In news that shocked the art world, Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the artist and influencer known for her meme account Jerry Gogosian, was found dead in São Paulo. She was only 40. Staff Writer Isa Farfan reports on what we know so far.
In Venice, artist Ali Eyal launches an unofficial Iraqi Pavilion. No, not that Venice, but the one in California, and it’s set at a Chevron gas station to satirize America’s oil wars.
Also today: critic John Yau on Celia Paul and curator Laura Raicovich on the importance of reconnecting art with public life. She asks: “Without a common belief in artistic and cultural practices, how can we see the humanity in ourselves and in those around us?”
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
Unofficial Iraqi Pavilion Pops Up in Venice, but Not That One
On a bustling corner in Venice, California, artist Ali Eyal stood outside a Chevron gas station posing as a black-market petrol salesman.
The one-day pop-up installation was Eyal’s unofficial Iraqi Pavilion for the 61st Venice Biennale, curated by fellow artist David Horvitz, who mocked up a faux press release complete with a fuzzy Biennale logo, consistent with his persistent form of art trickery.
Hilde Lynn Helphenstein of “Jerry Gogosian” Found Dead in Brazil
Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the curator and art-world satirist widely known by the moniker Jerry Gogosian, has died at age 40. Police in Brazil have opened a “suspicious death” investigation after Helphenstein was found dead in a São Paulo hotel room on Sunday, May 31, as first reported by the local outlet Globo.
In a statement to Hyperallergic, a spokesperson for Rosewood São Paulo, a luxury hotel in the city’s Bela Vista district, confirmed that Helphenstein was found deceased in one of its rooms on Sunday afternoon.
More News
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Kingston locals can’t stand the city’s “soulless new signage,” calling it “bland,” “ugly,” and “sterile slop.”
Tough Stuff: Women in The American Glass Studio
Highlighting works from the 1960s through today, this survey at the Corning Museum of Glass celebrates the legacies of women artists who helped shape the Studio Glass Movement in the US.
Opinions
Society’s Repair Begins With Art
We must cultivate spaces with the capacity to hold another kind of cultural experience that forges a reintegration of art and life. | Laura Raicovich
From Our Critics
Celia Paul Transcends Her Own Mythology
She puts her own spin on autobiography, exceeding her own cult status as a monastic artist. | John Yau
Member Comment
Victoria Hamlin on Marc J. Straus’s “The Art Market Post-Pollock”
From the Archive
Van Gogh’s “Irises” Were Never Supposed to Be Blue
A new exhibition chronicles how a paintings conservator and chemist solved a color mystery in one of the painter’s most beloved works. | Isa Farfan
Opportunities This Month
Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from the VH Award, Bennett Prize, and more in our June list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.
