Today, as we in the United States live our first day under a new administration, we bring you John Zarobell’s “Precarious Citizenship.” Originally published in Art Practical’s issue 8.1, this article explores the “precarious citizenship” of Gazi Nafis Ahmed, a Bangladeshi artist whose rich black-and white portraits of queer communities have gained unwanted fundamentalist attention, making it unsafe for him to remain in his country. Zarobell says, “Precarious citizenship is[…..]

For this Summer Session we’re thinking about going Back to School, musing on art education, pedagogy, and learning. From our sister publication Art Practical we bring you John Zarobell’s review of the San Francisco Legion of Honor’s 2011 Camille Pissarro exhibition. Zarobell finds that the show reveals a radical politic of Impressionism that is often overlooked in the works of some of the more famous artists. The author demonstrates[…..]

From our partners at Art Practical, today we bring you John Zarobell’s review of Fourth World: Current Photography from Colombia at SF Camerawork. Zarobell notes that Fourth World follows a survey of contemporary photography from Mexico: “Taken together, these exhibitions make SF Camerawork preeminent in presenting contemporary Latin American photography in the Bay Area. Such a program […] suggests other avenues that SF Camerawork could explore in order to continue[…..]

Today from our partners at Art Practical, we bring you John Zarobell’s review of Print Public at Kala Art Institute and Gallery in Berkeley, California. The author notes, “[the exhibition] augurs not merely new developments in the neighborhood, but novel and innovative approaches to print.” This article was originally published on June 18, 2015. The medium of print has a long history of expanding art into the[…..]

Today from our archives we bring you a look back at John Zarobell’s review of Water City Berkeley at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, California. The first line of the review says it all: “Why celebrate when the world is going to hell?” This article was originally published on December 22, 2013. Why celebrate when the world is going to hell? Kim Anno’s ambitious effort to envision the future of humanity[…..]

From our partners at Art Practical, today we bring you a review of Trevor Paglen’s current exhibition at Altman Siegel Gallery in San Francisco. Author John Zarobell writes, “[The work] represents both a bit of art-historical posturing and an active response to government surveillance that allows viewers to imagine an alternative to our current condition. Perhaps a gallery is as good a place as any to[…..]

Today from our partners at Art Practical, we bring you a review of She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World. On view though May 4 at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, the exhibition showcases the work of twelve photographers from Iran and neighboring nations. Author John Zarobell notes that the works are “immensely poetic expressions of building a[…..]