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The Art of Critique
Edited by Melanie Bühler
Published by Lenz Press, Milan, and Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, 2022
We live in a moment in which institutions, including those central to the art world, are facing a surge of public scrutiny. Propelled by social media, profound questions about how institutions operate—whether structurally, politically, or financially—have become an increasingly prominent part of public life and discourse in recent years.
In this context, The Art of Critique revisits the artistic practice of institutional critique to ask what it means today, and to consider its ability to respond to the urgent social, political, and economic issues of our time. Taking works by Tracey Emin, Andrea Fraser, and Sarah Lucas in the collection of the Frans Hals Museum as a departure point, The Art of Critique uses a feminist approach to broaden and challenge traditional art historical definitions of institutional critique. These expanded forms of critique function as precursors to the practices of the contemporary artists presented as part of this project. Collectively, the contemporary works shed a new light on the legacy of institutional critique while addressing structural issues as wide-ranging as labor practices in the creative industry, city development, gender inequality, and the intertwined histories of capitalism and colonialism.
The publication, which has three different covers, documents the long-term project at the Frans Hals Museum (2019–22)—a symposium, Color Critique (chapter one); an exhibition, Image Power (chapter two: Image Critique); and artist commissions (chapter three: Structure Critique)—together with artworks, conversations, and newly commissioned and translated essays.
The publication has been generously supported by Outset Contemporary Art Fund Netherlands and VriendenLoterij.
Contributors
Marie AngelettiKaren Archey
Ute Meta Bauer
Melanie Bühler
Simnikiwe Buhlungu
Harry Burke
Ann Demeester
Clémence Lollia Hilaire
Frima Fox Hofrichter
Andrea Fraser
Simon Fujiwara
Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy
Alex Kitnick
Lynne Kouassi
Erik van Lieshout
Lloyd Corporation
Sven Lütticken
Daniel Morgenthaler
Marlie Mul
Becket MWN
Grace Ndiritu
D’Ette Nogle
Ahmet Öğüt
Ima-Abasi Okon
Monilola Olayemi Ilupeju
María Inés Plaza Lazo
Bea Schlingelhoff
Hito Steyerl
Juan Uribe
Dena Yago