Conservation

Mevlana Lipp’s Sculptural Paintings on Velvet Glimpse Otherworldly Alternate Realities

“Velvet paintings” may evoke visions of midcentury kitsch, thanks to artists like Edgar Leetig (1904-1953) and a demand for mass-produced decor. But that phenomenon is only a fraction of the history of painting on velvet, a tradition that is believed to have emerged in Kashmir, where the fabric was first produced. The silky material’s fine […]

Conservation

Embraced by Wildflowers, Black Figures Emerge Defiantly Resilient in Yashua Klos’s Collaged Portraits

Early in the morning of July 23, 1967, police raided an after-hours, unlicensed bar known colloquially as a “blind pig”—a speakeasy—on the Near West Side of Detroit. Law enforcement expected only a few customers inside, but to their surprise, more than 80 people were in attendance for a party celebrating GIs returning from the Vietnam […]