Art Writer Robin Cembalest
has produced everything from investigative journalism to profiles, trend stories, hard news, reviews, and early listicles and blog posts. She’s published in the the Village Voice, New York Observer, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, El País, most of the major art magazines, design publications, and many other places.
Working at ARTnews, Robin covered the major 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’s 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.
“Change the Board and Get Rid of the Director”
An award-winning investigation into the Hispanic Society of America that resulted in real change.
Things Fall Apartheid
Robin spoke with curator Okwui Enwezor about his ambitious, devastating, revelatory survey at the ICP exploring how South African photography evolved from a document into a blunt instrument
What’s in a Name?
Jimmie Durham, Native American identity, federal legislation, and a lot of controversy
Tempest in a Peephole
Why a Sol LeWitt piece was removed—and then restored—to a show in the National Museum of American Art
Lettuce in a Landfill
Mel Chin’s ecological artwork “Revival Field” finds a home at the Walker Art Center
Who Was Jack the Dripper?
Hans Namuth’s iconic photos of Pollock painting were deeply influential—and widely misinterpreted.
Take My Grant, Please
Artists who distributed their grant money to “undocumented taxpayers” sparked yet another controversy over government funding
The Ghost in the Installation
Kirk Varnedoe talks about his MoMA reinstallation, where Picasso is less prominent and Duchamp is the “recurrent, haunting ghost”
Spain: Learning to Absorb the Shock of the New
Big changes in the Spanish art world are the result of government policies and social transformation in the post-Franco era