I've spent the better part of the past two decades writing on the politics of culture and the culture of politics. On that note, I hold the dubious honor of having stories published on the same day in both The Wall Street Journal (chronicling a visit to the Cuban government's radio broadcasting facility in Havana, complete with one of the F.B.I's then-Most Wanted American radicals behind the studio's microphone) and in Us Weekly magazine (tracking "Bennifer," the brief initial union of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck that turned South Beach upside down). It's still a toss-up as to who was more personally intimidating -- Cuban state security or J.Lo's bodyguards.
The New York Times:
After Fake Basquiats, Orlando Museum Faces “Severe Financial Crisis”
The Orlando Museum of Art, which mounted a major Basquiat exhibition of works that were later exposed as forgeries, is facing a large shortfall amid high legal fees.
Miami Has Matured into a Cultural Capital. What’s Next?
Thirty years ago, the city was barely on the art world’s radar. Now, partly because of Art Basel, it has become a global hot spot. But can it manage its growing pains?
Orlando Museum’s Ex-Leader Countersues, Insisting ‘Basquiats’ Are Real
The museum previously accused its former director, Aaron De Groft, of using the institution to try to legitimize fake works for personal profit.
Orlando Museum Ex-Chief Sued Over Fake Basquiats
The museum filed a lawsuit accusing Aaron De Groft, and others, of using the institution to try to legitimize fake works they planned to sell.
Masks Off, Wallets Out: Art Basel 2022
On the 20th anniversary of Art Basel Miami Beach, its largest edition yet, the two Miamis — its emerging artists and its big collectors — meet across the gap.
An Orlando Museum’s Disputed Basquiats Are Gone. Its Leadership Is, Too.
In the wake of an F.B.I. raid, the crisis at the Orlando Museum of Art deepened amid upheaval on its board and the resignation of its interim director.
After Basquiat Raid, Orlando Museum Faces Crisis of Credibility
As OMA cancels three shows, some donors shift their support — and a celebrated collection — to the Rollins Museum of Art.
Orlando Museum Director Loses Job After Disputed Basquiat Show
Aaron De Groft was removed from his position days after the F.B.I. seized 25 works that had been shown in a Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit and whose authenticity had been questioned.
F.B.I. Raids Orlando Museum and Removes Basquiat Paintings
All 25 works in the museum’s Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition were seized by the F.B.I. An affidavit called into question their origin and their authenticity.
F.B.I. Investigates Basquiat Paintings Shown at Orlando Museum of Art
A subpoena raises questions about an exhibition of works “purported to be by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.”
In Miami, a Ukrainian Art Show Becomes Unintentionally Timely
A Kyiv couple stage a socially charged exhibition in South Florida as their Voloshyn Gallery back home becomes a bomb shelter.
In Orlando, 25 Mysterious Basquiats Come Under the Magnifying Glass
Paintings said to be by the artist were found in the storage unit of a Hollywood screenwriter. Will a museum show resolve questions about their authenticity — or raise new ones?
Art Basel Miami Beach Returns, Smaller but Ready to Party
This year’s tropical circus features hundreds of galleries, institutions proudly exhibiting homegrown work, and an array of NFT-themed gatherings.
After Half a Century, White Columns Still Surprises
New York’s longest running alternative art space celebrates its own near-mythic history.
For Maya Lin, a Victory Lap Gives Way to Mourning
Lin’s redesigned Neilson Library at Smith College is interwoven with her own life story. But any triumph is muted by the sudden death of her husband, Daniel Wolf.
The Great Art Behind Hunter S. Thompson’s Run for Sheriff
A new show in Manhattan displays the visceral posters for the gonzo journalist’s “Freak Power” campaign in 1970.
Art Basel Miami Beach Was Canceled, but the Show Goes On
As Covid-19 deaths rose, museums rolled out new shows. Socialite Libbie Mugrabi is planning a dinner for the ages. Is Miami’s art world clueless?
Can a New Arts Center Save Provincetown?
Ken Fulk is seeking to revitalize the creative spirit of a “crazy little sliver of sand.”
Five Art Books to Read This Summer
As the art world mulls a return to “normalcy,” publishers mine the archives of artists who found their own counterpaths.
In Seoul, the Art World Gets Back to Business
Art galleries remain shuttered around the world but in South Korea, they reopen — with contact tracing and masks.
Community Radio Fights to Stay Live (and Weird) Despite Coronavirus
Local stations have cut down on D.J.s coming to the studio, but playlists and personalities are holding strong.
Debts of Gratitude Paid in Paintings, Silkscreens and Collages
The novelist Rachel Kushner also writes about art. Her collection is a reminder of those essays and features.
Art Basel Miami, Where Big Money Meets Bigger Money
The art world’s tribes converge in Miami Beach for the country’s most important art fair.
A Cinderella Story for the Miami Art Scene’s New $100 Million Player
The ArtCenter/South Florida is planning to build a 40,000-square-foot art center in Little Haiti
36 Hours in Miami and Miami Beach
The area has South Beach, but other neighborhoods also lure visitors with music, galleries, and a tasty food scene
It’s No Secret: They Like a Little Espionage
When governments are crumbling, H. Keith Melton is knocking on the doors of intelligence agencies with cash in hand
Amid the Fanfare, Cracks in a Glittering Facade
Art Basel Miami Beach was bustling, but challenges may lie ahead for the arts scene there
Show Us Your Warhol!
Andy’s portraits of the rich and famous are his biggest body of work. So what was it like facing Warhol’s camera?
When Islands Were Shocking (and Pink)
In Miami, a look back at Christo and Jeanne-Claude's once-divisive project
From ‘80s Street Art to Graphic Novels. And Back.
After 40 years, Richard McGuire's handmade "Ixnae Nix" street posters come out of the drawer and into two new solo shows
A Provincetown Breeze Drifts Indoors With Local Art
A couple capture the artistic heritage of their resort town
Lee Quiñones Brings Street Art to His Living Room
A veteran of the graffiti wars showcases the journey of New York's street artists out of the subways and into museums
"LOVE" and Other Four-Letter Words
Somewhere in Robert Indiana's home in Maine there may exist an early version of his famous image – one that will startle his fans
The Water Will Come, but Not Here
A Miami Beach house was built to endure floods and provide thrills
When It Comes to Contemporary Art, Miami Wants More, More, More
The city is ground zero for cutting-edge art, fuled by the Art Basel fair, but how many museums does it need?
An Artist Turns Her Lens on a New Art City: Miami
Miami filmmaker Dara Friedman talks about her art, her career — and her city as a cultural capital
Forsaking the Punk Clubs of His Youth for a Well-Stocked Library
At 68, the punk rocker Richard Hell is more focused on writing, his own and that of the literary figures he admires
Club 57, Late-Night Home of Basquiat and Haring, Gets a Museum-Worthy Revival
The louche headquarters of the East Village '80s art movement time-travels to the Museum of Modern Art
A Little Piece of Downtown Damascus in New Haven
Artist Mohamad Hafez brings the Syrian Civil War to Yale
For Tony Kushner, It’s Angels Over the Breakfast Nook
At home in Provincetown with the playwright Tony Kushner, his husband, Mark Harris, and their art collection
In Miami, He Collects the Art of Fellow Cuban Exiles
Peter Menéndez, a retired architect, fled Havana as a child and has long championed the work of others from Cuba
Meet Archie Warhol, the Art World’s Second-Most-Famous Dachshund
Andy Warhol carried his beloved dog everywhere, even to Studio 54: "Just like Andy, he didn't say a word"
Friends No More? Jorge Pérez And Donald Trump
A close friend and business associate courted repeatedly by the president now waits for the phone to ring
Taking It To The Street With Jenny Holzer
The artist plastered New York City with political statements in a pre-Facebook era
Hot On The Trail Of The Sale
The dealer Fredric Snitzer hit Art Basel Miami Beach, banking on young talents
Whitney Biennial To Miami Artists: It’s Not Us, It’s You
For the fourth Biennial in a row, no Miami artist was chosen
Short Range, Deep Reach
Low Power FM stations are finding listeners who aren't afraid to touch that dial
Ben Morea Returns To The Site Of The Revolution
The artist who dismissed Warhol and abruptly shut down MoMa is back
Provincetown: Still The Place To Paint And To Party
Cape Cod's art colony celebrates its centennial
Duncan Hannah
A painter unmoored from time and trends
Omer Fast
Debut feature "Remainder" is poised to bring him a broader audience
Miami's Latest Gallery Scene
Buying, not renting, space in Little Haiti
Los Angeles To Miami By Way Of Aspen
The Pérez Art Museum Miami names Franklin Sirmans as its new director
A Cold War Memory, Now Hushed
A remote Everglades missile base was on alert to fend off airstrikes from Cuba
Envisioning A Museum, The Sky’s The Limit
In Miami, the Bramans plan the Institute of Contemporary Art
Those Artsy Early Birds Flew Away
Art Basel Miami Beach’s unfulfilled promise
What’s In Miami’s Bloodstream?
The city isn’t exactly in danger of becoming a tropical Mayberry, but still, let’s sort fact from fiction
When The Drag Queens Go, The Neighborhood Follows
From cocaine cowboys to vacationing hedge funders
A Quick Stop In Old Cuba
No Che T-shirts at the Cuba Nostalgia fair
Rehousing A Miami Collection
The De La Cruz Art Space continues a trend of collectors opening their own museums
36 Hours In Cleveland
Entrepreneurs and bohemian dreamers alike are injecting fresh life into previously rusted-out spaces
Weekend At War
German S.S. soldiers and American G.I.s fight the Battle of the Bulge -- in Pennsylvania
Rap Takes Root Where Free Expression Is Risky
With grim soldiers looking on, the raperos of Cuba are playing to enthusiastic crowds
The Wall Street Journal:
What Embargo? Hollywood Movies Unspool in Havana
Cubans queuing to see Planet of the Apes begs the question: Haven't the Cuban people suffered enough?
Rock and Roil, Wilco on Film
A funny thing happened on the way to the pop marketplace
A Sundance for Ibero-American Films
The Miami Film Festival hopes to make the city a business hub for Latin film
Our Man in Havana
Meet the American citizen who parrots Castro's line over official Cuban radio
The Knight Foundation:
O, Miami: How A Festival Infused A City With Poetry
An in-depth report on the inaugural festival
Making Art General
Building community through innovation in the arts
New York magazine:
Miami Art Machine
Can a free (and rather free-form) art school make South Beach more than the art world's playground?
Fontainebleau Period
Has creative Miami been debased by Art Basel?
Baby Basquiats Storm Art Basel Miami
The boom is back: Even copies of Basquiat's work are flying off the walls
Boston Burger Bests Shake Shack
But was there vote fraud?
The New York Observer:
A Homegrown Terrorist Looks Back in Denial
Cathy Wilkerson's Flying Close to the Sun: My Life and Times as a Weatherman
Where the "It" Boys Are
Noveau-riche collectors in Miami Beach -- it's Art Basel! "Bianca's on my ass!"
The Marden Family
Brice, once stoner bro-in-law to Joan Baez, is enjoying a retrospective at MOMA and going for $1.7 million. Downtown, Mirabelle is enjoying her own art career, but turned inside-out
Deluded Times Reporter, Judy's 1950s Precursor
Just how powerful is the NY Times? Ask Fidel Castro
The Awl:
New Haven: One Town, Two Newspapers
Will the real digital innovators please stand up?
Awards, TV and Press Do Nothing
Indie music, away from the SxSW hordes
Slate:
7887 kHz, Your Home for Classic Cuban Espionage Radio
The shortwave radio signals used by the alleged Russian spies are still surprisingly effective
3:10 to Yuma in Cuba
How a vintage Western film changed the way Cubans speak
Star Gazing
How to get close to Paris Hilton, doctor a photo, and avoid getting punched in the face
The Miami Herald:
Stories With A Bite
South Florida novelist Karen Russell sinks her teeth into the surreal
Filling In The Picture Of Miami's Early Arts Scene
Art historian Helen Kohen insists "local" is not a dirty word
Cuba's "ghost" writer regains his legacy
The literary tragedy of Guillermo Rosales
Gonzo Lives: Hunter S. Thompson
Striving to separate the man from the myth in an essential biography
Ocean Drive magazine:
What Became Of Baby Jane
Spotlighting Andy Warhol’s cinematic muse and first superstar, Palm Beach’s own Jane Holzer
Artistic Coming Of Age
The renovated -- and rechristened -- Dorsch Gallery marks the growth of Miami’s art scene
Game Changer
Local sci-fi novelist High Howey has written a best-seller and upended the rules of publishing
Miami, Dissected
In Back To Blood, Tom Wolfe aims his laser focus at the antics of our town’s upper crust
Painting The Open Road
Ed Ruscha’s wry homage to Jack Kerouac thumbs a ride to Miami
Color Contrarian
Darby Bannard has been upsetting the art world for four decades. His new Miami exhibitions prove he's not about to stop now
Breaking Brand
Miami’s Bhakti Baxter puts down his paintbrush in search of fresh inspiration
View From The Top: Graham Winick
With film and tv productions flocking to our streets, step inside the dream factory with the man who brings Hollywood to Miami
The Accidental Gallerist
After four decades as one of Miami’s foremost artists, Robert Thiele has a new calling
Why We Love Miami: A Guy Named Charlie Cinnamon Lives Here
The Miami media legend helped put this town on the map with common sense and a dash of old-world charm
Voices In The Crowd
Artist Dara Friedman searches the world for signs of the extraordinary
Almost Famous
Why ’80s East Village pioneer Oliver Sanchez is Miami’s best-kept art secret
The Year of the Cat
Cat Power reemerges as the face of Chanel and the voice of The Greatest
The Birth of Irony
A new anthology looks back on Spy magazine's reign as the king of satire
The New Face of Miami Beach Politics
Michael Gongora becomes the city’s first openly gay commissioner
Art Basel magazine:
Playing Favorites
For nearly 50 years, art dealer Gordon Locksley has been buying and selling iconic works. His strategy couldn’t be simpler
Locals Strut Their Stuff
Wynwood’s annual CasaLin pop-up exhibition showcases young Miami artists -- and a few equally vocal chickens
The Miami New Times:
Lotus-Eaters and Literati
Novelist Bret Easton Ellis has skewered the demimonde of Los Angeles and New York City. So what about South Beach?
When Drag Queens Ruled the World
It wasn't so long ago, and it certainly wasn't far away
Story Line
Still feisty after all these years, Carl Hiaasen unloads on Miami politics and corporate journalism
No More Mayor Loco
Xavier Suarez is still a little crazy after all these years, but in Miami politics that can be an advantage
Ego Without End
Driven by shameless vanity and enabled by an obliging press, Maurice Ferré, unfortunately, is at it again
In Search of the Great Miami Novel
Surely there's more to local literature than crime and exile
The Life in Nightlife
If the South Beach club scene appears comatose, it could be that not enough drag queens are screeching at each other
Out of Focus
Bruce Weber wrestles with the fashion beast he helped to create
Where Have All the Models Gone?
Once an alluring symbol of South Beach, the fashion industry has all but disappeared
The Drudge Retort
Democrats hate him. Journalists scorn him. Most Americans ignore him. Which is fine with Matt Drudge. He's taking it to the bank
Dark Star, Bright Future
Phil Lesh is grateful to be alive, and to leave the lawsuits to the lawyers