The April issue of frieze is out now, with features on artists Simone Fattal, Siobhán Hapaska and Wong Ping, an essay on how the Bauhaus influenced—and was influenced by—non-Western culture, and a discussion about the tangled relationship between artistic expression and free speech.
Freedom at the Expense of Others
“There’s no speech that doesn’t come with baggage,” Ajay Kurian. As the world tips towards more reactionary and fascistic regimes, what does it mean to call for free artistic expression? Hannah Black, Howie Chen, Jamillah James, Ajay Kurian and Suhail Malik share their sobering glimpses into how the project of artistic freedom has been co-opted by the far right.
Some See Trees, Others See Doors
On the occasion of her first institutional solo exhibition in the US, Damascus-born artist and publisher Simone Fattal talks to Negar Azimi about the stories and memories that have marked her 50-year career across Beirut, Paris and San Francisco. Fattal’s retrospective, Works and Days is on view at MoMA PS1, New York, until September 2.
Also featuring:
Harry Thorne dives into the debauched video fables of Hong Kong-based Wong Ping in the wake of the artist’s solo show at Kunsthalle Basel; Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith contemplates a new series of Genesis-inspired sculptures by Siobhán Hapaska, shown earlier this year at Southampton’s John Hansard Gallery; Pablo Larios rereads the cosmopolitan conditions of the Bauhaus from a transnational perspective through the lens of touring exhibition project bauhaus imaginista; Oto Gillen photographs six artist friends in New York in a specially-commissioned visual essay; and Cal Revely-Calder pens a picture piece on Samuel Beckett’s Gucci Bag.
Columns and Reviews:
Nicholas Mirzoeff gives an overview of Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy’s game-changing report on the reparation of artefacts; poet and performer Harmony Holiday tunes to the newly radiant blues of Kelela, Lafawndah, serpentwithfeet and Solange; dancer and writer Marissa Perel reframes Merce Cunningham’s legacy from the perspective of disability; Nadia Latif dissects the racial stereotypes perpetuated by Hollywood horror films; Sarah James reflects on the social work of art in the wake of a rare exhibition by Laurie Parsons; Lynne Tillman questions what “real life” means in a world of endless representations; and Susanne von Falkenhausen asks—should images be censored on the grounds of affect?
Plus, 30 reviews from around the world, including reports on the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, and two major solo shows by Mai-Thu Perret at Mamco Genève and Spike Island, Bristol.
Answering our questionnaire is author, playwright and polemicist, Pierre Guyotat.
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frieze.com: Visit our website for daily updated content, including: exhibition reviews, art-world news and critics’ guides to current art and culture highlights from around the globe. Also, browse our “On View” platform: the definitive guide to exhibitions at leading international galleries and museums.
