Charles A. Riley II

Charles A. Riley II, PhD is the director of the Nassau County Museum of Art and a professor at Clarkson University. He is the author of the recently published book Free as Gods: How the Jazz Age Re-invented Modernism (University Press of New England) as well as 31 other books and numerous articles for such magazines as Art & Auction, Art & Antiques and Fortune. He has curated exhibitions in Taiwan (at the Chimei Museum), Berlin, Amsterdam and New York, and is a regular art critic reviewing for the web site, hamptonsarthub.com.

Pan Yu Liang’s Adventures in Jazz Age Paris

July 11, 2018September 22, 2017 By Charles A. Riley II

Among many art, music and literature lovers, particularly devotees of Modernism, the expatriate community in France during the Jazz Age represents a remarkable convergence of genius in one place and period—one of the most glorious in history. Drawn by the presence of such avant-garde figures as Joyce and Picasso, artists and writers fled the censorious … Read more

The Chinese Virtuoso: Celebrating the Aesthetic of Extremes

October 1, 2018March 4, 2005 By Charles A. Riley II

Virtuosity is an art of extremes, of playing an instrument or wielding a brush at the breathtaking limit of technical power. In this multimedia exploration of the topic of the virtuoso in art, literature and music, Dr. Charles A. Riley II, the author of a dozen books on the arts, examines the issue of whether … Read more

Musings on Media, Asian Indentity and Empowerment

September 14, 2018September 28, 2001 By Charles A. Riley II

What is the difference, in terms of empowerment, between being in the media and being a gatekeeper to the media? At the moment, the media is full of important figures in the arts and entertainment, including Lucy Liu’s massive following for her role on TV’s Ally McBeal, Amy Tan’s new novel (which is at second … Read more