Jonathan Griffin is a freelance writer in Los Angeles

The man with the fantastic light machines

With his eccentric inventions, the mid-century artist Thomas Wilfred created a whole new genre of art that left its mark on the likes of James Turrell

20 Nov 2024

‘It’s about what’s in your heart and soul. Technology’s just some tool’ – an interview with Bill Viola (1951–2024)

The pioneering video artist has died at the age of 73. In this interview from our March 2014 issue, he talked to Apollo about how his work grapples with some of life’s biggest questions

15 Jul 2024

On the road with Ed Ruscha

The artist laureate of Los Angeles also draws on the everyday junk of Southern California to embellish the myth of a city nestled between the ocean and the desert

1 Jul 2024

Robert Irwin (1928–2023)

In 2015, the Californian artist spoke to Jonathan Griffin about the light and space installations that span his 60-year career

26 Oct 2023

Anna Atkins, queen of cyan

It was the pioneering photogapher’s dedication to botany that made her determined to record her samples in such memorable fashion

15 Sep 2023

The creative curating of Walter Hopps

The Menil Collection in Houston looks at the groundbreaking work of a curator who brought a new generation of American artists into museums

27 Apr 2023
Bernice Bing

The irresistible cool of Bernice Bing

The Asian Art Museum is reviving interest in a painter who was at the heart of San Francisco’s arts scene in her lifetime, but all too quickly forgotten after her death

26 Sep 2022

How Duchamp got himself out of the doldrums

The artist was at something of a standstill before a French critic came along with the idea for a book that gained him a host of new admirers

6 Sep 2022
Unbaled Truck (2021), Charles Ray.

Charles Ray and the art of keeping body and soul together

The sculptor may work with many different materials but the main ingredient in his art, he says, is time

28 Feb 2022
Still from ‘Free, White and 21’ (1980), Howardena Pindell. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Full circle – Howardena Pindell comes into her own

The artist talks about her long career of painting and protest – and the points where they overlap

4 Feb 2022
Watercolor. No. 5 (1942), Raymond Jonson. Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento.

The artists who wanted to rise above it all

The Transcendental Painting Group in New Mexico was sidelined for its esoteric beliefs, but its members are slowly entering the mainstream

20 Nov 2021
Lisa Yuskavage photographed at her studio in December 2020.

For Lisa Yuskavage, art isn’t about being right or wrong – it’s the freedom to do what you want

She may paint Penthouse pin-ups, but Lisa Yuskavage’s work is far more compassionate than some critics allow – not that she makes art with morality in mind

22 Feb 2021
Betye Saar (b. 1926), photographed in her studio in Los Angeles in 2019.

‘The way I start a piece is that the materials turn me on’ – an interview with Betye Saar

The artist discusses her stereotype-busting sculptures, and explains why major shows in Los Angeles and New York are ‘just another gig’

16 Nov 2019
Judy Chicago photographed in Santa Monica in September 2018

‘You have to choose hope’ – an interview with Judy Chicago

The trailblazing artist talks about feminism, optimism, and the importance of doing your own thing

3 Feb 2019
Mary Corse (b. 1945) photographed in her studio in Topanga Canyon, California

‘I paint for my sanity’ – an interview with Mary Corse

The painter talks about her formal experiments and the importance of being self-sufficient

4 Aug 2018
Installation view of ‘Grandfather: A Pioneer Like Us (1974)’ at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2018

The man who turned curating into an art form

Why the experimental exhibitions of Harald Szeemann still have something to teach today’s curators

13 Jun 2018
Theaster Gates in the Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago, which houses the Johnson Publishing Company archive. Photo: Mark Peckmezian

‘On some level, I’m just looking for good problems to solve’

Theaster Gates is best known for the regeneration project he initiated in the South Side of Chicago. Such social engagement is crucial to his work

6 Mar 2017

Big Lebowski pad acquired by LACMA

The LA museum has acquired its first home – what does this unusual architectural acquisition mean for the city?

27 Apr 2016

Autumn Highlights: what to watch out for in Los Angeles

What’s next for the Los Angeles art world? A look ahead at some of the gallery openings and relocations coming up this autumn

2 Sep 2014

‘An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, and Their Circle’ at the PMCA

From the early 1950s, Robert Duncan and Jess established a nexus of literary and artistic life at their home in San Francisco

25 Aug 2014

A New Lease of Life for Jackson Pollock’s Mural

Restoration work on the painting has revealed some interesting facts, and debunked some myths

16 Mar 2014

12 Days

LACMA will showcase the overlooked local artists Helen Pashgian and John Altoon in 2014, while several commercial galleries in LA open new premises

28 Dec 2013