Art and Springtime in Upstate NY
Plus, solace in Leah Ke Yi Zheng’s divine paintings, Ali Cherri accuses Israel of war crimes, and a revealing new survey of POC-led arts orgs.
Spring in Upstate New York might just be my favorite time and place in the world— I love that sense of hope, renewal, and relief as those ceaseless gray days finally surrender to color. Speaking of, there's some pretty great art on view in the region, as our favorite Upstate art writer, Taliesin Thomas, proves in her guide this month.
Today, a new survey finds that art museums and organizations led by people of color are disproportionately understaffed, relying heavily on volunteer work to serve their communities. Also in the news, artist Ali Cherri, who won the Silver Lion Award for best film feature at the 2022 Venice Biennale, files a war crimes complaint against Israel for a Beirut strike that killed his parents.
If you find yourself in need of a reprieve from earthly matters, Ed Simon and John Yau offer very different approaches to salvation in this issue: Salvador Dalí's "Nuclear Mysticism," on the one hand, and Leah Ke Yi Zheng's contemporary divination on the other.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
10 Exhibitions to See in Upstate New York This April
Lisa Karrer’s “warm technology,” Deirdre O’Connell’s loving portraits, Caleb Weintraub’s fantastical realms, and more. | Taliesin Thomas
Call for Applications: 2026 Craft Archive Fellowship
The Center for Craft will award up to four $5,000 fellowships to support research on underrepresented craft histories, culminating in an article on Hyperallergic.
News
- A new report found that museums and cultural centers founded and led by people of color in the Northeast face severe staffing shortages, with over a third of responding institutions lacking a single full-time employee.
- Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has formally accused the Israeli military of committing a war crime for a strike that killed his parents in their Beirut apartment in 2024.
Feature
Salvador Dalí’s Frustrating Vision of the Divine
Having abandoned the profane for only the sacred, Dalí’s “Nuclear Mysticism” renounced the richness of experience for the aridity of metaphysics. | Ed Simon
From Our Critics
Leah Ke Yi Zheng’s Personal I Ching
The artist is synthesizing the divergent cultural histories of Western oil painting and Eastern ink painting into one. | John Yau
Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair Returns to Powerhouse Arts This Week
Over 50 exhibitors, hands-on programming, and a juried print exhibition make up the fair’s expanded second edition. April 9–12, 2026.
Community
A View From the Easel
“I don’t foresee certain results, but I welcome the provocation of the material and the form.” | Lakshmi Rivera Amin
Member Comment
Jozanne Rabyor on Hyperallergic’s “15 Shows to See in New York City This April”:
From the Archive
Ali Cherri’s Muddy Affair
The artist retells the myth of Gilgamesh through a meditation on mud, a primordial material and source of timeless storytelling. | Farah Abdessamad
