Raymond Darlington’s Expressionist Realism
“Although he personally describes his art as Afro-realism, when we look at it with historical circumspection, we will be more attuned to link it to the larger zeitgeist of a slew of known and unknown artists operating presently in the Internet and social media spaces, so that it almost feels like a movement.”
April Issue, 2026
A collection of all the articles we’ve published over the past month, for those who like to savor their Magpies’ tidings as an issue.
Letter From the Editor, April, 2026: Go along so
Spring ramblings.
Esther Oladapo: Art, Fashion, Image-Making and the Language of the Body
“She sees herself as a tool for social activism and what she does with this tool is to shape into images of self-affirmation.”
The Legendary Iranian Poet Who Gives Me Hope
“Read Forugh’s poems and you’ll find the very forces that shape our moment: misogyny, censorship, nativism, consumerism, the annihilating violence of war. Read her poems and you’ll find that they, like all the best poems, don’t merely offer a reprieve from the abuses and terrors of the world, but a repudiation of the forces that make those abuses and terrors possible: ignorance and political regimes for which ignorance has been and will always be their life’s blood.”
Lola Álvarez Bravo: Picturing Mexico
Lola Alvarez Bravo, an oft-overlooked female artist, created profoundly personal works, which combined a radical humanism with experiments with the uncanny.
Syria, I Went Back
“And now, one year later, I would walk into an arrivals hall at Damascus airport filled with Syrian families crying and hugging separated sons, now-married daughters, and children that have never seen their homeland. So many tears.”
Darkness Visible: An Interview With Joel Adas
A conversation with painter Joel Adas.
Lee Godie: Beauty in My Mind
“I always try to paint beauty, but some people say my paintings aren’t beautiful. Well I have beauty in my mind …”
When the Revolution Comes, Our Songs Will Be Sung
Korean social movements are repurposing the tradition of minjung-gayo (people’s music) by creatively incorporating K-pop and messages about women’s struggles today.
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