We are in danger of losing our sense of community

"Wir drohen das Gespür für die Gemeinschaft zu verlieren"

Christophe Cherix, the new director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, discusses his first months in the role, emphasizing museums as "safe social places" in an era of anxiety and screen-induced isolation. He advocates for collective vision-building with staff and defends the MoMA's independence against political pressure in Trump-era America. Separately, critic Paco Barragán argues in The Observer that biennials are in a structural crisis of repetition, tracing their history from instruments of national soft power to a "Global Neo-Liberal Biennial" system that co-opts diversity without changing its core logic. He introduces the concept of the "vibe-ennial," where discourse is replaced by atmosphere and critique by affect. Meanwhile, longtime Bonn museum director Stephan Berg critiques the boom in immersive art experiences like "Van Gogh – The Immersive Experience," calling them a "surrogate reality" tailored to the Instagram age that destroys the integrity of original works. Artforum reconstructs late-1960s debates on art criticism, focusing on Barbara Rose's challenge to formalists like Clement Greenberg and Rosalind Krauss, arguing that art must engage with societal conflicts such as Black Power and war resistance.

Sex Dreams, Piss Takes, and Fake Trends: A Week in the NY Art World With Domenick Ammirati

Domenick Ammirati returns to New York after a year-long writing residency in Siena and Provincetown to cover the spring art fairs, including Frieze New York 2026. He observes a notably calm art week, attributing the subdued atmosphere to the fair's proximity to the Venice Biennale, which left key players exhausted. Highlights include a Rei Kawakubo installation at Independent, Gucci's Cruise show in Times Square, and MoMA PS1's 50th anniversary gala, where he mingles with curator Jody Graf and spots Klaus Biesenbach.

Global Art Biennials: Renovation, Revelation—or Repetition?

The article examines the current state of global art biennials, arguing that recent controversies—such as the 2022 documenta antisemitism crisis and geopolitical tensions at the 61st Venice Biennale—reveal these exhibitions as deeply politicized platforms rather than neutral cultural events. It highlights how juries and curators have introduced geopolitical criteria, and cites ongoing debates in Artforum (April 2026) featuring voices like Daniel Birnbaum, Michelle Grabner, and Adam Szymczyk, who diagnose visible tensions but overlook deeper structural conditions.

SOL HENARO: “BAJAR LA VELOCIDAD ES POLÍTICO Y, AUNQUE CUESTA MUCHO, HAY QUE SEGUIR INTENTÁNDOLO”

Sol Henaro, director of the Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico City, argues in an interview for Artishock Revista that museums must resist neoliberal pressures to accelerate production, spectacularize content, and convert cultural experience into immediate consumption. She advocates for the museum as a space of plurality, deceleration, and critical thought, emphasizing the need for horizontal, careful practices that allow for dissent and coexistence. The interview is part of a series on International Museum Day featuring directors from Latin American and Ibero-American institutions.

How Native American Artists Redefined Contemporary Art in the United States

A generation of Native American artists, emerging from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe from the 1960s onward, reclaimed Indigenous representation in American art. Figures like Fritz Scholder, T.C. Cannon, Kevin Red Star, and Earl Biss used modernism, irony, and cultural specificity to dismantle colonial stereotypes of Native peoples as romanticized relics, instead portraying them as contemporary individuals with agency and living traditions.