Edward M. Gómez / ARTICLES 2013

“Japan’s ‘mingei’ elevate the everyday to art: New book celebrates country’s enduring folk-craft tradition,” article about the history of mingei and Kentaro Hagihara’s Nippon no Ustukushii Mingei (Japan’s Beautiful Folk Craft), published by X-Knowledge, Tokyo, Nikkei Asian Review, December 25, 2020; .pdf version here.　

“Tokyo Finds a Home for ‘Raw’ Art: Contemporary work by the self-taught gains recognition on Japan’s gallery scene,” review of In a Sky Full of Shining Stars, Unknown Gems Can Be Found, an exhibition at the new Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Nikkei Asian Review, November 7, 2020.

“Monumental Art No Bigger than a Postcard: Toying with blob-like shapes and the illusion of depth, the Austrian self-taught artist Leopold Strobl packs mystery and expressive power into small-scale drawing-collages,” review of Strobl’s exhibition at Ricco/Maresca, New York, Hyperallergic, November 7, 2020.

Review of Pathologie du cadre: Quand l’art brut s’éclate (Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit, 2020), the new book by the Swiss art historian and curator Michel Thévoz, the founding director of the Collection de l’Art Brut museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Published on RAW VISION’s website, October 23, 2020, in English and French. Forthcoming in RAW VISION (U.K.), issue no. 107, winter 2020/2021, print edition, in English.

Review of L’imagier singulier de François Jauvion (Paris: Éditions lelivredart in collaboration with Galerie Hervé Courtaigne, 2020). See separate entry about this book, below. Published on RAW VISION’s website, October 23, 2020, in English and French. Forthcoming in RAW VISION (U.K.), issue no. 107, winter 2020/2021, print edition, in English.

“When Japan Reinvented Filmmaking: A new book looks at a heady time in the 1960s, when avant-garde Japanese artists explored genre-blending intermedia and expanded cinema,” review of the new book Japanese Expanded Cinema and Intermedia: Critical Texts of the 1960s (Berlin: Archive Books, published in conjunction with Collaborative Cataloging Japan, 2020), Hyperallergic, October 17, 2020.

“Tom of Finland Comes to Japan: Out, proud, and unabashedly homoerotic, the gay artist’s iconic imagery has become an international symbol of freedom,” review of the first-ever exhibition of Tom of Finland’s drawings, on view at Gallery X, Shibuya Parco, Tokyo, Hyperallergic, September 26, 2020.

“Adolf Wölfli,” brief essay, in French, about the Swiss art brut creator Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930) in L’imagier singulier de François Jauvion (Paris: Éditions lelivredart in collaboration with Galerie Hervé Courtaigne, 2020), p. 30. In this book, the French contemporary artist François Jauvion pays homage to the legendary self-taught art-makers in the canon of art brut and outsider art. Jauvion has produced his own drawing honoring the life and work of each artist, from such Europeans as Aloïse Corbaz, Wölfli, and the Facteur Cheval, to Henry Darger, Nek Chand, Scottie Wilson, and many more.

“The Life of an Anti-establishment ‘Rock Star’: In a first-ever biography of the recently deceased, Polish-born sociologist and theorist, there are lessons for creative people — and everyone else — about perseverance and personal truth,” review of Bauman: A Biography, by Izabela Wagner, a new book about the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, Hyperallergic, August 29, 2020.

“The Prison Drawings of Frank Jones,” critical essay about the life and work of the Texas-born outsider artist who died in 1969, published on the occasion of an exhibition of his drawings at Shrine, New York City, Hyperallergic, August 29, 2020.

“In Texas, Murray Smither’s Renowned Collection Comes to Market,” report about a series of exhibitions at Webb Gallery, Waxahachie, Texas, featuring works from a well-known, Dallas-based collector and former art dealer’s personal collection, RAW VISION (U.K.) website, August 27, 2020.

“In Focus and In Depth: Frank Jones Drawings at Shrine, New York,” article about the showing of works by the well-known, Texas-born outsider artist, with background information about the sources of the rarely exhibited works, published on the website of RAW VISION (U.K.), August 27, 2020.

“When Writing Has No Meaning: Scrivere Disegnando is an exhibition of more than 300 works produced by 93 artists whose subject is imaginary language,” review of the book associated with an exhibition at the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève in Geneva, Switzerland, Hyperallergic, August 8, 2020.

“A Triennale In Tune With Our Pandemic-Affected Moment: In the face of climate change, economic and political convulsions, and the coronavirus pandemic, it is our modes of living and of occupying our planet that we must urgently modify,” review of the 2020 Yohohama Triennale, Hyperallergic, August 1, 2020.

“Shaking Up the Ethnographic Museum: In a new book, the curator and art historian Clémentine Deliss proposes that ‘ethnographic’ artifacts be reconsidered, remediated — and maybe even returned to their original owners,” review of the new book The Metabolic Museum (Hatje Cantz, 2020), by Clémetine Deliss, Hyperallergic, July 18, 2020.

“Fighting to Save a Fringe Landmark: One of central London’s few remaining alternative arts venues struggles to survive in the face of a 333% rent increase,” report about the fate of the Horse Hospital arts center, Hyperallergic, July 4, 2020.

Obituary of the Iranian art brut/outsider artist Davood Koochaki (1939-2020), published on RAW VISION’s website, June 27, 2020, and in RAW VISION (U.K.), issue no. 106, summer 2020, print edition, page 11.

“Hauntingly Beautiful Photos for an Anxious Moment: On Instagram, Kana Hashimoto’s images of nocturnal Tokyo unwittingly capture the odd feeling of suspended time itself as the coronavirus pandemic drags on,” Hyperallergic, June 20, 2020.

Review of Le Livre de Pierre (Paris: Éditions Alia, 2020), a new book about the life and work of the Italian art brut creator Fernando Nannetti (1927-1994), by the art historian and curator Lucienne Peiry, a former director of the Collection de l’Art Brut museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Published on RAW VISION’s website, June 21, 2020, in English and French, and in RAW VISION (U.K.), issue no. 106, summer 2020, print edition, in English, PDF here.

“Malcolm McLaren’s Life of Chaos, Music, and Art: In a new, in-depth biography, Paul Gorman offers a vivid portrait of the postmodernist impresario who conjured up punk’s angry pose, the Sex Pistols, and much more,” Hyperallergic, May 23, 2020.

“The Media’s Brave New World: Two new books focusing on journalism and news, and on how they are delivered, offer expansive visions of what ‘the media’ have become,” Hyperallergic, May 9, 2020.

“How Alexander Calder Made Modern Art Move: In the second volume of a definitive biography, the art critic Jed Perl recalls how the innovative artist revolutionized sculpture,” Hyperallergic, Apr. 25, 2020.

“I’m Always Looking for Artists’ Energy: Interview with Edward M. Gómez,” by Hideki Inoue, with photos by Munemasa Takahashi; published in Japanese; Diversity in the Arts PAPER (Tokyo), Apr. 17, 2020. Discussion of art brut, outsider art, and disabled artists in Japan.

“A Photographer’s Travels Across the Real American West: In a new book, the photographer Peter Kayafas captures the contemporary soul of a region long obscured by its own enduring myths,” Hyperallergic, Apr. 11, 2020.

“A Soaring Visionary of Afrofuturism and Black Power: In Atlanta, the pride-affirming work of the African American self-taught artist Charles Williams comes into focus in a new, well-researched exhibition,” Hyperallergic, Mar. 28, 2020.

“The Art of Perception: In a new exhibition, the Chinese artist Guo Hongwei uses watercolor to vividly depict nature’s forms — and gently tease the eye,” Hyperallergic, Mar. 14, 2020.

“Issei Nishimura’s Soulful, Expressionistic Art: Intense and deeply personal, the Japanese self-taught artist’s work, now in its first-ever New York solo survey, defies easy labels,” Hyperallergic, Feb. 8, 2020.

“Keeping It Odd — and Real — at the 2020 Outsider Art Fair: With a broader, more international scope, this year’s gathering will offer fresh discoveries at every turn,” Hyperallergic, Jan. 11, 2020.