Gabrielle Goliath, Richard Avedon, “Chicken Linda”

Weekly Newsletter

A Jackson Pollock painting has set a new auction record, fetching $181 million at Christie’s. But should it really concern anyone?

I decided to skip the New York art fairs this season. I attended none, not even the “anti-fair” events. It was a deliberate choice, a form of detox. And surprisingly, I don’t feel like I missed out. Shortly after, a series of auctions concluded with a Jackson Pollock painting selling for a record-breaking $181 million at Christie’s. I wasn’t present there either, and I had 181 million reasons to remain indifferent.

Instead, my thoughts wandered to the pioneering performance artist Linda Montano, now 84. She invited our contributor Taliesin Thomas into her home-shrine in Upstate NY, greeting her dressed as a devotional chicken. Bless “Chicken Linda.” I encourage you to delve into this profile.

My mind also drifted to Gabrielle Goliath’s exhibition Elegy, currently displayed at a church in Venice after being banned from South Africa’s pavilion for political reasons. The video installation benefits from this alternative site and resonates deeply. Aruna D’Souza attended and penned an excellent review.

Furthermore, I’m excited to share that Hyperallergic received the New York Press Club journalism award for Noah Fischer’s comic “A Prospect Heights Ghost Story.” Supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, it was the final installment in a series highlighting artists, activists, and organizers at the forefront of the housing justice movement in NYC. Congratulations to Noah, and thank you all for your unwavering support. Enjoy the reading and have a splendid weekend.

—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief

News

From Our Critics

Still in Sound
Sound artists compose sonic and multisensory interpretations of abstract paintings for this new exhibition at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado.

Learn more

Features

The Painted Book Cover Is Back

The recent shift toward figuration on book covers may reflect a broader desire for physical presence — proof of the artist’s hand in the digital age. | Tara Anne Dalbow

12 Art Books to Kick Off Summer

A novel lampooning the art world, Megan O’Grady’s meditation on art and living, the man who defined color in the dictionary, Nan Goldin’s tender photo essay, and more.

Art Movements — Enigmatic art dealer Larry Gagosian gets the documentary treatment, Pace gets the Brancusi Estate, the Louvre’s new architects, and other industry news.
In Memoriam — we honor F. John Sierra, a champion of Chicano art, Valie Export, an Austrian feminist artist, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, a painter and Civil Rights luminary, and others.
A View From the Easel — artist Lavett Ballard organizes exhibitions and transforms wood in the former chemistry lab of a high school-turned-community center.
Required Reading — a mysterious LA guerrilla artist, Whistler and gold paint, remembering Totó La Momposina, the art of photographing queer nightlife, AI agents turn Marxist, and more.