issue 039: appreciating art in critical times

Art news + my top 15 reads from last week: artist interviews, exhibition reviews, and commentary fitting for this moment.

Hi artsies,

I struggled to put today’s issue together. I’m scattered: tucked inside myself, yet constantly distracted. With everything going on, it can feel strange to spend time on something “non-essential” like art. But at the same time, art is one of the few things that always just makes sense. And supporting artists feels more urgent than ever.

Although I wasn’t overly inspired this week, I’m happy to share 15 art reads that can hopefully occupy your mind with beautiful things for a few moments.

But first, some art news:

• Several museums and galleries joined the nationwide strike protesting ICE.

• The Guggenheim and Baltimore Museum unveiled their 2025 acquisitions.

• We lost some greats: legendary NYC art dealer Marian Goodman, Catherine O’Hara, Irish artist Richard Gorman, and Colombian artist Beatriz González.

• Tarek Atoui was awarded the next Tate Modern Turbine Hall commission.

• Hundreds of galleries across Spain will strike next week to protest 21% tax on art.

• Mexico City Art Week was in full swing.

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Perception & Materiality

James Turrell’s latest immersive light installation manipulates perception through carefully orchestrated color and illumination in a HUGE new museum setting.

John Chiara's large-format camera work captures light in the San Francisco Bay Area, documenting ordinary scenes through an extraordinarily attentive lens.

This sculptural and installation work explores the uncanny relationship between observer and observed, and the blurred line between attraction and threat.

Just when you think we’ve seen it all, we’re surprised! Newly discovered and preserved films by Andy Warhol shed light on overlooked aspects of his practice.

Artists in the Margins

In this memorial piece, we admire Anne Russinof's gestural painting practice and her distinctive approach to color, form, and expressive abstraction.

Martial Raysse’s seven-decade career continues to produce innovative and boundary-pushing work.

An introduction to Elida Cerrato's vibrant, visionary paintings, combining surreal imagery with bold color.

A profile of performance and visual artist (and icon) Vaginal Davis, examining their influential interdisciplinary practice and exhibition at PS1.

Art as Memory & Grief

We know Vuong first as a poet and writer. And this photography exhibition translates his lit practice into visuals, addressing themes of loss and resilience.

Hedda Sterne’s contemplative practice creates expansive, meditative visual environments.

Amy Sillman's multifaceted practice explores abstraction, representation, and the relationship between drawing and digital media.

Worlds Interior and Exterior

Revisiting and reassessing Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s work in this critical moment.

Beautiful, lesser-known works from the late Martin Parr.

With a renewed spotlight on Greenland, this PS1 show from photographer Inuuteq Storch captures a daily life that is much less remote than I thought.

DL left us a year ago this week. This exhibition surveys his longstanding multidisciplinary practice across painting, photography, and other media. Check out my reel honoring this practice.

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I hope something caught your eye and gave you joy.

‘til next week,

tld-art