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Britain World Editorial Features Culture Sport
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Climate Crisis Far Right Gaza Workers' Rights Women's Cricket World Cup Labour Morning Star Video
Michal Boncza
MB albums
Album reviews / 28 September 2025
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: September 28, 2025
28 September 2025

New releases from Alice Di Micele, Tim Grimm, and Tereza Catarov

sitdowners
Art in the Open / 26 September 2025
The Flint sitdown memorial: a forever victory
26 September 2025

Inspired by a photograph, a unique memorial in Michigan immortalises US true labour heroes. MICHAL BONCZA recalls a great story rarely told

kam
Exhibition review / 22 August 2025
So close, yet so far
22 August 2025

MICHAL BONCZA highly recommends a revelatory exhibition of work by the doyen of indigenous Australians’ art, Emily Kam Kngwarray

FOTW
Film of the week / 21 August 2025
Drama in the East China Sea
21 August 2025

Despite an over-sentimental narrative, MICHAL BONCZA applauds an ambitious drama about the Chinese rescue of British POWs in WWII

tanner
Meet the Cartoonist / 18 July 2025
Meet the Cartoonist: Paul Tanner
18 July 2025

Strip cartoons used to be the bread and butter of newspapers and they have been around for centuries. MICHAL BONCZA asks our own Paul Tanner about which bees are in his bonnet

MB
Album reviews / 23 June 2025
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: June 23, 2025
23 June 2025

New releases from Hannah Rose Platt, Kemp Harris, and Spear Of Destiny

Cartoons: (L to R) Citizen Chicane and Songi
Culture / 23 December 2024
In the footsteps of Honore Daumier
23 December 2024
(L to R) the book cover; Labour Party election poster 1945;
Books / 3 December 2024
Pedagogy vs brainwashing
3 December 2024
MICHAL BONCZA recommends a compact volume that charts the art of propagating ideas across the 20th century
Cairokee play Telk Qadeya (That is a Cause)
Gig review / 5 May 2024
A night not to be forgotten in a hurry
5 May 2024
MICHAL BONCZA reviews Cairokee gig at the London Barbican
PROUD HISTORY: (L to R) Living Wage Campaign by COSATU (The
Culture / 29 April 2024
May 1st: aspiration solidarity, hope
29 April 2024
Liberty Leading the People, Eugene Delacroix; Rupert Garcia,
Opinion / 15 March 2024
‘The main task is, indeed, to awaken the women’s class consciousness and to incorporate them into the class struggle’ - Clara Zetkin
15 March 2024
MICHAL BONCZA rounds up a series of images designed to inspire women
ENIGMATIC: Carel Fabritius’ View of Delft, with a Musical
Book Review / 25 January 2024
‘So familiar and yet so unfathomable’
25 January 2024
If 17th-century Dutch art is your thing this must be your book, believes MICHAL BONCZA
Arkhangelsk dachas panorama
Book Review / 29 September 2023
Refuge for the soul
29 September 2023
MICHAL BONCZA recommends an exquisitely illustrated publication which charts the origins, rise and fall of the seminal Russian dacha
Culture / 25 September 2023
Album reviews with MICHAL BONCZA
25 September 2023
New releases from Sam Eastmond, Angharad Jenkins and Patrick Rimes, Gabriel Moreno
(L to R) Henry Moore, Sculptures and Drawings, Paris, 1957;
Exhibition Review / 24 August 2023
Less is Moore 
24 August 2023
Henry Moore is one of the most frequently exhibited sculptors in the world. MICHAL BONCZA looks at a revelatory collection of posters that advertised these shows
(L to R) Public Opinion: Anti-apartheid demonstration in Tra
Exhibition Review / 6 June 2023
Harvest of a hungry pencil
6 June 2023
In the 1960s Feliks Topolski revitalised the ancient art of chronicle with panache and gusto. MICHAL BONCZA looks at the work
Tobalaba Aerodrome Memorial central alleyway of Fernando Cas
Sculpture / 20 March 2023
Commemorating the victims of Pinochet’s death flights
20 March 2023
In an exclusive interview CRISTIAN DEL CANTO speaks to Michal Boncza about his design for the Tobalaba Aerodrome Memorial, its political significance and the struggle to have it erected
Culture / 23 January 2023
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: January 23, 2023
23 January 2023
New releases from The Dassins, Sylvette and Spear of Destiny
Cartoon: Lorna Miller
Cartoons / 10 November 2022
The inimitable Lorna Miller
10 November 2022
MICHAL BONCZA recommends a superb collection of BoJo cartoons by the Morning Star contributor
(L to R) Part of the Road Travelled (detail), 2022 – ongoi
Exhibition / 25 October 2022
Fragmentary clay narratives
25 October 2022
Epigram succeeds where epic fails – this Persian proverb best describes Marta Jakobovits's thoughtful ceramic assemblages, writes MICHAL BONCZA
(L to R) Mikhail Dlugach, film poster for Yego Kariera/His C
POSTERS / 15 August 2022
A graphic metamorphosis like no other
15 August 2022
The graphics of Soviet film posters uttered the new revolutionary visual grammar and it dazzled the world. MICHAL BONCZA recommends a superb book dedicated to it
Culture / 21 July 2022
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: July 22, 2022
21 July 2022
New releases by Los Hermanos Ballumbrosio, Avalanche Kaito and The Shipbuilders
NIGHT OF INFAMY: (L to R) The Library memorial to nazi book
Art in the open / 10 June 2022
Lest we forget
10 June 2022
German Nazis indulged in an orgy of book-burning that had no parallels in the 20th century. This monument is a pertinent and timely reminder of how destructive intolerance is
Thompson Hall at Autograph
Exhibition / 12 May 2022
An artist of our time for our time
12 May 2022
Neurodiverse painter THOMPSON HALL speaks to Michal Boncza about what inspires him, how he works and what his hopes for the future are
Music / 7 March 2022
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: March 9, 2022
7 March 2022
New release from Trupa Trupa, Gabriel Moreno and Gilmore Trail
Workers on the Silent Highway, a photograph from Street Life
Book Review / 6 March 2022
A riveting chronicle of the four decades that defined contemporary London
6 March 2022
EMBRACING: (L to R) Inner yard in Muralla Roja/Red Wall; Ric
Obituary / 26 January 2022
The man who coloured architecture
26 January 2022
By his own admission, RICARDO BOFILL LEVI was a ‘nomad’ of the profession but his Marxist convictions helped him become an unprecedented innovator of social housing design
THE REDEEMER: Nelson Mandela statue in Pretoria
Art in the Open / 1 December 2021
‘May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears’
1 December 2021
The Nelson Mandela statue in Pretoria epitomises the early, but yet to be fulfilled, promise of an all-embracing prosperous ‘Rainbow Nation’
(L to R) From Coexistence 2011; from Pigeons 2012; from Talk
Interview / 8 November 2021
The art of framing the problem not solving it
8 November 2021
Photographer STEPHEN GILL speaks to the Morning Star about the world he sees through the lens of his camera
(L to R) Future Walls 2015-16; Chorus, 2016
Exhibition Review / 20 October 2021
An elevating sermon
20 October 2021
In Theaster Gates’s work the spiritual and the utilitarian are inescapably conjoined to offer comfort and hope, believes MICHAL BONCZA
INNOVATION: The back to back mews four-storey house typology
Architecture / 19 October 2021
Barber shows road forward for housing
19 October 2021
The 2021 RIBA Neave Brown award for housing went to the most innovative architect working in Britain today
(Left) One of the last versions of Mont Sainte-Victoire pain
NARRATIVE-CHANGING ART / 24 August 2021
‘The father of us all’
24 August 2021
Paul Cezanne redefined modern painting and his influence rippled for over a century
(L to R) 1933 (piquet) pole, 1933; June 16- 47 (still life)
Exhibition / 23 August 2021
The alluring appeal of the quintessential British modernist
23 August 2021
Brest Fortress Memorial
Art in the Open / 16 August 2021
Lest we forget
16 August 2021
Massive emotional tribute to anti-Nazi heroes
(L to R) Manuel Rodriguez; Jose Gervasio Artigas
ART IN THE OPEN / 27 July 2021
Equestrian sculptures of Manuel Rodriguez in Chile and Jose Gervasio Artigas in Uruguay
27 July 2021
Innovatory tributes to leaders of popular rebellions
BOOKS / 7 July 2021
The Chagos Betrayal
7 July 2021
Damning indictment of Britain's role in evicting islanders from their homeland
MUSIC / 25 June 2021
Album reviews
25 June 2021
Latest releases from BSI, Dal:um and Davie Furey
PERFECTLY POINTILLIST: (Left) The Bathers at Asnieres (1884)
ART OF INNOVATION / 13 June 2021
Georges Seurat: The Bathers at Asnieres and A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
13 June 2021
Class-conscious canvases from the artist who introduced scientific principles to painting
A wide view of The Garden of Africa in Tunisia
World / 11 June 2021
Unesco inaugurates the ‘Garden of Africa,’ a new resting place for refugees who died in the Mediterranean
11 June 2021
CUTTING EDGE: (L to R) Georgy Krutikov, New City (Flying Cit
BOOKS / 25 May 2021
Progenitor of the Soviet avant garde
25 May 2021
The activities of Vkhutemas — the pioneering art and technical studios in the Moscow of the 1920s — are brought thrillingly to life in a new book, says MICHAL BONCZA
NARRATIVES: (L to R) Sewing Seeds, Tidal
EXHIBITION / 25 May 2021
Organic eye-openers
25 May 2021
Drawing on elements such as seeds, pods and fruit stones, VERONICA RYAN'S works subtly reflect environmental and sociopolitical concerns, says Michal Boncza
OUTSTANDING: (L to R) Adam De Ville, Eighty Two Rounds, One
PICTURE THIS / 23 May 2021
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 209th Exhibition
23 May 2021
Social comment, allotment architecture and humour stand out in engaging show
NOT FORGOTTEN: (Top left) Santiago Nattino Allende, (top rig
ART IN THE OPEN / 4 May 2021
Tres Sillas (‘Three Chairs’)
4 May 2021
Monument to brutal 1985 murder of communist militants in Quilicura, Santiago de Chile
ENVIRONMENTS UNDER THREAT (L to R): River, Roads, 2013 and S
EXHIBITION / 25 April 2021
Carol Rhodes
25 April 2021
Landmark paintings and drawings of human impact on the natural landscape by staunch political activist
ART IN THE OPEN / 7 April 2021
Holocaust Memorial, Judenplatz, Vienna
7 April 2021
Concrete reminder of nazi atrocities against Jews during WWII
MUSIC / 18 March 2021
Album reviews
18 March 2021
Latest releases from Davie Furey, Pet Needs and BLK JKS
(L to R) Main hall under the dome; southeastern elevation on
ART IN THE OPEN / 17 March 2021
House of One
17 March 2021
Unique inter-faith place of learning, worship and reflection to be built in Berlin
FIRED UP: (Left to right) Magdalene Odundo, Early Vessel; Al
EXHIBITION / 16 March 2021
Clay for today
16 March 2021
MICHAL BONCZA recommends some striking work by contemporary female potters and ceramicists
MUSIC / 3 February 2021
Album reviews
3 February 2021
The latest from Crazy Arm, Highlife artists and Bradford
(L to R) Dee Huez, Henny Beaumont, Citizen Chicane
YEAR ROUND-UP / 27 December 2020
Best of 2020: Morning Star cartoons
27 December 2020
(L to R) Leeds Bank House and Preston Bus Station
Books / 13 December 2020
Robust defence of ‘brutalism’
13 December 2020
MICHAL BONCZA recommends a photographic record of an architectural movement which is often wrongly denigrated
Latin America Memorial ‘Mao Grande’ (Big Hand), Sao Paul
Art in the Open / 9 December 2020
A powerful, revolutionary salute to continental solidarity
9 December 2020
ART IN THE OPEN LATIN AMERICA MEMORIAL ‘MAO GRANDE’ (BIG HAND) SAO PAULO, BRASI
FM Dostoevsky Academic Drama Theatre in Nizhny Novgorod, des
Picture This / 3 December 2020
A poignant remembrance of things past
3 December 2020
(Left) Impression, Sunrise, 1874; (right) La rue Saint Denis
Impressionism / 29 November 2020
How scientific advances ushered in one of the best known periods in European painting
29 November 2020
Michal Boncza on Impressionism, one of the most enduring instantly recognisable periods in art
(L to R) Gold pendant; a brass weight is in the form of an a
Exhibition Review / 25 November 2020
Modest exhibition interrogates unsavoury past as V&A offers a ‘mea culpa’
25 November 2020
Small Axe: Mangrove
TV Review / 18 November 2020
Historical accuracy and dramatic panache
18 November 2020
An impressive recreation of a climactic period in black history
Art In The Open Kamenska Anti-Fascist Memorial, Blazuj Hill,
Art in the Open / 7 November 2020
The Kamenska anti-fascist memorial
7 November 2020
MUSIC / 18 October 2020
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: October 19, 2020
18 October 2020
Latest releases from Lucidvox, The Rheingans Sisters and Lizabett Russo
(L to R) New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) Planne
PICTURE THIS / 13 October 2020
100 Posters that Changed the World
13 October 2020
GAME-CHANGING ART / 6 October 2020
Gustave Courbet: The Stone Breakers
6 October 2020
Painting which announced the advent of realism in European art
MUSIC / 30 September 2020
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: October 5, 2020
30 September 2020
Latest releses from The Slow Painters, Lisa Lambe and Stealing the Fire
HISTORY MAN: Craig Hodges
BOOKS / 20 September 2020
Long Shot: The Triumphs and Struggles of an NBA Freedom Fighter
20 September 2020
ART IN THE OPEN / 20 September 2020
Irish Famine Memorial, Custom House Quay Dublin
20 September 2020
POTENT: (Left to right) Lyubov Popova: Painterly Architecton
PICTURE THIS / 13 September 2020
Cubism, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
13 September 2020
Paintings which changed the way in which we look at the world on show in Edinburgh
IT'S A STEAL: Christopher Wren used the Saracen 'vaulting' m
PICTURE THIS / 9 September 2020
Stealing from the Saracens
9 September 2020
Revelatory account of how Islamic architecture shaped Europe
The Third of May, 1808 by Francisco Goya
GAME-CHANGING ART / 25 August 2020
The Third of May, 1808 by Francisco Goya
25 August 2020
Anti-war painting that heralded a revolution in style and content
PICTURE THIS / 26 July 2020
Karen Tweed: With Love from Orkney
26 July 2020
Master musician sketches out compelling visual landscapes
(L to R) Woman on a Table, 2002; Untitled (All images: court
ART ONLINE / 19 July 2020
Ordinary excitements
19 July 2020
What made Roy Oxlade excel as a painter, says MICHAL BONCZA, was his ability to transform the everyday into objects of wonder
MUSIC / 12 July 2020
Album reviews with Michal Boncza: July 15, 2020
12 July 2020
Latest releases from Thomas Bartlett, Layla Kaylif and Keith Relf
PICTURE THIS / 10 July 2020
Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years, The Holburne Museum, Bath
10 July 2020
Subversive show from 'the transvestite potter'
TUC HQ designed by David Du Roi Aberdeen with Bernard Meadow
ART IN THE OPEN / 5 July 2020
The Spirit of Trade Unionism by Bernard Meadows
5 July 2020
The Raft of the Medusa
GAME-CHANGING ART / 28 June 2020
Theodore Gericault's The Raft of the Medusa
28 June 2020
MUSIC / 19 June 2020
Album reviews with Michal Boncza
19 June 2020
Latest releases from Dutty Moonshine Big Band and Ma Polaine's Great Decline
Culture / 18 June 2020
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith and Holofernes
18 June 2020
Canvas which challenged feudal stereotypes of women
UNDER THREAT: Cressingham Gardens Paul Wall/Wikipedia
Opinion / 17 June 2020
London Fest architecture
17 June 2020
(Left to right, from top) Zernograd, Russia; Vasylkiv, Ukrai
PHOTOGRAPHY / 10 June 2020
Soviet Signs and Street Relics by Jason Guilbeau
10 June 2020
Poignant reminders of an optimistic Soviet past in Google-derived images
ART IN THE OPEN / 5 June 2020
Distressing reminder of the Lidice massacre
5 June 2020
(Left to right) Two Winged Figures, 1976; Pair of Sitting Fi
PICTURE THIS / 31 May 2020
Lynn Chadwick, Gallery Pangolin
31 May 2020
Profound humanism shines through online retrospective of major sculptor's work
PICTURE THIS / 4 May 2020
The Art of Protest by Jo Rippon
4 May 2020
Stirring images of radical poster art
ART IN THE OPEN / 3 May 2020
The Destroyed City, Rotterdam
3 May 2020
CARTOONING / 3 May 2020
Picture This: Free Quentin Blake ecards
3 May 2020
Cartoonist Dee Huez and one of his cartoons
INTERVIEW / 1 May 2020
Meet the cartoonist: Dee Huez
1 May 2020
The Morning Star's pages are enlivened by some sharp political cartoonists. One of them talks to Michal Boncza about his work
ART HISTORY / 24 April 2020
Paolo Uccello: the father of perspective
24 April 2020
The Italian artist developed the technique which changed painting forever
INTUITIVE: Two troughs and flat bar, 1964
EXHIBITION / 13 March 2020
Geoffrey Clarke: Intuitionism, Pangolin London
13 March 2020
Prints leave their mark on outstanding representations of the extraordinary in the ordinary