Queere Heilige, große Egos
Andrew Durbin's new biography examines the intertwined lives of artists Peter Hujar and Paul Thek, focusing on their art, desire, and self-staging. The review notes that while the book covers their creative circles—including figures like David Wojnarowicz, Divine, John Waters, and Susan Sontag—it loses sight of the urgent political and social context that animated their work, particularly the AIDS crisis and Reagan-era repression.
The Swiss architect Peter Zumthor's new $724 million building for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), now called the David Geffen Galleries, has opened after nearly two decades of anticipation. The swooping concrete-and-glass structure is praised for its harnessing of natural light and horizontality, creating a stunning showcase for antiquities and inviting the city inside with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the La Brea Tar Pits and Wilshire Boulevard. The building performs best with sculpture and decorative objects, with standout works including Liz Glynn's "The Futility of Conquest" (2023) and Manjunath Kamath's "Vikatonarva" (2024).
The David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will open to the public on Sunday, May 3, after 20 years of development. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the 900-foot-long horizontal glass and concrete structure overlooks the La Brea Tar Pits and stretches over Wilshire Boulevard. The main floor, elevated 30 feet above street level, offers 110,000 square feet of gallery space for LACMA’s permanent collection. The inaugural exhibition is inspired by four major bodies of water—the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea—and features works by artists including Todd Gray, Do Ho Suh, Lauren Halsey, Tavares Strachan, Jeff Koons, and Diego Rivera. The building also includes open plazas, an outdoor public space, and an Erewhon Cafe, with a larger restaurant and wine bar planned for fall 2026.
Cowley Abbott Fine Art, a Toronto-based auction house, has opened its first permanent western Canada gallery in Calgary's East Village. The new space launches with a three-day public preview of museum-quality artworks heading to its Spring Live Auction on May 27 at the Globe and Mail Centre in Toronto. Highlights include rare works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Emily Carr, and members of the Group of Seven such as Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson. Among the standout pieces is Emily Carr's 1936 canvas "Wind," estimated at $500,000 to $700,000, and a Lawren Harris painting valued similarly. The gallery aims to attract both collectors and casual visitors, with Peter Ohler, Western Canada Representative and Director of Private Sales, emphasizing that the space is open to anyone interested in art.
The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, will open two exhibitions in May 2025: "Architecture of the Dalí" on May 2, tracing the museum's history from its 1980s origins to its current bayfront structure, and "Dalí in America" on May 9, featuring over 70 works exploring Salvador Dalí's vision of the United States. Other notable openings include "Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan" at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art (May 9), multidisciplinary artist Babs Reingold's solo show "After Venus" at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg (May 15), and "Cigars! Photography, Industry, and Identity" at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, commemorating Ybor City's cigar-rolling history. Additional events include Florida NOW at Florida CraftArt, Charles Morrison's "Head in the Sky, Feet on the Ground" at the Morean Center for Clay, and a photography contest sponsored by FloridaRAMA and St. Petersburg Month of Photography.