Blog
The Venice Biennale, art and the refugee crisis
In 1992, amid the collapse of socialism and the tumultuous breakup of Yugoslavia, a group of artists came together to create a utopian fictional state. Part art project, part political statement, the state –called NSK– reconsidered what a modern globalized nation could be. It was rooted in no single territory […]
Catalan architects, Art and Soulages
Three Catalan architects who have built little outside Catalonia have been named as the 2017 winners of the Pritzker prize, the world’s most prestigious architecture award. For a glamorous gong that is usually bestowed on star architects for galleries and opera houses, it is a radical departure to see it […]
The explosion of biennials
It was like a cultural version of Davos, held in the wintry grandeur of central Oslo. For three days, delegates and guests sat in a conference called Oslo Pilot, holding critical discussions about “relational aesthetics” and the role of public art in society. But really, last November’s event was all […]
The “Uber effect” in the Art
Barely a month goes by without the launch of an online initiative that aims to disrupt the art market and bring the “Uber and Airbnb effect” to art transactions. But witness the crowds pacing the aisles at a big-league art fair, or spilling out of the salesrooms during the evening […]
The importance of expertise
If an answer is important for the art’s world now and in the future is linked with this crucial question: Are we facing a crisis of expertise in the art market? Probably, the answer, in my opinion, is yes, I believe we are. And I think that because it is […]
Why US universities are investing in their art museums
Over the past decade, many university leaders and donors have come to the same conclusion: investment in the arts is essential to building a competitive institution in an increasingly global world. This year, around half a dozen new museums and arts centers are opening on campuses across the country, from […]
Using art to examine Obama legacy
The valedictions for Barack Obama’s presidency are being prepared. Perhaps few will have the romanticism of the epic labor that New York artist Rob Pruitt has been preparing daily over the past eight years. By the time Obama steps down on 21 January 2017, there will be some 3,000 red […]
John Berger, art critic and author, In Memoriam
John Berger, who died on Monday January, 2, wrote and said a lot of smart things, but he will be remembered longest for his 1972 BBC television series and book Ways of Seeing. The TV series belongs to the pixelated past, but the brilliantly designed book published alongside it by […]
Art Revolutionaries
An exhibition (Art Revolutionaries, 6 Duke Street, London SW 1, from 18 January-10 February 2017) coming to London in January will attempt to recreate the impact of the Spanish pavilion of 1937, a little gallery built as cheaply as possible at the Paris International Exposition by Spain’s republican government at […]
The reality is more powerful than art? Well…
The other day I watched stuff turn into art when I saw Tracey Emin assemble My Bed, one of the most controversial ready-mades ever created. At the start of her installation there was a mattress on a plinth and two tables of carefully bagged objects. By the time she’d finished, […]