Ben Davis, Author at artnet News

Ben Davis

National Art Critic

Ben Davis has been artnet News's National Art Critic since 2016. He is the author of '9.5 Theses on Art and Class' (Haymarket, 2013), and was an editor of 'The Elements of Architecture' (Taschen, 2018), which began as the catalogue to the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennial. Recent essays have appeared in the books 'Public Servants: Art and the Crisis of the Common Good' (MIT Press, 2016) and 'The Future of Public Space' (Metropolis, 2018). His writings have been featured in Adbusters, The Brooklyn Rail, e-Flux Journal, Frieze, New York, The New York Times, Slate, The Village Voice, and many other venues. In 2019, Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab reported that he was one of the five most influential art critics in the United States, and the only one to write for an online publication.

Latest from Ben Davis

Opinion

The Warren Kanders Protests Have Opened a Pandora’s Box About Ethical Museum Funding. Where Do We Go From Here?

As the protests of funding add up, they pose difficult questions about the art system as a whole.

By Ben Davis, Jun 25, 2019
Reviews

At the Met Breuer, Awe-Inspiring Sculptures of Deities Show How an Indian Artist Forged Her Own Personal Language for Fabric Art

Long misunderstood, Mrinalini Mukherjee gets her due in New York.

By Ben Davis, Jun 18, 2019
Opinion

How 3 British Biopics Explored Artistic Eccentricity, From Anthony Hopkins’s Goony Picasso to Emma Thompson’s Winsome Carrington

A History of Artist Biopics, Part V: Prestige artist films from across the Pond, in 'My Left Foot,' 'Carrington,' and 'Surviving Picasso.'

By Ben Davis, Jun 18, 2019
Art and Law

‘We’re Being Treated Like Parasites’: Guggenheim Employees Complain of Low Pay and Long Hours in a Bid to Unionize

The museum is consulting with the National Labor Relations Board to discuss a potential vote.

By Ben Davis, Jun 11, 2019
On View

Laura Ortman Has One of the Standout Works of the Whitney Biennial. Her Inclusion Was a Surprise Even to Her

It's been a long journey for Ortman, from roots in installation art through experimental music and back to the gallery by way of collaboration with dancers and filmmakers.

By Ben Davis, May 23, 2019
Reviews

The 2019 Whitney Biennial Shows America’s Artists Turning Toward Coded Languages in Turbulent Times

There are at least three ways to look at the dominant trend in the 2019 survey.

By Ben Davis, May 20, 2019
On View

Take a Virtual Tour of the Whitney Biennial With Photos of Artworks by All of the Artists in the 2019 Exhibition

The exhibition is just opening in New York.

By Ben Davis, May 14, 2019
Exhibitions

In Ralph Rugoff’s Venice Biennale, the World’s Artists Take Planetary Doom as a Given, But Search for Joy Nonetheless

There is much to be disquieted by in this year's Venice Biennale, artnet News chief art critic Ben Davis finds.

By Ben Davis, May 10, 2019
On View

Venice Biennale in Pictures: See Work by Every Artist in the Giardini Section of the Sprawling 2019 Exhibition

Part two of our photo series on the biennale's main exhibition "May You Live in Interesting Times," a show in two halves.

By Ben Davis, May 9, 2019
On View

Can’t Make It to the Venice Biennale? See Work by Every Artist in the Arsenale Section of the Sprawling Exhibition

The biennale's main exhibition "May You Live in Interesting Times" is a show in two halves.

By Ben Davis, May 9, 2019
Art World

A First Look at ‘Liberty,’ Martin Puryear’s Exhibition for the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

The veteran sculptor does not raise his voice or sermonize but his work delivers an eloquent message about history, race, and the struggle for freedom.

By Ben Davis, May 8, 2019
Exhibitions

Is Ralph Rugoff’s Venice Biennale Exhibition Too US-Centric?

We crunched the numbers on which country's artists are most present in "May You Live In Interesting Times."

By Ben Davis, May 3, 2019
Reviews

The New Gretchen Bender Survey Is a Triumph, Revealing a Visionary Artist—and a Tough Lesson About the Power of Media

Bender's major installation, 'Total Recall,' is a precise reflection on the need for critical art to be made in the present tense.

By Ben Davis, Apr 26, 2019
Exhibitions

Here’s How the Hilma af Klint Show Played Perfectly Into the Current Zeitgeist to Become the Guggenheim’s Most-Visited Exhibition Ever

The show made history with more than 600,000 visitors.

By Ben Davis, Apr 19, 2019
Opinion

Why the Cultural Battle Over the Meaning of the Notre Dame Fire Is Playing Into the Hands of the Far-Right

There is a battle for the meaning of the terrible fire's symbolism.

By Ben Davis, Apr 18, 2019

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Ben Davis

National Art Critic

The Warren Kanders Protests Have Opened a Pandora’s Box About Ethical Museum Funding. Where Do We Go From Here?

At the Met Breuer, Awe-Inspiring Sculptures of Deities Show How an Indian Artist Forged Her Own Personal Language for Fabric Art

How 3 British Biopics Explored Artistic Eccentricity, From Anthony Hopkins’s Goony Picasso to Emma Thompson’s Winsome Carrington

‘We’re Being Treated Like Parasites’: Guggenheim Employees Complain of Low Pay and Long Hours in a Bid to Unionize

Laura Ortman Has One of the Standout Works of the Whitney Biennial. Her Inclusion Was a Surprise Even to Her

The 2019 Whitney Biennial Shows America’s Artists Turning Toward Coded Languages in Turbulent Times

Take a Virtual Tour of the Whitney Biennial With Photos of Artworks by All of the Artists in the 2019 Exhibition

In Ralph Rugoff’s Venice Biennale, the World’s Artists Take Planetary Doom as a Given, But Search for Joy Nonetheless

Venice Biennale in Pictures: See Work by Every Artist in the Giardini Section of the Sprawling 2019 Exhibition

Can’t Make It to the Venice Biennale? See Work by Every Artist in the Arsenale Section of the Sprawling Exhibition

A First Look at ‘Liberty,’ Martin Puryear’s Exhibition for the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Is Ralph Rugoff’s Venice Biennale Exhibition Too US-Centric?

The New Gretchen Bender Survey Is a Triumph, Revealing a Visionary Artist—and a Tough Lesson About the Power of Media

Here’s How the Hilma af Klint Show Played Perfectly Into the Current Zeitgeist to Become the Guggenheim’s Most-Visited Exhibition Ever

Why the Cultural Battle Over the Meaning of the Notre Dame Fire Is Playing Into the Hands of the Far-Right

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