Weekly
December 3, 2022

This week, news editor Valentina Di Liscia was in Miami and reported from the art market lovefest, asking questions few seem to ask at the fair, including: "Why is there no Spanish at the main Miami fairs?" She writes:

… I noticed that both of the printed pamphlets that Art Basel offers to visitors (a floor plan and a show program) were not bilingual in a city where two-thirds of the population speaks Spanish. Even Art Basel’s website appears to be only in English, French, and Chinese. If the high costs of an Art Basel ticket (the cheapest regular day pass is $70, with a reduced $55 pass for students and seniors) isn’t already driving away Latino Miamians, the most common ethnic group living below the poverty line in the city, I can imagine the absence of bilingual material doesn’t help.

When will art market denizens learn to be more inclusive? Selling a slightly more diverse roster of artists is not exactly a solution.

In reviews, John Yau explores Astrid Dick's painting and writes, "The longer you look at Dick’s work, the more you will see that it is coming into its own." An Xiao Mina considers an exhibition in which, as she explains, "At the heart of the show is the idea that matriarchy never really died but rather has transformed." Dan Schindel reviews a new documentary by Laura Poitras about Nan Goldin and writes, "The film could be seen jointly as a Poitras political piece and a Goldin artwork."

And I also wrote something this week that deconstructs the peculiar "bedside table" photograph that Elon Musk tweeted out. What does it tell us about the richest man in the world?

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

Guillaume Bijl’s 1984 “Casino” instllation was recreated for Art Basel. (photo Valentina Di Liscia/Hyperallergic)

Why Is There No Spanish at Art Basel Miami?

At this year’s show, I reflected on the lack of bilingual materials, the absurdity of art-fair gimmick, and the workers who make it all possible. | Valentina Di Liscia

Your Concise Guide to Miami Art Week

From art fairs to alternative spaces that may not be on your radar, here’s a run-down of what to see (and eat and sip) in Miami. No NFTs, we promise. | Valentina Di Liscia

Straying Off the Glitzy Path at Miami Art Week

Ceramic fried eggs, critiques of real estate, and a whole booth dedicated to female-identifying saints caught my eye at Untitled, NADA, and Art Miami. | Valentina Di Liscia

NEWS THIS WEEK

Protestors hold white sheets of paper at Tsinghua University in Beijing (via Twitter)

• As protesters voice their outrage over China’s strict COVID-19 lockdown policies, blank sheets of paper emerge as symbols of dissent.

• Right-wing group Citizens for Sanity erects an “anti-woke” billboard in Los Angeles, attempting to sow division among Latino/a/x communities.

• Country music legend Dolly Parton says she wants to open a museum in Nashville, which will be part of a larger “Dolly Center.”

• Plaintiff Cheri Pierson accuses disgraced MoMA trustee Leon Black of a “brutal” sexual attack at Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan mansion.

• Architecture critics and environmentalists denounce the "climate-killer" design of Berlin's forthcoming Museum of the 20th Century.

WHAT TO SEE IN NYC & LA THIS MONTH

Sophia-Yemisi Adeyemo, Detail of “Bloodroot and Machetes; As We Learn to Be Sharpened (No es un Lecho de Rosas)” (2022) (courtesy the artist and BRIC)

New York is thriving with activities at museums and galleries across the boroughs. Our highlights for December include art made during the first stock market crash, a homage to feline friends, and the 10-year anniversary of a crucial public art initiative.

This month’s Los Angeles art guide features exhibitions that focus on the body (or its absence), including the Hammer’s survey of vivid, figurative works by Bob Thompson, Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg’s fantastical installations exploring motherhood and birth, and more.

BOUNDARY-PUSHING PAINTERS

Anne Harvey, "Portrait of Brancusi" (1934), oil on canvas, 50 x 40 inches (all images courtesy Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects)

Anne Harvey in a Club of One

There is the singular artist and then there is the more exclusive club that has only one member. Harvey belongs to the latter. | John Yau

Adrian Ghenie and the Soup of Fame

Ghenie’s paintings of Marilyn Monroe are a relentless representation of a howling, turbulent tragedy, a face broken into crude sideways slewings and gougings and gorgings of paint. | Michael Glover

Whose Stripe Is It, Anyway? 

Astrid Dick was told that she could not paint stripes because Sean Scully and Frank Stella have done so before her, a patently foolish statement. | John Yau

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DRIVING INFLUENCES

Joiri Minaya, “Labadee” (2017), HD video, installation, 7:10 mins, dimensions variable (courtesy the artist)

The Tropical Is Political

A group exhibition at the Americas Society investigates ideas of paradise, approaching the Caribbean region as a product of the visitor economy regime. | Sebastián Meltz-Collazo

A Matriarchal Legacy of Women Warriors

At the heart of What if the Matriarchy Was Here All Along? is the idea that matriarchy never really died but rather has transformed. | AX Mina

Artists Discuss How Psychedelics Influence Their Work

Visual artists who incorporate psychedelics into their practices maintain a foundational understanding that there is more to reality than meets the eye. | Denise Zubizarreta

FILM & DOCUMENTARY

Nan Goldin in the bathroom with roommate, Boston (courtesy Nan Goldin)

An Achingly Personal Portrait of Nan Goldin

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed forcefully posits multiple parallels between the world Nan Goldin grew up in and the one she fights in today. | Dan Schindel

The Philippines’ Turbulent Past Captured in Film

The 26th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival’s Philippines retrospective highlights early documentation of the country, local responses to the Marcos dictatorship, and contemporary work. | Andrew Northrop

An Eco-Artist’s Dreams for an Underwater Documentary

Vanessa Albury, whose eco-friendly ceramic sculptures help revive filter-feeder populations, is raising funds to complete her first film about the project. | Rhea Nayyar

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Art Basel Miami Beach in November, 2022 (graphic Nancy Zastudil/Hyperallergic, original photo Valentina Di Liscia)

Art Problems: I Don’t Make Art to Sell; Do I Still Belong in the Art World?

Paddy Johnson answers your questions about art fairs, visibility, and frustrating studio visits. | Paddy Johnson

The Art World’s Catholic Problem

What feels like the right way to write about Roman Catholicism, or Christian iconography, to most art critics is heavily influenced by museum discourse, which is far from neutral. | Daniel Larkin

Elon Musk’s Strange Twitter Still Life

What does it mean when the world’s richest person trolls us? | Hrag Vartanian

A Decade Among the Mennonites

Larry Towell’s images reveal a little-seen, isolated world and raise questions about the unforgiving impact of tradition on families. | Lauren Moya Ford

Required Reading

This week, missed signs of previous life on Mars, the appeal of forged art, and why are blue whales singing in lower octaves?| Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin

HOLIDAY GIFTING

Hyperallergic’s Most Popular Gifts This Holiday Season

Looking for some holiday gift inspiration? We’ve got you covered with this roundup of accessories, games, and more that have been flying off the shelf this season.