November 29, 2022
Good morning. ⛅ I want to tell you about the William Morris "Blackthorn" Placemat Set I recently got from the Hyperallergic store because I’m in love with it. Beautiful, affordable, and quite sturdy, these ornate placemats have left no guest unimpressed. You can check out our holiday gift guide for this and other great finds.
Today in the news, Chinese citizens who are fed up with the country's unforgiving zero-COVID policy are using white sheets of paper as symbols of resistance. There's a history behind this symbol, as our staff reporter Elaine Velie explains. And the Venice Biennale closed this weekend with record attendance. We break down the numbers for you.
And as Art Week Miami kicks off, our News Editor Valentina Di Liscia put together a guide to all the noteworthy fairs and exhibitions of this week, including recommendations for restaurants and snacking spots. Valentina will be bringing us more reports from Miami this week.
Finally, read our Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian's analysis of Elon Musk's bizarre beside table photo on Twitter, featuring guns, a Buddhist amulet, empty Diet Coke cans, and an image of Emanuel Leutze’s “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” I'm starting to really get tired of this guy. Later, Musk also tweeted: "There is no excuse for my lack of coasters." To that I say: Have you seen our Louise Bourgeois coaster set?
— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor
Elon Musk’s Strange Twitter Still Life
What does it mean when the world's richest person trolls us? | Hrag Vartanian
SPONSORED
Firelei Báez, On View at James Cohan’s 48 Walker Street Gallery
In her vivid new paintings, Firelei Báez ruminates on the foundational mythologies that have come to form a uniquely American brand of nostalgia, one shaped by the projected desire for an idealized past that never was.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING
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 white sheets of paper emerge as symbols of dissent.
The 2022 Venice Biennale closes out with the highest number of visitors in the exhibition’s 127-year history.
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Black Presence and the American Art Museum
Join the New-York Historical Society on December 9 for a virtual conversation with Kellie Jones, Rujeko Hockley, and Cameron Shaw on the past, present, and future of Black art in the US. Learn more.
LATEST IN ART
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
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Expand Your Practice With New York Studio School’s MFA, Certificate, and Virtual Certificate
Join a studio-focused community of dedicated artists for rigorous full-time study in the fields of drawing, painting, and sculpture in 2023. Learn more.
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
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Failure to Protect a Prison Population Exposed in Sickness in the System
Field of Vision’s latest free streaming offering focuses on a vulnerable population put at risk, told through the stories of those inside. Learn more.
Hints of Memory in Layers of Paint
Suzanne Jackson’s paintings come to life, and find their way home, at the Arts Club of Chicago. | Susannah Papish
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IN OUR STORE
William Morris Arts & Crafts Socks
In the 19th century, William Morris’s high-minded, nature-inspired designs helped revive textile arts in the UK, making this three-pack set a thematically appropriate gift for lovers of art and art history.
