Reviews
How artists in Kyoto made contemplative work in turbulent times
The Met’s display of 14 centuries of work from the longtime artistic centre of Japan gives plenty of pause for thought
Freedom of expression – Jerry Saltz’s ‘How to be an Artist’, reviewed
The critic’s guide to creative living is full of joy – but how far can you get by following someone else’s rules?
The forgotten landscapes of Edward Hopper
The great painter of urban solitude was also a dab hand at empty expanses – from dunes and forests to the open road
Sex and the city – William N. Copley in New York
The American artist fused Surrealism and Pop to create an eccentric – and highly erotic – style that was all his own
Russian spark – the palace builders of St Petersburg
A ritzy new book brings to life the eclectic tastes and unbridled opulence of aristocratic families in late imperial Russia
‘Thomas McKeller was singular among Sargent’s pantheon of models’
What did it mean for a wildly successful artist to paint a black elevator operator in stuffy Boston society?
Solitary refinement – the uncanny art of Léon Spilliaert
The Belgian Symbolist is at his spookiest and most original when he depicts reality
A visual journey through the Amazon rainforest
Displaced from his home in the Colombian Amazon, Abel Rodríguez draws on his memories to document its flora and fauna
Show business – the artists who realised a house could be more than just a home
Artists who had studios and homes specially built for them often wanted to create spaces that would boost their careers
Close encounters – Van Eyck in Ghent, reviewed
How Van Eyck achieved his effects is still very hard to explain, but there’s no denying their power
Henry Wallis – the Pre-Raphaelite painter who fell out of fashion
The artist’s ‘The Death of Chatterton’ was one of the most popular paintings of the 19th century, but what else did he do?
Plastic, pastries and pastel tones – Ree Morton at the ICA LA, reviewed
In a career that lasted barely a decade, the American artist forged a distinctive – and highly personal – voice
‘A real hit parade of work from almost every country in the Arab world’
An important survey of abstract Arab art throws up questions about the influences swirling around in the post-war period
In sharp focus – Steve McQueen at Tate Modern, reviewed
A series of understated yet powerful works make clear that McQueen is as effective in the gallery as in the cinema
Baroque stars – the birth of a style in 17th-century Rome
Caravaggio and Bernini are the headliners – but the Rijksmuseum’s show reveals the range of artists who adopted the baroque style
Burning desires – Céline Sciamma’s ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, reviewed
The French director’s film about an 18th-century painter and her muse is a visual feast
African-American artists from the South put on a show of defiance
A survey of black artists from the American South reveals how oppression and inequality couldn’t crush their creativity
Personality cult – Alfred Jarry makes an impression at the Morgan Library
The creator of King Ubu and inventor of pataphysics was deeply attached to the art of the book
Money matters – the art of German hyperinflation
The emergency money issued by many German towns during the First World War featured a range of designs – including witches, devils and donkeys
Nature boy – how John Nash brought new life to British landscape painting
A new biography reasserts the significance of the self-described ‘artist plantsman’ among his modern British peers
A cut above – Linder takes over Kettle’s Yard
The artist’s feminist photomontages fill the galleries, while the house is now punctuated with her interventions – and the scent of potpourri
Force of nature – the weathered canvases of Vivian Suter
Vivian Suter’s paintings, on show at Camden Arts Centre, are marked by the elements of the rainforest where she works – as well as by her dogs’ paws
Surreal deal – on Salvador Dalí’s tarot deck
Long out of print, the cards have been reissued by Taschen. But what of the artistic merits of their designs?
Floating around on Planet Polke
Potatoes orbit around barstools and beer spurts out of coasters in the whimsical worlds explored by Sigmar Polke
What happens when an artist wants to be anonymous?