Good morning. In a two-decade search for the tomb of Cleopatra’s tomb, researchers unearthed a marble statue, ceremonial vessels, and more than 300 ancient coins bearing the queen’s face — the most of any ruler of antiquity. It’s a big deal — but so is the fact that the MTA is phasing out those iconic orange-and-yellow-seated subway cars in New York City, AKA the best thing about the whole system. Supposedly, it’s meant to end delays and signal malfunctions. I’ll believe it when I see it. Read Isa Farfan’s reports below. In Reviews, we’ve got two different approaches to excavating the past. Nageen Shaikh reviews a show that reexamines the legacy of Orientalism through the works of Jean-Léon Gérôme and others. The show argues that Gérôme and his contemporaries deserve a second look; “I don’t take the bait,” Shaikh declares. And Natasha Seaman, a professor of art history, reviews a new book that explains how slavery underpins the Golden Age of Dutch Art.
Zoom forward a couple centuries, and we’ve got another pair of contemporary New York reviews: Qingyuan Deng writes on an intergenerational show of Hunter Reynolds and Dean Sameshina, who take two approaches to memorializing queer loss. And Petala Ironcloud writes on a group show of Raul de Lara, Shanique Emelife, Sihan Guo, and Tahnee Lonsdale, and how they each redefine what it means to be an “immigrant” through explorations of migration, spirituality, and interconnectedness. As you can see, we’re starting off the new year strong, and we hope yours is off to a good start, too. — Lisa Yin Zhang, Associate Editor
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