Art Writer Robin Cembalest

has produced investigative journalism, profiles, trend stories, hard news, reviews, blog posts,and more.She has been published in the the Village Voice, New York Observer, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, El País, the major art magazines, design publications, and many other places.

Working at ARTnews, Robin covered the cultural events and controversies of the 1990s and 2000s— government funding and the Mapplethorpe obscenity trial, the ecological art boom, the growth of the Guggenheim, censorship cases, multiculturalism, diversity, Native American art, the rise of social practice, and the transformation of the art museum, among other topics. She has also written extensively on Spanish art and culture for publications in Spain and the U.S.

Following is a non-chronological sampling from Robin’s hundreds of publications.

News Robin Cembalest News Robin Cembalest

Between a Cross and a Hard Place

The controversy over the removal of a four-minute David Wojnarowicz video from the “Hide/Seek” exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery had observers wondering whether the culture wars were back—and whether anything could be done to stop them

Read More
News Robin Cembalest News Robin Cembalest

The Obscenity Trial: How They Voted to Acquit

Why did eight jurors in Cincinnati trial decide that the Mapplethorpe photographs they considered "gross and lewd" are not obscene? "We felt that we had no choice, one juror told Robin. "We learned that art doesn't have to be pretty”

Read More
Trend Story Robin Cembalest Trend Story Robin Cembalest

The Colonial-Art Revolution

In the United States, the art made in Spain’s Latin American colonies used to be considered artistically minor and politically incorrect. Now, as intellectual trends coincide with demographic realities, it’s on the cutting edge of art history—and the wish lists of top museums 

 

Read More
News Robin Cembalest News Robin Cembalest

150 Years of the Yale School of Art

On its 150th birthday, the Yale School of Art maintains its standing and mystique as incubator and launchpad for innovators and thought leaders, honoring its legacy by continually evolving with the times

Read More
Trend Story Robin Cembalest Trend Story Robin Cembalest

The Military Is Present

Using outreach, performance, video, photography, and therapy, artists and museums are devising new ways to connect with veterans—and to bring their stories to a wider audience

Read More
News Robin Cembalest News Robin Cembalest

The Guggenheim’s High-Stakes Gamble

Thomas Krens' vision of the Guggenheim's international empire is so ambitious that

even he doesn't expect all o f his projects to come to fruition. The museum's critics are skeptical, calling it misguided. Its supporters say it is merely misunderstood

Read More
News Robin Cembalest News Robin Cembalest

Native American Art: Pride and Prejudice

Outdated images of Indians abound in museums and the art market. As the Native American community fights to transcend those stereotypes, museum policy, scholarship, and Indian art itself are changing radically

Read More
Feature Robin Cembalest Feature Robin Cembalest

The Restoration

The rebooted Yale Center for British Art reflects decades of work to honor the legacy and vision of the towering figures who created it while continuing its full identity as a university art museum, teaching and research center, and cultural resource in New Haven

Read More
News Robin Cembalest News Robin Cembalest

Goodbye, Columbus?

As multiculturalism becomes a catchphrase of the '90s, art institutions are doing a lot of soul searching—about their audiences, their staffs, their exhibitions, and their perspective.

Read More