Art Writer Robin Cembalest
Throughout her career, Robin has covered the people, places and trends shaping the art world. Following is a non-chronological sampling from Robin’s hundreds of publications.
9 Art Shows to See After ‘12 Years a Slave’
Museum exhibitions confront amnesia, restore lost narratives, and consider the legacy of the Middle Passage.
The Ultimate Map of Art-World Feuds
William Powhida and Jade Townsend are back with a satirical drawing of a lurid battleground where artists, posers, critics, dragons, Internet trolls, and Modernist ghosts fight for their lives.
From Black Power to Migrants’ Power
As ’60s activist art enters museums, a new generation is creating an iconography of protest for today.
Connecting Jack the Dripper and Jack the Doodler
Pollock collection show at MoMA upends curatorial policy by uniting major paintings with prints and drawings.
The Influential Chinese Contemporary Artist You've Never Heard Of
A show at the Queens Museum celebrated mischief-making artist Zhang Hongtu, who has built a five-decade career out of skewering icons with deft irreverence.
First We Take Bilbao, Then We Take Berlin
Robin reported on two new European Guggenheim branches for Artforum
A new Barbie is the ‘Jewish Mona Lisa’
A new doll is inspired by Adele Bloch-Bauer, Klimt’s famous Austrian Jewish model. It’s one of a new series of collector’s edition dolls dedicated to great works of art.
It's Manet Mania Weekend at Yale!
On the 150th birthday of Manet’s two most scandalous paintings, a show and a conference track the afterlives of the nudes, the dudes, the maid, and the cat.
Losing Their Religion
In the Southwest, Crypto-Judaism is finally coming out of the closet.
The ARTnews Shelfie Project: Art-World Luminaries Pose With Their Books
Laurie Simmons, Jerry Saltz, Xu Bing, Holly Block, Teresita Fernandez, Elektra KB, and other art insiders took shelf portraits for us
A ‘Child of Daumier’ Confronts the 1990s
Robin’s profile of Jack Levine, the American Social Realist painter who was an acerbic critic of politicians, the art world and just about every other establishment, republished as a memorial on the occasion of his passing in 2010.
12 Museum-Worthy Power Suits from Around the World
Yinka Shonibare, Carla Fernandez, Jae Jarrell, Nick Cave and other creators turn up in this roundup of fabulous duds in museum shows.
What I Like About You—Artists to Follow on Instagram
Hank Willis Thomas, Shinique Smith, Kenny Scharf, and others are using the photo-sharing network to disseminate their work—and their fixations.
Vision Quest: Exploring the Venice Biennale
A channel-changing exhibition about imagination headlines a convergence of art from 88 countries.
10 Amazing Data Visualizations of Creativity and Art History
With five New York art spaces showing maps, charts, and diagrams, it’s a great moment for flowchart art.
Who Was Jack the Dripper?
Hans Namuth’s iconic photos of Pollock painting were deeply influential—and widely misinterpreted.
Pedal Pushers: How Art Museums Are Promoting Bike Culture
Museums are devising new ways to showcase the exquisite mix of engineering, craftsmanship and style that moves us forward on two finely calibrated wheels
Dome Improvement—What’s an Art Museum Doing in Rockaway Beach?
MoMA PS1's VW Dome 2 is the latest in a wave of museum outposts that are humble, nimble, and temporary, offering free admission—and much more than art.