Weekly This week, we had some April Fools fun, so check out this year’s edition to poke fun at all the ridiculousness of the field of art. I know we can all use a laugh. We also published a report from the union protest at the Whitney Museum this week (did you know half of the museum’s workers earn less than $20 per hour?), an article by scholar Dan Hicks about an exhibition at a German museum that is grappling with colonial violence, and there are reviews of Richard Yarde, Vian Sora, Jim Osman, and many others. I also highly recommend Susannah Abbey’s article about two Navajo artists who are pushing contemporary weaving in new directions. — Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief Become a member today to support our independent journalism.
Your support helps keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all. Become a Member Rehema Chachage and Valerie Asiimwe Amani, "The Journey" (2022) (all images courtesy Grassi Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig by Tom Dachs unless otherwise indicated) Unmasking a History of Colonial Violence in a German Museum
Dan Hicks highlights how a Tanzanian-German artist collaboration is reimagining the removal of a plinth as a sculptural gesture in its own right.Rehema Chachage, Valerie Asiimwe Amani, PARA and the curatorial team led by Grassi’s director Léontine Meijer-van Mensch are demonstrating how the task of exorcising obsolete colonial-patriarchal structures of exclusion and prejudice can begin with new forms of collaborative monumentality. SPONSORED NEWS THIS WEEK Whitney workers held signs and passed out flyers as VIP guests arrived for the opening of the 2022 Whitney Biennial (all photos Jasmine Liu/Hyperallergic) Whitney Museum workers surprise Biennial guests with a union protest, demanding fair wages and recognition. The British Museum announced it will be wiping the Sackler name from its galleries, rooms, and endowments, but not completely from the institution. Students announce a tuition strike in response to Goldsmiths College’s threats to slash Queer and Black History studies. The European Parliament “strongly condemns” Azerbaijan’s intentional destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh. The Colby College Museum of Art acquires Faith Ringgold’s narrative quilt “Coming to Jones Road #4: Under A Blood Red Sky.” WHAT TO SEE IN NYC AND LA THIS MONTH Rose Nestler, "The Therapist (attributed to Magritte)" (2022), leather, wood, foam, thread, fabric, batting, epoxy, brass hinges (courtesy Mrs. and the artist) Exhibitions across NYC delicately dissect the omnipresence of the body in abstract and virtual space, address corporeality’s constructed or collaged nature, explore the political potential of bodies in dialogue, and revel in the sheer absurdity of moving through the world in one of these things. In Los Angeles, there’s a bit of a common thread running through this month’s list of exhibitions, drawing upon the craft and conceptual history of textiles, costume, and fashion design to express new ideas around self-fashioning. SPONSORED The first US museum survey of the avant-garde filmmaker, poet, and artist is on view at the Jewish Museum in New York City through June 5. Learn more. APRIL FOOLIN' Artist Marina Abramović during her new iteration of "The Artist Is Present" (photo courtesy Alejandro Mallea) Health Officials Warn of “Second Wave” of Immersive Van Gogh Exhibitions in NYC
New Yorkers are advised to monitor for symptoms, which include Instagram Reels, the flattening of an artist’s legacy, and an intense desire to watch Netflix’s Emily in Paris. LATEST IN ART Richard Yarde, "The Parlor" (1980), Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts, gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (© Estate of Richard Yarde, by Laura Shea) This particular watercolor is gorgeous in the way it treats fabric and creates a brightly colorful resonance among the upholstered chairs, the patterned curtain and floor, and the shirt worn by the male figure sitting with a child’s arm slung over his shoulder. It’s an image of people existing in a large room with an abundance of space. There is something joyful in that: to be able to be lavish with space, to take up as much or as little as one wants. Zefren-M with “Mother Earth and Father Sky Entwined” in their home weaving studio (photo Susannah Abbey/Hyperallergic) Morris Muskett hand-spinning churro wool outside his home near Gallup, New Mexico. (photo Susannah Abbey/Hyperallergic) Two Navajo Artists Weave New Histories
Susannah Abbey talks with Zefren-M and Morris Muskett about finding self-expression through contemporary weaving.Two Navajo artists living in New Mexico who have broken away from that slice of weaving history reach backward and forward in time, through pre-European-contact patterns and across centuries toward contemporary self-expression. Like Orcas and Tangerines
Kuwaiti and New Mexican artist Zahra Marwan creates a visual essay that provides glimpses of statelessness and belonging. ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC Devin Halbal with her now iconic selfie stick. (photograph courtesy Devin Halbal and used with permission) Met Gala Behavior and Other TikTok Wisdom From Devin Halbal
Hrag Vartanian speaks with Devin Halbal (@halbaddie) about how she's helping define what “Met Gala Behavior” is in 2022."It’s about knowing your words. It’s about being the queen in your day-to-day life, being a star … and knowing that everyone deserves to be on their Met Gala Behavior. Everyone deserves to fully express themselves, wear whatever they want, and feel beautiful.” Why We Should Care About the Video Essay
Miguel Pinto expands on how the inclusion of found footage and screen recordings has turned the video essay into a representation of online life. Letting a Dairy Cow’s Life Speak for Itself
Manuela Lazic reviews Cow and how director Andrea Arnold presents the world as her main character sees it. Why We Can’t Have Mid-Century Modern
"It’s time we emulate the better civic efforts that gave rise to mid-century modernism rather than just its aesthetics" — Anthony Sorrells IN OUR STORE Judy Chicago’s famous 1973 painting translates beautifully into this pure silk scarf and lends a splash of color to any patriarchy-smashing outfit. Shop now! | 