Brando)," 1987-88
Painting of a stack of books, including an art book on Degas
Wayne Thiebaud, "Stack of Books," 1991-92
Painting of a stage-like setting with a spotlight on the ground, in which appear a tiger laying on a clown. They seem to be kind of chilling together I guess, although it could be viewed in a more sinister way, not sure
Today's mood: Wayne Thiebaud, "Clown & Beast," 2018-19
it me
diagram showing how a film set might simulate an underwater view, with the arrangement (from left to right) of a film camera, an aquarium, a woman dressed as a mermaid, and three sheets
my article on Georges Méliès and aquariums—the first thing published from my dissertation—is now out open access at @jcmsjournal.bsky.social!!
read on to see how fairy tale grottoes, Jules Verne's science fiction, and water infrastructure are all connected!!!
quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/i...
TIL actor Noah Wyle's grandmother Edith founded the Craft & Folk Art Museum (now known as the Craft Contemporary) in Los Angeles
-First things first, congrats- this is such wonderful news!!🥳
-Also, just curious: did the onboarding process involve them showing you plentiful Alf hog pictures..?
Art historian dipping in to ask, where did you go for your MFA? Just curious-
Fellow writers, colleagues, comrades, are you seeking a writing fellowship? Let me invite you to apply for the 2026 Artlab Editorial Fellowship. artlab.hyundai.com/editorial/20...
