Art Writing Online

This book brings together recent reviews of gallery and museum exhibitions in the United States and Europe considering both contemporary and old master art. They deal with institutional critique, race and class relations, and the role of art criticism, in addition to looking at art from outside the mainstream art market: comics, public art, and memorials. The book argues that, ideally, the critic should create a community where real debate can take place. Out of free discussion, consensus about the meaning and value of art emerges. As it notes, the disruptions caused by the coronavirus presented an opportunity to read and think. Such moments of crisis bring pre-existing conflicts to the surface, making radical change thinkable.