This is a strange and scary time to be making art. Wars continue to rage in Ukraine and Gaza, and a looming United States presidential election could spell the return to power of a charismatic leader with fascist tendencies whose most fervent followers regard him as a kind of savior. These conditions are not so different from those in the late 1920s and ’30s in Europe, when Surrealism flourished as artists labored to process the horrors of World War I and the lead-up to WWII. It just so happens that 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Surrealism (see a handy “Syllabus” on the subject in our new issue), and perhaps not so coincidentally, artists have lately been revisiting the movement. Painter Stephanie Temma Hier, one of 20 artists showcased in this New Talent issue, posits that, “in an absurd world, the only sane response is Surrealism.” In a piece on another latter-day Surrealist, senior editor Emily Watlington writes that Trey Abdella’s “subject, American decline, feels both timeless and timely.”
Our present moment contains another wrinkle that, while less consequential than wars or elections, nonetheless affects the conditions of art-making. Since last year’s New Talent issue, the market for work by younger and emerging artists has taken a nosedive. Painters whose work was doubling and tripling in price at auction saw those prices come back down to earth. Yes, this directly affects only the tiny sliver of artists at the top of the market, but it provides noteworthy background for anyone making art today: when the fever for hot young painters subsides, the action gets more interesting. Our intention with the New Talent issue has never been to pick winners for the market, but perhaps collectors will be more inclined these days to direct attention to artists working outside the usual bounds, with unusual materials, like Eric Oglander and Haena Yoo, or in performance, like Pedro Zylbersztajn and mandla.
Outside the New Talent package, seasoned artists discuss how they’re grappling with the urgent issues of our time. In an interview with executive editor Andy Battaglia about his current exhibition at MASS MoCA, Steve Locke says “the warning signs are all there about what is happening in American life: contempt for certain kinds of people, hatred of women, violence against Black people. It’s almost like an orgy of violence against Black people.” Later in the interview, he wonders, “when did it become OK to show Black people being killed on TV?” Two days before this issue went to press, TV stations around the US were alive with body-cam footage released by Illinois State Police showing one of them fatally shooting an unarmed 36-year-old Black woman in her own home. Truly, when will things change?
Trey Abdella: Sealed with a Kiss, 2023.
Photo Shark Senesac/Courtesy Vito Schnabel Gallery, New York/©Trey Abdella
FEATURES
New Talent
20 exciting artists to watch, as chosen by the editors of Art in America.
Monumental Proportions
Since 2020, many Confederate statues have been toppled, but no one can seem to agree on what should replace them.
by Emily Watlington
Combating Censorship
The US is facing more demands for censorship than ever—from the left and from the right. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is helping artists fight back.
by Maddie Klett
Portraits of Life After Death
Peter Hujar’s intimate photographs of queer culture are being resurrected.
by Jackson Davidow
Grace Pailthorpe: May 16, 1941, 1941.
©Tate, London
DEPARTMENTS
Datebook
A highly discerning list of things to experience over the next three months.
by the Editors of A.i.A.
Hard Truths
An artist wonders about surrendering to the system, and a museum worker inquires about ratting on their boss. Plus, an interactive quiz.
by Chen & Lampert
Sightlines
Artist and curator Glenn Kaino tells us what he likes.
by Francesca Aton
Inquiry
A Q&A with Steve Locke about his painterly and polemical works at MASS MoCA.
by Andy Battaglia
Object Lesson
An annotation of Mary Lovelace O’Neal’s La Pietà.
by Francesca Aton
Battle Royale
Los Angeles vs. New York—two self-important art capitals face off.
by the Editors of A.i.A.
Syllabus
A reading list for a crash course on Surrealism.
by Ara H. Merjian
Appreciation
A tribute to Faith Ringgold, an artist inspired by righteous anger and joy.
by Tschabalala Self
Issues & Commentary
Two artists chronicle edgelord discourses online. Are they beating them or joining them?
by Louis Bury
Spotlight
Indigenous Amazonian painter Santiago Yahuarcani is a star of the Venice Biennale.
by Edward J. Sullivan
Book Review
A reading of Svetlana Alpers’s Is Art History?
by Barry Schwabsky
Cover Artist
Amanda Ba talks about her artwork featured on the front of A.i.A.
Christina Ramberg: Waiting Lady, 1972.
Photo Jamie Stukenberg/©Estate of Christina Ramberg
REVIEWS
Venice
Venice Diary
by Emily Watlington
Bentonville, Arkansas
“Space Makers: Indigenous Expression and a New American Art”
by Alexander Brier Marr
Chicago
“Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective”
by Sue Taylor
East Lansing, Michigan
“Samia Halaby: Eye Witness”
by Sarah Rose Sharp
New York
“LaToya Ruby Frazier: Monuments of Solidarity”
by Shameekia Shantel Johnson
Philadelphia
“Mary Cassatt at Work”
by Carlos Valladares