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A show to see

I can't really review the Noriko Sakanishi show at June Fitzpatrick, partly because the schedule doesn't work out, but also because I've written about her...
By Ken Greenleaf | February 20, 2010

At the tag end of a dispiriting day of gallery visiting I happened into the Bowdoin College Museum to see their collection of Warhol Polaroids matched with a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting. That's a sure recipe for ongoing gloom, but it was on my way, so
American painters cross the pond
By KEN GREENLEAF | February 05, 2010

Half-century

The big 50th-anniversary exhibition at the Colby College Museum of Art has only about a month left of its eight-month run, so it seems like a good time to revisit this sprawling and worthwhile show.
Highlights of Colby's collection
By KEN GREENLEAF | January 29, 2010

On the Death of Kenneth Noland

Ken Noland died a few days ago, here in Maine at Port Clyde. He was nearly the last of a generation of fine painters who...
By Ken Greenleaf | January 08, 2010

Cut it out

"Collage: Piecing it Together" at the Portland Museum of Art is a somewhat rambling look at a process that came into use in the beginning of the 20th century as a cubist process bringing images, colors, and shapes together that were previously used els
Collage-making is about the details
By KEN GREENLEAF | January 08, 2010

Hope and energy

As we launch into the next decade with a collapsing economy and apocalyptic themes bleeding into every facet of culture, it's particularly hard to be optimistic about the arts, as yes, they are often the first to go.
Looking ahead to Maine's art scene in 2010
By ANNIE LARMON | January 01, 2010

A special Maine feel

This may be remembered as the year that the Center for Maine Contemporary Art smashed headlong into a fiscal brick wall, and at this writing it is not clear if, after its current show closes this week, it will open again in the spring.
Exhibitions to remember from 2009
By KEN GREENLEAF | December 25, 2009

Jack of all trades

Ken Greenleaf is a pretty familiar name around here. His byline has accompanied art reviews for this paper and others dating back to the late '70s. Among other things, I have heard him touted as an "authority on modernism."
Ken Greenleaf moves from the word to the walls
By ANNIE LARMON | December 18, 2009

Arc printing

For more than 50 years David Driskell, in his art and his distinguished academic career, has been a creative force in the intersection of modernist art and the African diaspora.
David Driskell’s PMA retrospective
By KEN GREENLEAF | November 20, 2009

Heartfelt Thanks

I just finished reading the piece Ken Greenleaf wrote about my dear friend of blessed memory, Bob Solotaire.
Letters to the Portland Editor, November 6, 2009
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | November 06, 2009

Jazz on paper

A gem of a show, two shows really, has quietly appeared at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Romare Bearden's improv collage
By KEN GREENLEAF | October 23, 2009

Deep layers

Throughout his long career Mark Wethli's work has been studied, careful, and formally rigorous.
Mark Wethli's latest work is some of his best
By KEN GREENLEAF | September 25, 2009

Retro for fall

Leaves are turning, roads aren't crowded; it's time to look ahead for interest in the fall art season.
Major artists of Maine's past go on display
By KEN GREENLEAF | September 18, 2009

Growth + maturity

The Phoenix 's first 10 years in Portland roughly bracket the period during which I stopped writing about art.
Portland's art scene has changed quite a lot
By KEN GREENLEAF | September 18, 2009

A decade gone by

This week, we at the Portland Phoenix celebrate 10 years of serving Portland and Maine as your news, arts, and entertainment authority.
Where Portland has come since 1999, and why we can't really even imagine what's coming in 2019
By JEFF INGLIS | September 18, 2009

Time for law to end torture

In a collaborative effort between human-rights activists and incarcerated Mainers, a bill to end the use and abuse of solitary confinement has been drafted and will be submitted to legislators soon.
Letters to the Portland Editor, September 18, 2009
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | September 18, 2009

Idealist views

The path through my various responsibilities has led me to the Portland Museum several times in recent weeks, and along most of the floors. While passing through the Julia Margaret Cameron exhibit of photography I was struck by thoughts about templates
Three shows at the PMA explore truth
By KEN GREENLEAF | August 28, 2009

Building up

In the current show at the June Fitzpatrick Gallery at the Maine College of Art in Portland, we see two generations of 20th-century modernist painting.
Inspired modernists Cutler and Thon
By KEN GREENLEAF | August 21, 2009

Growing Maine art

Long ago an art critic of my acquaintance remarked that New York was a border town to Europe, and until fairly recently that was true. Artistic ideas would be born in Europe, often France, and migrate slowly across the Atlantic and take root.
PMA exhibit examines the influence of colonies
By KEN GREENLEAF | August 07, 2009

Lesson from a master

Philippe de Montebello retired at the end of last year from his position as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after 31 years. During his tenure, the museum nearly doubled in size to two million square feet and increased its collect
Legendary Met director will take your questions
By KEN GREENLEAF | July 17, 2009

More than words

What are we to make of Robert Indiana? His is generally considered part of the Pop art group of artists who came into prominence in the late '60s, along with Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Roy Lichtenstein, and though he is not perhaps as highly re
The Farnsworth's Robert Indiana retrospective
By KEN GREENLEAF | July 10, 2009

Weight + measure

The centerpiece, conceptually and physically, of Aaron Stephan's show at Whitney Art Works is "Flat World/Round Map," a cast-iron sphere about six feet in diameter. While not exactly the largest ( "18 Columns" covers more ground and "The Burden Crates"
Aaron Stephan's sculpture takes center stage
By KEN GREENLEAF | June 19, 2009

Summer people

Ever wonder why there is so much professional-level art made and shown in Maine, a state with a total population less than that of many minor cities? One answer is that following the fame of people like Winslow Homer, creative types flocked to Maine, o
Artists have long visited Maine, too
By KEN GREENLEAF | June 12, 2009

Happy meeting

An artistic intersection between Joseph Nicoletti and Ying Li happened in northern Italy. These very different painters from widely differing backgrounds found common interest in the Italian landscape, and have made paintings whose similarities illumina
Divergent approaches, the same landscape
By KEN GREENLEAF | May 22, 2009

Close focus

Aucocisco has opened its new premises with a show of small paintings by Mary Hart. The new space on Exchange Street is spare and elegant, and so, in their own way, are Hart's little paintings.
Mary Hart's small paintings demand attention
By KEN GREENLEAF | May 15, 2009

The power of 'Cool'

"New York Cool" is required viewing for anyone who has an interest in contemporary American art. Comprised of nearly 80 works, the show, at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art through July 19.
A contemporary-art show at Bowdoin is a must-see
By KEN GREENLEAF | April 24, 2009

Restoring a master

When Marc Chagall died in 1985 at the age of 98 he was internationally famous, wealthy, and had lived to see a museum built for him by the French government.
A new biography seeks to redefine Marc Chagall's place in art history
By KEN GREENLEAF | March 25, 2009

Familiar paths

Terry Hilt's show of watercolors at Aucocisco provides an opportunity to consider the role of modernism in today's art.
Terry Hilt sheds new light on Maine's coast
By KEN GREENLEAF | March 18, 2009

The sad ghost of postmodernism

It sticks around, but doesn't always work.

By KEN GREENLEAF | February 26, 2009

Easy on the eyes

"The Funnies" at Whitney Art Works is a sprawling show of upwards of 150 pieces by 25 artists, all of whom have been brought together by local artist — Jeff Badger.
At Whitney Art Works, "The Funnies" directly engage viewers with 150 pieces by 25 artists.
By KEN GREENLEAF | February 25, 2009

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