What's a Gen X to Do?
New leader for the Louvre, big mess at the Berlinale, Juliette Lewis turns into a chair, and our heroes drop like flies.
This week, we've got one drama after another. Beleaguered Louvre president Laurence des Cars quits after a historic heist under her watch. The next morning, a new leader is announced. It's Christophe Leribault from the Palace of Versailles, a true museum animal who ran a few during his career. Meanwhile, the Berlinale turns into a shitshow because of Germany's old penchant for censorship. We watched legends like Wim Wenders get tied up in knots at a press conference, saying dumb things like, "We have to stay out of politics." Chomsky broke our hearts first, and then Wenders followed. What's a Gen X to do?
Also, congrats to the 111 artists who were picked for In Minor Keys, curator Koyo Kouoh’s posthumous show at the 2026 Venice Biennale, opening this May. Lots of great artists there.
Read a lot more below, including the untold history of Mount Rushmore and a review of a wacky social-critique film in which Juliette Lewis turns into a chair.
Finally, Hyperallergic Members are invited for a virtual conversation between artist-writer Damien Davis and me this Monday, March 2. Since he started writing for us in 2024, Damien has emerged as one of the strongest voices in the field. We'll discuss his recent essays, studio practice, and how the two converge. Not a Hyperallergic Member yet? Join today to enjoy such events while also supporting our independent art journalism. Thanks for reading, and have a lovely weekend.
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
Venice Biennale Names 111 Artists for International Exhibition
The selected artists include Wangechi Mutu, Cauleen Smith, Carolina Caycedo, Nick Cave, Kader Attia, and Khaled Sabsabi, who made headlines last year when Australia rescinded and then reinstated his selection for its national pavilion.
Artists Thinking Out Loud: The IFPDA Returns to the Park Avenue Armory this April
The fair will bring together 80 exhibitors and an expanded focus on drawings in a nod to the medium’s long-standing relationship with printmaking.
News
- Christophe Leribault was appointed the new director of the Louvre Museum within one day of Laurence des Cars’ resignation on February 24.
- The Irish government will give 2,000 artists unrestricted weekly stipends, following a successful three-year basic income pilot program.
- Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle’s job is on the line for failing to silence criticism of Israel at the embattled film festival.
- Activist and painter Judy Baca denies accusations of using a grant awarded to her nonprofit organization for her personal art business.
- The chief operating officer at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta resigns after an independent review determines that $600,000 were stolen from the institution.
Join us on Monday, March 2, for an exclusive, virtual talk with artist and Hyperallergic contributor Damien Davis, whose distinctive voice challenges the power structures and inequities of the contemporary art world.
From Our Critics
Diaries of a Chairwoman
Juliette Lewis turns into a chair in a film that critiques mass culture’s conflation of femininity with consumerism and envy. | Eileen G’Sell
Chipping Away at the Facade of Mount Rushmore
In “Biography of a Mountain,” author Matthew Davis deftly weaves together interviews and stories that reveal so much more than a linear narrative of the monument’s history. | Irvin Weathersby Jr.
Squeak Carnwath Paints Her Own Path
This artist rejects the notion that paint as a medium inevitably becomes exhausted, incapable of making something, however broken it may be. | John Yau
A Cold Plunge Into Glenn Ligon’s Blue
New works exemplify a line of inquiry central to the artist’s practice: How might language and color merge to birth figuration? | Daria Simone Harper
The Disappearing Art of Iberian Democracy
The varied, confrontational works on view at Madrid’s La Casa Encendida are reminders of the intense labor required to protect liberty. | Lauren Moya Ford
Also on View
Your Guide to Fairs and Shows This LA Frieze Week
In true Angeleno fashion, a slew of local exhibitions and art events act as a counterbalance to this year’s eight fairs — or more, depending on how you define them. | Matt Stromberg
A Tour Inside the NY Botanical Garden’s Trippy Orchid Show
Classic city scenes become floral fantasies in this year’s pop-timistic iteration of the park’s iconic annual show. | Greta Rainbow
David Driskell’s Gifts to Black Art
The artist and scholar spent decades championing Black artists through collecting, creating, and providing financial support through the Driskell Prize. | Carl Little
Opinion
Why My Public Art Drives the Right Nuts
“Phoenix Ladder” is an homage to the people of the Bronx, a lighthouse for our collective futures, and our witness. | Shellyne Rodriguez
Community
Remembering Dóra Maurer, Isaiah Zagar, and Peter Stämpfli
This week, we honor a Hungarian avant-garde artist, a Philadelphia mosaicist, a Swiss pop artist, and others.
Art Movements: New Curator at the Frick
Aaron Wile will be a senior curator at the institution. Plus, the Venice Biennale announces its full list, and the Bezoses are chairing the Met Gala, and other industry news.
Required Reading
How to make art with a full-time job, portraits of Black marronage, artists vs. algorithms, US men’s hockey team acts up (again), snow sculptures in NYC, and more links from around the internet.
A View From the Easel
Sofie Koenig from Bloomington, Indiana, explores the personality of oil paint, and Marissa Robin Abendano from New York finds inspiration in conversations with strangers in Central Park. Your Studio could be next!
