If you survived day one of the New York fair flurry, you have my respect — Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara has read his share of booth press releases over the past 24 hours, too, and offers a one-sentence dispatch on the best and worst of the Armory Show to spare your eyes. (See what I did there?)
Meanwhile, Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia beholds the “monstrous mise en abyme” that is Independent 20th Century at the Breuer Building, where overlooked and marginalized artists get their due.
More must-reads below, including reviews from Venice of the Biennale’s Polish Pavilion and an exhibition on the handmade dolls repatriated to an Indigenous Australian community after a professor stole them over 70 years ago.
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
Independent 20th Century, the Mise en Abyme of Art Fairs
Independent 20th Century is an art fair within an auction house inside a building that used to be a museum, a monstrous mise en abyme that perfectly encapsulates the art world today.
The fifth edition of Independent’s dedicated modern art fair opened today, September 24, at the Breuer Building in Manhattan, a Brutalist landmark that was purchased by Sotheby’s in 2023. The cool, imposing structure served as the long-time home of the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1966 to 2014, and later briefly housed the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s contemporary galleries, followed by the Frick Collection, which used the space temporarily during renovations. If I were the Breuer Building, I’d need a vacation. | Valentina Di Liscia
The Armory Show in One Sentence
This year’s edition seemed awfully quiet and downcast, making the financial sector trade show on the floor below seem like a riot in comparison. | Hakim Bishara
Istria Napoli is a new collection of handmade jewelry by Laura Raicovich.
Hand-forged and personally made by Laura in New York City, each piece incorporates items from her collection of gemstones, antique beads, intaglios, and bespoke-fabricated elements.
News
- Christie’s launches a new pop culture division, with items for auction including music memorabilia, treasured instruments, and revered film props.
- The El Museo del Barrio in New York expresses regret at providing rental space for a conspiracy-filled conference on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
- Art Movements: Photographer Tyler Mitchell wins Crystal Bridges’s $250K prize, the National Gallery of Art names a new head of American Art, Sharif Bey wins the Spector Craft Prize, a Solange sculpture heads to the High Line, and more in Art Movements.
Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman
This thought-provoking exhibition at the Frist Art Museum explores human interconnectedness with the more-than-human world.
From Our Critics
What Happens After Repatriation?
“Tide of Returns” investigates the histories and futures of handmade dolls repatriated to an Indigenous Australian community. | Eurídice Arratia
The Polish Pavilion Dissolves You in the Politics of Sound
At the Venice Biennale, whale songs become a means for communication, opening up a dialogue on accessibility. | Amanda Cachia
Features
What Can Photographs Say in a World Full of Images?
An exhibition at the Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College examines how artists utilize serial configurations of pictures and text to prompt questions about seeing. | Monica Uszerowicz
Hyper Links
- NYT Staff Photographer Damon Winter writes about seeing unexpected beauty in the decaying landscape of the NYC subway system.
- A TikTok debate about Gen-Z job-seekers bringing iced coffee to interviews has spiraled into a conversation about the unspoken, arbitrary rules behind corporate culture, author Maya Watson explains in the Cut.
Member Comment
—Valerie Hird on “An Unequal Artist Legacy Field Defines Who Gets to Be Remembered“
From the Archive
Science/Fiction Is a Botanical Daydream
This photo history of plants tackles the problem of how to pull ourselves out of the blind, anthropocentric march toward climate disaster. | Julia Curl
