A True-to-Life Biennale
Did the Venice Biennale "implode" because of politics?
After miles of legwork, dozens of espressos, too much pasta, and an astronomical amount of art at the Venice Biennale, I'm back at my desk in New York City. It was historical. It was political. It was thrilling and moving. Did the Biennale "implode" because of boycotts, resignations, and international disputes, as some critics have lamented? Quite the opposite — it was more alive than ever. An international exhibition at this scale would fall flat if it didn't reflect both the woes and joys of the world outside. The late Koyo Kouoh's main exhibition In Minor Keys did just that. My review forthcoming.
The best part of my trip was meeting many of our readers around the world. I was particularly inspired by the local art workers and activists in Venice. Big salute to their courage and integrity. Ciao, friends, and see you next time.
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
How Dayanita Singh Organized a Major Show in Venice
Unmoored from the anchors of deep pockets that often hinder imagination, the artist brought her images of archival documents to an unusual venue in the Italian city. | Hrag Vartanian
New York Art Fairs
Frieze New York Is an Assembly-Line Salad
On finding a reprieve from the monotonous rhythm and the art that made me forget I was at a trade show. | Valentina Di Liscia
Inside TEFAF New York’s Annual Wealth Pageant
There was plenty to dazzle the patrons of the Nouveau Gilded Age at this year’s edition of the Park Avenue Armory fair. | Aaron Short
The Joy of Discovery at 1-54 Art Fair
Though smaller than previous editions, the contemporary African art fair draws our attention to works that are tactile, surprising, and alive with material expression. | Seph Rodney
Independent Art Fair Trades Downtown for the World
As it settles into a sprawling new venue on the Lower East Side waterfront, the fair feels older, glossier, and increasingly global. | Lisa Yin Zhang
Between Tropes and Treats at NADA New York
In a sea of zany little sculptures and assemblages, shiny stuff™, abstracted horniness, and kitschy vibrancy, there were works I did enjoy. | Rhea Nayyar
What Does a Booth Cost at a New York Art Fair?
We asked 13 fairs to open up about booth pricing, and what they shared (and didn’t) revealed much about transparency and affordability in the art world. | Valentina Di Liscia
Future Fair Is a Big Artist Party
Instead of presenting a series of segmented gallery booths, the New York show fosters connections between them. | Isa Farfan
My NADA Sketchbook
I found myself wanting to draw all the three-dimensional pieces at the New York art fair. | Steven Weinberg
News
- Artists and cultural workers made history at the Venice Biennale as they launched a major strike that disrupted the pre-opening of the international exhibition. It is the first cultural strike in the biennale’s 131-year history.
- As the 61st Venice Biennale opens its doors to the public on May 9, 54 artists in the international exhibition and 22 national pavilion teams issued their withdrawal from awards consideration in solidarity with the jury’s resignation.
- As Somalia’s first-ever national pavilion debuted at the 61st Venice Biennale, some local cultural organizations said they were not “meaningfully consulted” or “included” in the selection process for the exhibition.
- In a surprise move, cosmetics billionaire Ronald Lauder’s Neue Galerie will merge with The Metropolitan Museum of Art down the street on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.
- Three arcade cabinets appeared at the DC War Memorial, inviting visitors to play “Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell,” which mirrors the White House’s trivialization of death and suffering amid the US and Israel’s prolonged war on Iran.
- Painter, educator, and Civil Rights activist Mary Lovelace O’Neal died on May 10 at age 84 in Mérida, Mexico. The beloved artist was best known for monumental canvases and inventive, gestural “lampblack” works.
From Our Critics
The Ukrainian Pavilion’s Deer Seen Around the World
Before arriving in Venice, Zhanna Kadyrova’s “The Origami Deer” undertook an epic journey mirroring those of displaced Ukrainians. | Gregory Volk
Did Zurbarán Believe What He Painted?
An exhibition about the Spanish painter in London made me ponder whether belief actually makes a difference in how well you paint. | Michael Glover
Todd Gray Reframes Black Diasporic History
His installations of layered photos drawn from an expansive Black heritage entice viewers to keep looking, find connections, and ask questions. | David S. Rubin
The Making of a Maintenance Artist
A new documentary traces Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s decades-long practice of spotlighting marginal, unpaid, and feminine labor. | Dan Schindel
Opinions
IDF Soldiers Hide From Our Gaze
Official portraits show Israeli soldiers turning their backs on the camera, ostensibly to protect them from prosecution for war crimes. The gesture is a tacit admission of guilt. | Ido Nahari
Genuflecting Before “Don Colossus”
Trump’s new golden statue in Miami has been compared to the Golden Calf, but it’s more akin to a Moloch idol. | Ed Simon
Features
Archaeologists Discover Mummy Buried With Lines From Homer’s Iliad
Found in Egypt, the papyrus confirms that Homer was everywhere in the ancient Mediterranean. | Sarah Bond
Ridgewood’s Thriving Art Scene Steps Out of Bushwick’s Shadow
Ridgewood Open Studios drew hundreds to explore hidden alcoves in converted factories, basement spaces teeming with sculptures, and printmaking workshops in playgrounds.
Community
Art Problems: WTF Is an A-Corp?
What exactly is an Artist Corporation, and should you start one? Paddy Johnson has your back.
Beer With a Painter: Keith Mayerson
“I wanted to rip the mask off the signifier and just deal with the signified,” said the cartoonist-turned-painter who depicts a cosmology of American identity and activism.
A View From the Easel: Lavett Ballard
“The Barbies belong to my six-year-old granddaughter, who sometimes joins me in the studio to paint.”
Art Movements: Michelle Millar Fisher Heads to Cooper Hewitt
The New York museum hires a new chief curator, Getty grants $1.8M for Black visual art archives, and an artist’s cheeky plea on the High Line.
Remembering Bruno Bischofberger, Manuela Hoelterhoff, and Steven Durland
This week, we honor a Swiss collector, a discerning art critic, and a champion of performance art.
Required Reading
This week: artists’ antidote to AI slop, Kimberlé Crenshaw’s new memoir, New Orleans and climate change, an Art Deco train, and what do sex workers think about “Euphoria”?
Opportunities
Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from the Bennett Prize, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and more in our May list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.
