From Pit 91 to the Cosmos: James Griffiths Dark Medium
Altadena-based artist James Griffith paints wildlife and starscapes with asphalt from the La Brea Tar Pits’ Pit 91, a volatile medium he calls “painting with death.” His process, influences, and community life—from the Folly Bowl to a post-fire regrouping—unfold through quotes, methodical detail, and select works.
James Griffith Turns La Brea Tar into Starfields and Wild Companions
Altadena-based artist James Griffith makes paintings with tar from La Brea Tar Pits’ Pit 91, carving wildlife and astral scenes into inky surfaces he calls “painting with death.” His process mixes solvents and patience with scrimshaw-like precision—and a philosophy distilled in the question, “Where are we?”
Farewell to Bob Mackie, the “King of Camp” Who Shaped the Look of Stardom
Bob Mackie, the Monterey Park–born costume designer celebrated as the King of Camp, died Monday at 87 in Palm Springs from pneumonia. Over a career spanning decades, he dressed stars from Cher to Diana Ross, earned nine Emmys, three Academy Award nominations and a Tony, and left an indelible mark on stage, screen and fashion history.
Frederich Kunaths Landscapes Tune Pop Culture and Longing in Seoul
Frederich Kunaths The Nearest Faraway Place, presented by Pace in Seoul and continuing through October 24, blends romantic landscape traditions with pop culture cues. Quotes from the artist and gallery frame themes of distance and longing, with works such as The most beautiful world in the world (20202026) and Sometimes Im Almost There (2026).
Ching-Ling Wang to Lead Chinese Art at NMAA as Inaugural Nancy Chang Lee Curator
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has named Ching-Ling Wang, currently a curator at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, as the inaugural Nancy Chang Lee Curator of Chinese Art. Wang, who will assume the post in November, aims to broaden access to NMAA’s Chinese art holdings of some 13,000 objects through collaborations across disciplines, institutions, and countries.
A Two-Part Milestone at Corey Helford Gallery: Twenty Years, Two Editions
Corey Helford Gallery celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a two-part program in 2026: an August Edition (Aug 8–Sept 12) and a September Edition (Sept 19–Oct 24), spanning a main anniversary exhibition, an archive survey in Gallery 2, and solo shows by Molly Devlin and Ornélie in Gallery 3.
At the Haggerty, “The Otherworld is Home” Maps Memory, Identity, and Passage
The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University presents The Otherworld is Home, a free museum-wide initiative inspired by a Yorùbá proverb and anchored by three simultaneous exhibitions on African art, identity, and spiritual passage. Highlights include more than 40 works in African Art: Ancient Roots, Enduring Values, Iké Udé’s Sartorial Anarchy, and Thresholds featuring Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Portia Cobb, Stephen Hamilton, and Daniel Minter.
Bright Scribbles on Concrete: The Was Childlike Logic Lands in Stuttgart
At PFFFestival 2026 in Stuttgart, The Was series A Kid Could Do It turns an empty house into a bold, childlike drawing, extending earlier experiments on Europes WWII concrete bunkers along the Atlantic Wall. The artist follows one simple rule: the unfiltered creative logic of a child, and began the series working alongside his mother.
Hiroko Yoshimotos Nature in Flux, From Biodiversity to Of Infinite Variety
Throughout the 2020s, Hiroko Yoshimoto has developed two nature-centered series, Biodiversity and Of Infinite Variety, spanning hard-edged abstraction and looser, representational forms. Works such as Biodiversity #118 (2019) and Scream (2026) anchor To Abstract or not to Abstract at the Ojai Art Center in Ojai, California, alongside silverpoint floral panels.
Hannah Buechler Reimagines Loom Bands as Luminous Textile Reliefs
Artist Hannah Buechler transforms rubber loom bands, wool, and felt into framed textile reliefs that resemble gestural paintings, assembling thousands of loops over a felt substrate. Recent works include ‘The Space Between’ (2024) and several 2025 pieces photographed by Spencer Higgins.