"Verrannt in einer Fantasie endlosen Wachstums"
Jerry Saltz criticizes Pace Gallery in New York Magazine for pursuing a fantasy of endless growth and hype, comparing it to a 'Fyre Festival of mega-galleries.' He argues that under Marc Glimcher's leadership, the gallery prioritized expansion—more artists, more locations, more projects—over identity, leading to overextension and recent cuts of about 50 artists and 50 staff. Separately, a child at the Israel Museum damaged René Magritte's painting 'The Castle of the Pyrenees' with a pine cone, puncturing the canvas within seconds. In other news, curator Helen Molesworth reflects on sloth as a creative and anti-capitalist strategy in Cultured, and Stefan Niggemeier critiques culture minister Wolfram Weimer's repeated use of the vague term 'Eigentlichkeit' in Übermedien.
This matters because Saltz's takedown of Pace Gallery highlights a systemic crisis in the art market, where growth-for-growth's sake has led to instability and impersonal operations at one of the world's top galleries. The Magritte incident underscores the vulnerability of priceless artworks in public spaces and the challenges of museum security. Molesworth's essay offers a timely counterpoint to productivity culture, resonating with ongoing debates about labor, creativity, and capitalism in the art world. Niggemeier's analysis of Weimer's rhetoric reveals how cultural policy language can shape political narratives, affecting arts funding and discourse in Germany.