Photography & Art

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s 'Sixties Surreal' exhibit focuses on the decade that best exemplified the irreparable rupture in society. Over a hundred artworks from 1958 to 1972 from a diverse group of artists nationwide found resonance in the earlier movement.

Ukonu’s intricate ballpoint pen drawings command the viewer’s attention with striking monochromatic blue hues, emphasizing sociocultural dialogue around collective identity, and existential interconnectedness.

This is, above all, a hallowed monument to art since its conversion to a museum in 1935. But the atmosphere of beauty and timelessness remains. And visitors can forgive themselves for a precious hour or two for feeling downright giddy.

Amy Sherald became an instant celebrity when her iconic portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama entered the public consciousness. It is a startingly elegant depiction of a beloved, charismatic American figure.

Conjure a painter who possessed all the qualities of a true bon vivant – youthful charm, sophistication, good looks, and bold ambition. Such accolades are startling considering they defined a precocious 18-year-old American who managed in one extraordinary decade (1874 to the mid-80s) of his stay to create portraits and figure studies to dazzle the harshest critics of the Paris Salon.

In November 1911, the French banker Albert Kahn revealed his plans for an undertaking that was global in scale and utopian in its horizons: He aimed to document the whole of humanity, to “fix once and for all, the look, practices, and modes of human activity whose fatal disappearance is just a question of time.”

Set to debut on March 15th in the Main Gallery, marking the kickoff of the legendary toy company’s year-long 80th anniversary celebration, the show will feature new and original, one-of-a-kind artwork, inspired by Mattel’s iconic brands, from over 80 visionary artists around the globe.