Weekly Newsletter
We pull back the curtain on the official gallery narrative. Plus, the memes take off as Trump’s reflecting pool gets murkier.
In the weeks following the news that Pace had laid off dozens of staff and cut as many artists, an insidious narrative began to take hold in some corners of the art world. That narrative went something like this: “The gallery model is broken. This was an inevitable consequence.” The problem with this rhetoric is that it came largely from the same people responsible for advancing the very system they now claim is beyond repair.
This week at Hyperallergic, we did what independent journalism does best: pull back the curtain on the official messaging and center the people rather than the powerful.
In an incisive opinion piece, Barbara Pollack challenges a former art fair leader’s lukewarm New York Times take on the cuts. “[Marc] Spiegler writes about the current demise of the gallery ecosystem as if he were just an observer, not one of its chief architects,” Pollack argues. And in “Pace Gallery’s Hall of Mirrors,” which I reported with Rebecca Schiffman, we interview gallery workers and artists whose perspectives paint a more complex and personal picture of the downsizing.
Finally, our hearts are broken by the horrific scale of loss and suffering in Venezuela. After two back-to-back earthquakes struck the region on Wednesday, thousands of people, including artists and cultural workers, are still searching for their loved ones. Please contact us if you are aware of fundraisers or aid efforts to help artists and creative communities.
—Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor
Pace Gallery’s Hall of Mirrors
On June 4, when Pace announced that it would cut 50 artists from its roster and lay off 50 employees, CEO Marc Glimcher framed the decision as a response to a larger industry problem and a gallery model he deemed “unfixable.” Later that day, according to staff, Glimcher told employees during a surprise Zoom town hall that he took personal responsibility for the situation and acknowledged that the decisions that led Pace to this point were his own.
But workers inside the gallery say the cuts unfolded quickly and without clarity, affecting the most unprotected staff members — and among the impacted artists who knew what was coming, some questioned how the announcement was handled. | Valentina Di Liscia and Rebecca Schiffman
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News
- The floor of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which President Trump just had painted a color he dubbed “American Flag Blue,” is turning a barf-green. Here are some of the best memes that have come from it.
- At least 589 people are dead and tens of thousands are reported missing after two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, June 24. Among those impacted are artists and members of the cultural community who have been mobilizing to support recovery efforts and locate loved ones.
- Democratic Socialist Claire Valdez, an artist and New York State Assemblywoman, clinched the Democratic nomination to represent New York’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives in a landslide victory.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is bringing soccer fever to the Whitney Museum of American Art. Those who complete a poster art activity from artist Rich Tu — creating a poster inspired by the World Cup — will will get into the museum for free.
- Hundreds of artists have joined a campaign to urge New York City schools to implement a two-year “moratorium” on artificial intelligence in the classroom.
- Brooklyn’s South Bushwick Community Church is seeking to raise $2 million after a three-alarm blaze caused devastating damage on Friday, June 19.
- Art Movements: Trump is coming for the Architecture Biennale, Modigliani’s “indecent” nude fetches $63.9M, the National Gallery of Art gets a major contemporary art gift, and more industry news.
Queer Elders
Going Deep With Brenda Goodman
“I remember taking a plaid dress, tearing it up, and using it as paint rags,” the 83-year-old painter tells me in a knee-to-knee interview at her studio. | Mala Iqbal
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Opinions
Marc Spiegler Got It All Wrong
In a guest essay for the New York Times, the former Art Basel global director presented a vision of a Brave New Art World that has little to do with art and those who make it. | Barbara Pollack
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Film
From Our Critics
Georgia O’Keeffe the Wanderer
A new documentary presents the artist as a perpetual voyager, generously highlighting her lesser-known work and combating myths about her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz. | Debra Brehmer
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Every Dog Has Its Artist
A compassionate new book explores how canine companions across Western art history break down the emotional boundaries between species. | Alisyn Amant
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Book Excerpt
Guides
- A View From the Easel: Peek into artist Ashley Chew’s workspace, where urtures community and connection in her studio as an antidote to exclusionary spaces in the art world.
- In Memoriam: This week, we honor an Frayda Feldman, an Andy Warhol print expert; James Wagner, a tireless art collector; Melodee Strong, a beloved Minneapolis muralist, and others.
- Required Reading: Scott Burton’s last sculpture, remembering Lebanese environmental activist Mona Khalil, AI slop in art journalism, NYC’s rollerskating queer icon, and more.
ICYMI
Inside the Mind of an Antiquities Looter
“The Man Who Stole the Gods” author Matthew Campbell discusses Western collectors’ rapacious hunger for ancient Cambodian art and the sheer violence it took to satiate it. | Erin L. Thompson
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