SMOKE BREAK
Designer Alexander May Wants to Bring Back the Big Daddy Desk
November 17, 2025
“I’m a surface queen,” says the designer, who teamed up with USM to explore his glamorous vision of the modern officescape in a new exhibition called “The Architecture of Work.”
IN CONVERSATION
Nick Cave and Jenny Holzer Wrestle With Legacy at the Obama Presidential Center
November 14, 2025
“Who wants to make crummy art in a Presidential Center?,” quipped Jenny Holzer, who joined Nick Cave last month to discuss their respective commissions for the Obama presidential library, set to open in 2026.
IN CONVERSATION
Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales Tells Painter Nicole Wittenberg Why He Isn’t a Billionaire
November 6, 2025
Last month, the Wikipedia co-founder paid artist Nicole Wittenberg a visit at her downtown studio to talk about his memoir, “The Seven Rules of Trust,” and the toxic state of the internet today.
DANCE
How the Choreographer Jacob Jonas Turned Pain into Movement
November 4, 2025
After being diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma, the choreographer decided to document his recovery through raw self-portraits and journal entries in “Cemented Beauty,” published by Atelier Éditions.
ART BASEL PARIS
Fabio Cherstich and Helen Marten Invite Us Into their Shared Hallucination
October 24, 2025
“It’s not something to understand, it’s more something that you inhabit,” opera director Fabio Cherstich said of his new performance work “30 Blizzards,” which just opened at Art Basel Paris in partnership with Miu Miu.
ICONS
Photographer Jerry Schatzberg Takes Us Inside His Archives
October 16, 2025
The photographer and filmmaker joined us to look back on his encounters with Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, Faye Dunaway, Jimi Hendrix, and more.
SMOKE BREAK
How Photographer Christopher Sherman Turns His Subjects Into Superstars
October 10, 2025
In this week’s installment of Smoke Break, we headed north to Toronto to join the photographer at the opening of his debut solo exhibition, “Your Shame Bores Me.”
CRUISING
Photographer Arthur Tress Takes Jordan Tannahill For a Walk Around the Ramble
October 9, 2025
In the 1960s, the Brooklyn-born photographer began documenting his visits to New York’s most famous cruising ground. A half-century later, his vibrant, watchful images are finally getting their due.
XXX
Matt Lambert Brings Wolfgang Tillmans Inside His Naughty Underworld
October 6, 2025
“I’m a captain and a conduit,” says the photographer, whose sixth book comes out this month. “I’m just creating a play space for all these energies to come together.”
IN CONVERSATION
When Mary Boone and Julian Schnabel Ran New York
October 3, 2025
Last month, to mark the opening of an all-star group show show at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, Mary Boone and Julian Schnabel recounted their halcyon days atop the 1980s New York City art world.
MADAME
Vaginal Davis Opens Up
September 26, 2025
Ahead of her MoMA PS1 retrospective, the self-described Blacktress, literary figurine, and spokesmodel tells Cynthia Carr how she’s taking on the world.
STUDIO VISIT
With His New Series of BDSM Paintings, Ricardo Fumanal Wants to Turn You On
September 26, 2025
At his home studio off the Canal Saint-Martin, we joined the Spanish painter to talk leather, masculinity, and his latest exhibition, “Theorem of Desire.”
STUDIO VISIT
For the Artist Gala Porras-Kim, Sculpture Is a Portal to the Afterlife
September 19, 2025
To mark the opening of her new show at Seoul’s Kukje Gallery, the 41-year-old artist joined the author R.O. Kwon to talk about death, divinity, and the afterlife.
OPENING
“I Grew Up in a Household of Death”: Raúl de Nieves Takes RF. Alvarez Inside His Grief Sanctuary
September 18, 2025
Before the opening of “In Light of Innocence,” a new exhibition by Raúl de Nieves at Pioneer Works, the artist got together with RF. Alvarez to talk about light, loss, and the human condition.
SMOKE BREAK
“Tradition With a Twist”: How Designer Robert Rufino Turns Storefronts Into Stages
September 18, 2025
In this week’s installment of Smoke Break, we joined the man famous for conceiving of the city’s most extravagant window displays to talk design, diamonds, and “Downton Abbey.”
ICON
“I Would Hate to Be Young Right Now”: Sally Mann Looks Back on Her Life in Pictures
September 16, 2025
“I’m a romantic, but hard-nosed,” said the photographer, who’s authored a new memoir about her art and life. “Photographically, I think of myself as kind of a hard-nosed pictorialist.”
OPENING
Tabitha Arnold’s Punch Needle Tapestries Are Not For Scabs
September 11, 2025
To mark the opening of her new show at Field Projects, “Gospel of the Working Class,” the artist and textile maker joined us to talk scabs, automation, and the plight of the American labor movement.
STUDIO VISIT
How Artist Mark Leckey Found God in the Glitches
September 10, 2025
“A.I. is a regurgitation machine,” said the 61-year-old artist ahead of his largest survey to date, opening this week at the Julia Stoschek Foundation. “It can’t actually invent anything, really.”
SMOKE BREAK
“Sit On My Big Lamp”: A Nine-Minute Spliff With Designer Rich Aybar
September 8, 2025
Last Thursday, we hit up Tiwa gallery for the opening of the rubber sculptor’s sexiest show yet.
DESIGNER
“We Are Naked People”: Designer Pol Agustí, in Conversation With Kimberly Drew
September 4, 2025
Just before the opening of his new show with AGO Projects, the Mexico-based designer joined curator and critic Kimberly Drew to talk memory, mastery, and mischief.