In Memoriam
This week, we honor a sculptor of buildings, a photographer of the absurd, and the “Chekhov of Trenton.”
The Marqués de Riscal hotel, located in Elciego, Spain, and designed by Frank Gehry (photo by Makeip via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Frank Gehry (1929–2025)
Architect who turned buildings into sculptures
He made iconic postmodernist designs for museums, libraries, and concert halls, with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao being his most instantly recognizable work. He was a “true original,” Mary Anne Gilmartin, an architect who worked with Gehry, told Hyperallergic. “An artist, an architect, and a fearless visionary who changed the way we experience cities.”
Read the obituary
Jane Birt (d. 2025)
Anglo-American watercolor and oils
Her work was shown in galleries across Britain. She illustrated multiple books, including a travelogue and a co-written memoir.
Gillian Hopwood (1927–2025)
British architect who designed buildings after Nigerian independence
With her late husband, John Godwin, she designed around 1,000 buildings for their architectural practice, including schools built in the aftermath of Nigeria’s independence from Great Britain.
Napoleon Jones-Henderson (1943–2025)
Weaver and multimedia artist who was part of AfriCOBRA
He made large-scale textiles that promoted the collective’s aims of positive images of Black pride and self-determination. He also taught at various colleges across the East Coast.
Mel Leipzig (1935–2025)
Painter who was the “Chekhov of Trenton”
Mel Leipzig with his paintings (photo by Susan Lynn Smith, courtesy Gallery Henoch)
A figurative painter, he depicted fellow residents of New Jersey — relatives, neighbors, students, colleagues — in dreamy compositions.
Susan Loppert (d. 2025)
British administrator who brought art into hospitals
Susan Loppert (photo by CW+ charity via Facebook)
She was the pioneering force behind the development of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Arts in the 1990s, which folded performing and visual art into the hospital.
Martin Parr (1952–2025)
British photographer of the absurd
Martin Parr at the Victoria and Albert Museum (photo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
He was widely recognized for playful and tongue-in-cheek photographs — what he called “subjective documentary.” He also published books and worked in commercial advertising.
Selwyn Pekeur (d. 2025)
South African artist and teacher
A primary school teacher who promoted visual arts, he was described as “Paarl’s Picasso.”
