PAINTERS ON THE RADIO
Bob Dylan
Look, I just think Dylan’s artwork is fantastic, I loved the Gagosian shows, they’re weird and funny and deeply strange, like Dylan. Larry Gagosian talks about how he convinced Dylan to do the show, and even got him to show up to the opening, which is pretty insane considering Dylan doesn’t really show up to anything. He’s got a studio he works out of in Santa Monica, or maybe it’s Malibu, he keeps things shrouded in mystery, that guy. Also, Richard Prince did not make this artwork.
Kim Gordon
Gordon maybe shouldn’t even be on this list, as she’s been an artist longer than she was in a band—she went to Otis College of Art and Design, and even worked as one of Larry Gagosian’s first employees. And she’s exhibited widely the entire time, first showing with Reena Spaulings and for the last few years staging a number of solo shows at 303 Gallery—founder Lisa Spellman and Gordon met in the ’80s, they were part of the same East Village scene, all that. There’s a video work by Gordon currently up at 303, and she also has a show of work at Amant in Brooklyn.
Jewel
After a show at Crystal Bridges, Jewel staged a performance in Venice during the Biennale, and, you know, color me intrigued. There’s something real here.
David Byrne
Talking Heads invented art rock because, well, that’s what they were—artists who came together to form a punk band, as art. So it’s not quite fair to be talking about David Byrne as if he just switched from being a rock star to being an artist, but here we are. He shows at Pace and I think it’s solid work, plus he’s always at gallery openings, popping in and out on his ever present bicycle.
AUTEUR THEORY OF DIRECTORS IN GALLERIES
Bennett Miller
Miller’s staged a few great shows of his AI-generated work at Gagosian that were pretty ahead of the curve. My main complaint is, the guy was on such a heater: Capote, Moneyball, Foxcatcher, and then…no new Bennett Miller flicks. Bennett, I’m a fan of the art, but would love another film soon too.
Yorgos Lanthimos
“I’d like to take a break from making films,” he told The New York Times in March. “For now, at least.” To do what, Yorgos? Ah yes, to show your photography at art galleries. While they were taken on the sets of his films, the black-and-white works have way more to do with Diane Arbus and Robert Frank than anything informing Bugonia or Poor Things.
Harmony Korine
After years at Gagosian, Korine moved to Hauser & Wirth, where he had a show at the downtown LA space in 2023. It was great, if a little conservative for Korine—what’s great about him, and there’s so much to love about the guy, is his paintings aren’t a chance to channel inner artsy weirdness. The work might actually be the most normal stuff he’s ever made. Like, when he went on Letterman to promote a movie—that was deeply disturbing high-concept performance art. The stuff he shows at Hauser is classy. But everything Korine makes, does, says, thinks, it’s all part of this shaggy American spectrum of art-making, and I’m here for it. Maybe he’s the best example of a famous-person-slash-artist…because it’s all art.
