Black Lives Are Celebrated In Bisa Butler's Extraordinary, Technicolor Quilts

At the top of the Grand Staircase at the Art Institute of Chicago hang massive, colorful banners announcing the art work of Bisa Butler.

Butler's specialty is fabric, specifically quilts. And the bold images of Black people she stitches together, using textiles like paint in an explosion of color, is quilting transformed.

Via NPR

Thumbnail: Bisa Butler, Dear Mama, 2019, Collection of Scott and Cissy Wolfe. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

‘Art of Banksy’ opens in Chicago with the British street artist’s ‘Flower Thrower’ and ‘Flying Copper’ — but not his involvement

After a few bumps and curveballs, “The Art of Banksy” is finally open. With a month’s delay and a change of venue, the exhibit officially launched Saturday on the fourth floor of 360 N. State St., atop the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Via Chicago Tribune

In New York, Fair Weather Darkens As Books Show Cancels, Armory Pivots 55 Dealers Online

Because of the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and uneven vaccination rates, as well as ongoing travel bans, plans for upcoming in-person trade fairs, including art fairs, are looking shaky. Two prominent New York events have been canceled within the last two weeks.

Via ARTnews

Scientists Have Conducted Tests That Reveal Stonehenge Is Made From a Nearly Indestructible Ancient Material

A long lost piece of England’s Stonehenge monument is helping experts understand the mysterious prehistoric structure. Analysis of a core sample taken from one of the site’s massive slabs suggests that the stone’s geochemical composition may have made it uniquely well-equipped to stand the test of time.

Made from 99.7 percent quartz crystals, the stones are practically indestructible, according to a new study published in the journal Plos One.