William Delafifield Cook

Mickalene Thomas came to the attention of the art world early in her career, and the mid-90s excitement over her work has not diminished. Thomas’ work is both accessible and complex, with sometimes subtle references and other times a blazing rage against the machine, aligning historical precedent in context and materials. Juggling high and low culture, Thomas grapples with accessibility and the collaborative responsibility of both the artist and institution to break down demographic barriers in, and to, her work. Echoing the Donna Summers classic, “she works hard for the money, and you better treat her right.”

Following a long overdue retrospective at the Guggenheim in New York and a survey at the Albertina in Vienna, VAULT looks at the remarkably consistent eight decade-long career of New York painter Alex Katz.

A new survey of Australian artist William Delafield Cook – the first exhibition of his work since his death in 2015 – reminds us of the artist’s distinct style and the enduring, timeless quality of his paintings.

Julie Fragar’s images begin as digital sketches built from photographs, but in their evolution to paintings they mine personal experience, garner layers of fiction, dally with darkness and engage with a level of sociological capture to become artworks almost universally relatable.

Timo Hogan’s depictions of his Country are profound, painterly stories told through colour and texture, demonstrating an intimate knowledge of place and its history.

With a bold move from New Zealand to Los Angeles, Emma McIntyre is a young artist taking the international artworld by storm. With her fresh and witty abstract paintings and their clever takes on colour, gesture and art history, top galleries from New York to Paris are taking note.

Photo essay

American artist Landon Metz is the third to collaborate with Finnish design house Marimekko as part of their Artist Series, established in 2022. The initiative aims to push the art of printmaking into new territory by offering creative practitioners the opportunity to work with the firm’s design team on capsule collections across clothing, accessories and home décor.

David Congram reviews architect and designer Harry Nuriev’s first exhibition in Paris, which sees everyday domestic objects – sofa, mirror, yoga mat – transformed into something almost erotic by that most ubiquitous of materials, denim.