Work of Friction

A look at Margot Wade's “Pubic Places, Private Spaces”

Margot Wade will tell you that she’s not an artist. I suspect she has said as much to at least 300 people during the last month, and I can only hope that more than half of them shook their heads in di

Literature

Keith Thomson thrills with ONCE A SPY

By Glenny Brock

If you’ve never cared much for thrillers, Keith Thomson’s genre debut could cause you to have a conversion experience. It’s that gripping and good. If you’re already a reader whose criteria for a page

Arova presents dance in depth

By Glenny Brock

When AROVA Contemporary Ballet concludes its performance season next week, it will be in Paris. [caption id="attachment_12128" align="alignright" width="245" caption="Jamie Kilgore, founding compan

Local Dish

Spring means Holi at Taj India

By Glenny Brock

Goodbye gloom of winter; hello bloom of spring! That’s sort of the central sentiment of the Indian holiday Holi, the annual festival celebrating the arrival of spring. The observance has origins as

Visual Arts

Role playing at Lite Box Gallery

Litebox Gallery show puts focus on the figure

By Glenny Brock

What a fascinating surprise that the second exhibition local artist Kate Merritt Davis has curated at Lite Box Gallery is focused on the use of the figure in contemporary art. I say “surprise” beca

Visual Arts

Beyond the crow: Randy Gachet's new sculpture

Making beautiful things from discarded materials

By Glenny Brock

Imagine someone tells you he's an artist. If the circles you run in don't usually include artists, a declaration like this can be kind of intimidating. If you're most people, you imagine “artist” mean

Dance across Birmingham

Alabama Dance Festival brings the city to its feet

By Glenny Brock

Not surprisingly, the 13th annual Alabama Dance Festival (ADF) will involve a lot of dance. The festival is the flagship project of the Alabama Dance Council, a nonprofit service organization with a m

Visual Arts

The Suspended art of Amy Pleasant

Her paintings are all about drawing and her drawings are all about life. Glenny Brock interviews Birmingham native Amy Pleasant.

By Glenny Brock

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the lines that Amy Pleasant uses to define tiny human dramas — or rather, big human dramas rendered on a relatively small scale. My first encounter with her

Local Dish

Talking turkey

Local restaurants offer Thanksgiving specials

By Glenny Brock

Probably, you’ve already made plans for next week’s feast, but just in case your parents or children push you over the edge, here are some lovely alternatives to slaving away in the kitchen. The Th

Odds & Ends

Coverage: Keep Calm & Larry On

This week's cover image is based on a British poster created at the outbreak of World War II.

By Glenny Brock

The only purchase I made at this year's Artwalk was a haunting and heartbreaking print by Jeremy Markham. Before I left his exhibit area at What's On Second, he told me he had a gift for my friend and