Art Books, Artist-Daughters, Museums ’ Colonial Legacies

March 11, 2023

This week, we launched our new monthly listing of significant and newly released art books. Edited by Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Hyperallergic's editorial coordinator, we plan to bring you a summary of some of the best books you should check out.

If you have any books you'd like us to consider, please reply to this email with your suggestions and be sure to subscribe to our Books newsletter.

In other news, the Whitney Museum voted to ratify its first union contract after 16 months of negotiating, and it was also announced that Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg will be stepping down — we're unaware if there is a connection between the two. And an Idaho college attracted a great deal of attention after it removed six abortion-related artworks from an exhibition.

We also have reviews of work by mid-century women abstractions in London, Katie Shulman's fiber art, the sublime work of Hayley Barker, the abortion-inducing flowers in Alina Bliumis's paintings, and more.

And this week, we've been publishing the writing of Kelli Morgan, a leading scholar who examines white supremacy in art museums. She asks if museums in the US and elsewhere will be able to shake their colonial legacies. What do you think?

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

How Can Museums Truly Shake Off Their Colonial Legacy?

Representation alone will not end inequity in art museums. | Kelli Morgan

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NEWS THIS WEEK

An Idaho college became a hotbed of controversy after removing six abortion-related artworks from an exhibition.

Discovered in a university basement, an 1864 landscape painting by Gustave Courbet is now on view in Philadelphia.

Longtime Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg will be stepping down from his position.

Workers at the Whitney Museum voted to ratify their first union contract after 16 months of bargaining.

Striking student workers at Temple University face a tuition payment deadline after the school halted benefits in a widely criticized move.

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CRITICS' PICKS IN NYC

What to See in New York This March

With spring right around the corner, art in New York City is already in full bloom. And after the long-awaited return of daylight saving time on March 12, gallery hopping will become much more pleasant. Highlights for this month include:

Saif Azzuz: Says Who at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Hew Locke: Listening to the Land at PPOW Gallery

Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined at New Museum

As well as Asia Week New York happening March 14–16 across 26 galleries and six auction houses in the city. See the full list of shows we're excited about.

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*Our content is free for anyone to read but is not free to produce. We need your support to continue bringing you our fearless reporting, reviews, and essays.

SECTION TITLE

A Women’s History of Global Abstraction

Action, Gesture, Paint is a pointed challenge to the common definition of Abstract Expressionism: White, male, American artists. | Olivia McEwan

Painting the Terrifying Beauty of Abortion-Inducing Flowers

In Plant Parenthood, Alina Bliumis portrays the plants that have been used to terminate pregnancies for hundreds and thousands of years. | Elaine Velie

A Brush With the Californian Sublime

Using grand scale, lush color, and time-intensive labor, Hayley Barker creates artwork that magnifies the sublime in that which is often overlooked. | Jennifer Remenchik

CAREGIVING & THE BODY

Katie Shulman’s Delicate Dance With Fiber

If the body as a point of inspiration was once an innocent or abstract notion for the fiber artist, her more recent work can no longer avoid the body as battleground. | Sarah Rose Sharp

Why Is No One Talking About the Artist-Daughters?

We need more support for the women who have to balance an art practice with caregiving for their ailing parents. | Hall W. Rockefeller

Artists Consider the Concept of Care

Artists such as Leah Clements, Christine Sun Kim, and Jamila Prowse exercise care as responsibility, access, and inclusivity, and fostering a critical dialogue with others. | Lisa Slominski

WHAT WE'RE READING

New Art Books You Should Know, From Hilma af Klint to the Black Panther Party

Twelve titles on our reading list inquire about the practice of mudlarking, “cyberfeminism,” Lenape artists in New York City, and witchcraft in the age of technology. | Lakshmi Rivera Amin

Beneath the Surface of Art’s Visual Symbolism

Matthew Wilson’s new book, The Hidden Language of Symbols, chronicles the buried visual cues of power, faith, uncertainty, and hope. | Sarah Rose Sharp

Film as a Terrain of Feminist Struggle

Feminist Worldmaking and the Moving Image reminds us that feminist visions are abundant, and feminist critique is generative. | Sanoja Bhaumik

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Hirshhorn’s The Exhibit Premieres With Inflatable Banana and Lots of Cringe

The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist is filled with awkward silences and art-world jargon. | Rhea Nayyar

Dread Scott’s Visual Ballad to Nina Simone

The artist talks to Hyperallergic ahead of his New York exhibition Goddam. | Briana Ellis Gibbs

Digital Artists Are Pushing Back Against AI

Using the hashtag “No to AI Art,” artists protest AI image generators’ use of their work without permission or compensation. | Verity Babbs

Required Reading

This week, crossword puzzles on Black culture, the history of International Women’s Day, gender-neutral award shows, and why do fake reviews online fly under our radar? | Lakshmi Rivera Amin

COMICS

Mike Leigh’s BBC Films, Ranked

Leigh’s films are class-conscious, prickly, strange, satirical, and often very funny. | Nathan Gelgud

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"Late-Night Chat is Filled with Dreams" Mug Set x Yayoi Kusama

Made in collaboration with Yayoi Kusama, these bone china mugs are perfect for cozy drinks as you and a companion pass the time discussing art, the universe, and everything in between.

Check out our Kusama collection!

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