Reviews The 1930s Have Been Viewed as a Time of Simple-Minded Art. ‘Art for the Millions’ Shows Just How Dazzlingly Complex It Was The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition shows that meaning of this time period for art was in debate, even as it happened. By Ben Davis, Sep 19, 2023
Opinion The ‘Quasi-Theological’ Turn in Art Criticism Is a Mirage Leading Us the Wrong Way "Negative Reviews? Part 2," from a 2-part essay on contemporary art writing. By Ben Davis, Aug 30, 2023
Opinion Is Art Criticism Today Too Affirmative? That’s the Wrong Question to Be Asking "Negative Reviews? Part 1," from a 2-part essay on contemporary art writing. By Ben Davis, Aug 28, 2023
Reviews What I’m Looking at: Odd Apparitions at White Columns, Google’s Art Market Hallucination, and Other Things at the Edge of Art Highlights from New York galleries from the last few weeks. By Ben Davis, Aug 10, 2023
Pop Culture Creepily, the Woody Allen Romp ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ Channels the Book That Outed Picasso’s Treatment of Women Penelope Cruz's character is a lot like Dora Maar. By Ben Davis, Aug 4, 2023
Art & Tech Influencers Are Realizing That A.I. Might Not Be a Magic Money-Making Machine For Artists After All The curious odyssey of Patryk Marketer. By Ben Davis, Jul 14, 2023
Reviews What I’m Looking at: Chryssa’s Electric Tribute to Times Square, the MyPillow Guy’s Office Paintings, and Other Things at the Edge of Art Highlights from New York galleries from the last few weeks. By Ben Davis, Jul 13, 2023
Art Criticism How the Many Dilemmas of Hannah Gadsby’s Anti-Picasso Show Feed Our Contemporary Cultural Doom Loop "It's Hannah-matic, Part 2," from a 2-part series on "It's Pablo-matic" at the Brooklyn Museum. By Ben Davis, Jun 22, 2023
Art Criticism The Brooklyn Museum’s Much-Criticized ‘It’s Pablo-matic’ Show Is Actually Weirdly at War With Itself Over Hannah Gadsby’s Art History "It's Hannah-matic," Part 1 of a 2-part series on "It's Pablo-matic" at the Brooklyn Museum. By Ben Davis, Jun 20, 2023
Reviews Art Duo Komar and Melamid Were Laughed Out of the Soviet Union. Are They Having the Last Laugh on Us? What is the lesson of these proto-postmodern artists for us today? By Ben Davis, Jun 7, 2023
Opinion Why Andy Warhol’s ‘Prince’ Is Actually Bad, and the Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith Decision Is Actually Good We need to reboot the arguments we make about appropriation art. By Ben Davis, Jun 1, 2023
Art Fairs Where Does Art Stand Today? Here Are a Few Critical Impressions Gleaned at the Frieze New York Art Fair Takeaways from a frenzied week of art fairs. Plus, "That '70s Show!" By Ben Davis, May 22, 2023
NFTs An Artist Asked ChatGPT How to Make a Popular Memecoin. The Result Is ‘TurboToad,’ and People Are Betting Millions of Dollars on It Rhett Mankind began the project as a lark. By Ben Davis, May 9, 2023
Art History How Much of a Character Was Alice Neel? Just Look at ‘The Big Clock,’ the Classic Film Noir Partly Based on the Artist’s Notoriety The painter's bohemian ways inspired a key character in the hit 1948 movie. By Ben Davis, May 8, 2023
Reviews What I’m Looking At: Cavorting Human-Duck Hybrids, a Tribute to a Legendary Alt-Art Magazine, and Other Things at the Edge of Art Highlights from New York galleries from the last few weeks. By Ben Davis, May 5, 2023