The Problem With Art Awards
Lucian Freud's paintings of "lostness," the real purpose of art awards, a new center for Native American art, and a lot of chair stuff.
Are art awards meant to provide artists with recognition and material support, or to reinforce power structures and maintain the status quo? Damien Davis argues it's the latter in an opinion piece just in time for awards season. Give it a read.
Also today: disturbing revelations from the University of North Texas, which nixed an artist's anti-ICE show last month, Michael Glover on Lucian Freud's paintings of "lostness," Lori Waxman on a quirky mid-century modernism show, and a tribute to Pedro Friedeberg, inventor of the "Hand Chair," who died last week.
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
Awards Season and the Management of Cultural Power
What is being offered as recognition often operates as a way of organizing power, determining not only what is seen, but who is positioned to benefit from that visibility. | Damien Davis
Merging Craft Practices and New Media at the Museum of Craft and Design
Through themes of encoding, looping, and sampling, “Video Craft” brings the craft roots of emerging film technologies into focus. Now on view in San Francisco.
News
- Laura Phipps, former associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, has been tapped as the new director of the Gochman Family Collection.
- Text messages reveal how the president and provost of the University of North Texas discussed removing artworks “of concern” before shuttering Victor Quiñonez’s anti-ICE exhibition, alarming free speech advocates.
From Our Critics
Lucian Freud Mastered the Art of Lostness
As a National Portrait Gallery exhibition proves, he was especially good at depicting people painfully adrift from themselves. | Michael Glover
Mid-Century Modernism Goes Rogue in “Chair-ish”
Artists Alex Chitty and Norman Teague give each other the permission needed to do something as heretical as saw an Eames chair into pieces. | Lori Waxman
Raw Material: The Art and Life of Susan Kleckner
This exhibition at Haverford College’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is the first comprehensive retrospective of the pioneering feminist, filmmaker, photographer, and performance artist.
In Memoriam
Remembering Pedro Friedeberg, Thaddeus Mosley, and Liliana Angulo Cortés
This week, we honor the inventor of the Hand Chair, a beloved Pittsburgh sculptor, and the director of the Museo Nacional de Colombia.
Member Comment
Holly Wong on Renée Reizman’s “Ali Eyal Gives Testimony”:
University of Rochester Department of Art & Art History – Fanny Knapp Allen Artist in Residence
Artists whose practices centers on fiber-based and textile processes can apply for this one- or two-year position beginning July 1, 2026. The salary is between $70,000 and $130,000 (commensurate with qualifications), plus more support for research and production.
Deadline: April 3, 2026 | apply.interfolio.com/181562
See more in this month’s list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers!
From the Archive
The Stories of 100 Midcentury Chairs
Midcentury modernism continues to inspire our desire to sit on something beautiful and fashionable. | Claire Voon
The Chairs that Architects Have Designed
Before he designed the soaring 1962 TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport, Eero Saarinen experimented with gravity-defying design through his one-legged white and red Tulip chair. | Allison Meier
