Michael Asher Digs Deep
A survey of the artist who made museums his medium, the godmothers of ecosexuality, and more.
What happens when you collate MoMA’s deaccessioned paintings into one convenient catalog, or shift the wall of a house by about a foot, all in the name of conceptual art? Michael Asher might have some answers for you. The artist’s work is cerebral — sometimes verging on inscrutable — but also politically charged, socially aware, and continually relevant, even more than a decade after his death. Read Renée Reizman’s review of a survey of the father of Institutional Critique — a form we hold dear here at Hyperallergic.
Also today, you’ll very much want to meet Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, the godmothers of ecosexuality. What does that mean? “Becoming a lover of Earth, eroticizing it, maybe even marrying it?” Tulsa Kinney writes. Their latest film will be screening at various venues through the end of the year.
Plus, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum’s decennial exhibition of Connecticut artists proves it’s no backwater, a mural was damaged during a break-in of the Harriet Tubman Museum, a former executive at the High Museum pleads guilty to embezzlement, and all the art reading you need to start the day right.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
For Michael Asher, the Museum Was the Medium
Walking through the exhibition Michael Asher at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, one may mistake the artist for a donor. The small solo show takes over two galleries, and Asher’s name is most prominently mounted above the opening that separates the rooms, like a deep-pocketed patron who bought their legacy.
Asher, who passed away in 2012, was not wealthy like the Annenbergs or the Sacklers, famous benefactors who coaxed museums into naming wings after them. He was a conceptual artist and longtime educator at CalArts, and his reputation endures despite the lack of sellable objects he produced. Asher was more interested in the way museums looked and operated, and his exploration of these behind-the-scenes machinations helped establish “Institutional Critique” as a category of conceptual art. | Renée Reizman
Read More
Cranbrook Academy of Art Reopens Applications for Fall 2026
The art institution is accepting applications from June 22 through August 15 for artists and designers considering graduate study.
News
- The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland, reported a break-in that resulted in damage to a mural over the weekend. The involved party, which remains at large, broke into the building only a month after it reopened to the public following an extensive renovation.
- The High Museum of Art’s former Chief Operating Officer Brady Lum has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $600,000 from the nonprofit arts institution.
From Our Critics
Contending With Fashion Photography’s Artifice
Lillian Bassman spent decades crafting commercial images. After leaving the industry, she was finally free to experiment in the darkroom. | Imani Williford
Read MoreFeatures
Meet the Doyennes of Ecosexuality
In their latest film, Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens advocate replacing an exploitative relationship with the Earth with one based on intimacy, care, and pleasure. | Tulsa Kinney
Read MoreConnecticut’s Artists Have Been Hiding in Plain Sight
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum’s inaugural decennial exhibition showcases works by 40 artists in the state, all made in the last decade. | Aaron Short
Read MoreMember Comment
Doria Hughes on “Why Do So Many Museums Hold a Convicted Antiquity Dealer’s Treasures?”
From the Archive
The Complicated Legacy of Barbie in Art
Long before Greta Gerwig’s movie, artists were critiquing Barbie’s influence on women — and Mattel didn’t always approve. | Elaine Velie
Read MoreArt at a Time Like This — Take One Action
Open call for brave poitical images and ideas of civic actions to save democracy. Selected artists will join a public art campaign this fall and/or be featured in an online exhibition. Honorarium up to $1000.
Deadline: August 21, 2026 | atlt.org
See more in this month’s list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers!
