ArtReview publishes a review of Bruce Hainley's new essay collection 'Correctomundo: Selected Writings 2001–2026', a suite of 15 scattered essays spanning the last quarter-century. The book, published by a German gallery, showcases Hainley's aslant, rangy take on art criticism, with pieces ranging from a meditation on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film to an epistle to sculptor Vincent Fecteau and a polemical essay on Andy Warhol's Oxidation paintings. Hainley, known for his big-brained, stylish and principled approach, has largely withdrawn from art writing in recent years, finding less art to like and the artworld increasingly dismal.
The review matters because it highlights the work of one of the most distinctive American art critics of the last three decades, whose output has become rare and elusive. Hainley's writing, which literalizes Susan Sontag's call for an erotics of art and regularly views art through the prism of the male body, represents a unique and challenging voice in art criticism. The collection offers a peephole glimpse into a career that has pivoted towards academia, and its publication by a gallery rather than a traditional press underscores the niche, almost underground status of Hainley's critical practice.