| Good morning, and buckle up — we’re about to get real “artworld” on you. Four major Black artists — Amy Sherald, Rashid Johnson, Jack Whitten, and Lorna Simpson — have just opened or are about to open exhibitions at major museums around New York: the Whitney, the Guggenheim, MoMA, and The Met, respectively. All four artists are represented by one major international gallery, Hauser & Wirth, causing some in the media to claim that it’s now officially “Hauser spring.” But as artist and writer Damien Davis argues in his must-read opinion piece today, this language offers a convenient narrative of market dominance. He asks: Who gets to frame Black success? In New York City, the first crop of art fairs is happening now: News Editor Valentina Di Liscia paid a visit to the Spring Break Art Show. Read her report and check back for dispatches from Frieze, Independent, NADA, and more later this week. In our pages today, we also mourn the loss of Matthew Courtney, the downtown legend who helped found nonprofit ABC No Rio, hosting an anything-goes open mic event there for almost 20 years. And we report on SFMoMA laying off 29 workers. Elsewhere, we’ve got Claudia Ross’s review arguing that we’ve got a thing or two to learn from the students at UCLA (if recent events haven’t already proven that), plus Eileen G’Sell on a film about extreme body modification, and yes, conclave memes. Thanks again to the Hyperallergic Members who attended last week's conversation about artist studio visits with curators Kimberli Gant, Candice Hopkins, and Caroline Liou! If you weren't able to make it, members can now access the video recording for the next 30 days. Become a member today. — Lisa Yin Zhang, Associate Editor |
