The word commune, whether used as a noun or a verb, has complex connotations. From earnest Utopianism to grim, state-enforced collectivism; from familial relationships and networks to our connection with the natural world—all of these possible associations are present in the new show at Sydney’s White Rabbit Gallery of Contemporary Chinese Art. From Judith Neilson’s impressive collection, curator Bonnie Hudson has selected works by twenty-three artists.[…..]

Help Desk is where I answer your queries about making, exhibiting, finding, marketing, buying, selling–or any other activity related to contemporary art. Submit your questions anonymously here. All submissions become the property of Daily Serving. Recently I submitted work in response to a thematic juried call by a large, reputable, nationally known and respected arts organization [in my city]. It’s my habit to first inspect a[…..]

This week, the opening bustle of the fall art season has us thinking about exhibitions and art criticism, and since we often publish Shotgun Reviews on Sundays, it seems especially relevant to share a previous submission from our archives. Although all the Shotgun Reviews we have published are written with sensitivity and care, this one always stands out in our minds as exceptional—not just for the quality of[…..]

From our friends at KQED, today we bring you Matthew Harrison Tedford’s review of Secondhand, the new exhibition at Pier 24 Photography. Tedford notes, “[…] these works possess the power to convey a corporeal and emotional truth […]” This article was originally published on August 14, 2014. Secondhand, the first new exhibition to open at Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco since July 2013, presents the work[…..]

Typically, the studio is where artists make their work, but Joe Penrod’s space for creative development exists anywhere a shadow falls. Armed with only a roll of cerulean painter’s tape, Penrod transforms once-mundane shadows (and the objects that cast them) into fecund sculptural compositions. There are a few stages in Penrod’s process. First he finds an object that casts a particularly beautiful or striking shadow.[…..]

Strong Language, currently on view at the Jewish Museum, chronicles Mel Bochner’s longstanding dedication to the critique of language. The exhibition features over seventy text pieces the artist made between 1966 and 2013. While linguistic examination remains the common thread throughout the forty-plus years of work on display, the exhibition also evidences a recent turn by Bochner toward creating more conventional and easily commercialized fine-art[…..]

The latest exhibition of work by Los Angeles-based artist Neal Rock, currently on view at Culver City’s Loudhailer Gallery, asks viewers to consider artistic materials in a fresh and interesting way, but falls somewhat short conceptually. Rock’s abstract, sculptural works combine found components, such as insulation material, with layered experiments in oil paint, silicone, and printing. These idiosyncratic objects are tantalizingly ambiguous in tone but[…..]