How Great Was Lucian Freud, Really?

January 10, 2023

Good morning. ⛅ My favorite story today is by Toronto-based writer Rea McNamara, who reports on her visit to an immersive Barbie show with her 10-month-old daughter. This is but one of her many sacrifices as a mother, though the baby didn't seem to care for the show at all.

And after our list of Seven New Art Spaces to Visit in Manhattan in October, now comes the Brooklyn edition with eight new (and new-ish) art galleries and spaces you might enjoy discovering. Expect more boroughs soon.

Also, how about that MAGA-style coup attempt in Brazil? The rioters destroyed a few precious artworks during their rampage. See a tally of the damage in our report today.

Lastly, there's a flurry of exhibitions celebrating what would have been painter Lucian Freud's 100th birthday. But is his work worth all that praise? Writing from London, Michael Glover ruffles some feathers.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

How Great Was Lucian Freud, Really?

Would it be ridiculous to suggest that Freud lacks nobility or generosity, or even that his pessimism reduces him? | Michael Glover

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IN THE NEWS

Alfredo Ceschiatti's stone sculpture "A Justiça" (1961) was graffitied over outside of the Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia. (via Wikimedia Commons)

Pro-Bolsonaro riotersstormed Brasilia’s Praça dos Três Poderes, damaging national treasures by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, Marianne Peretti, and more.

Gary Cabana, who stabbed two employees at MoMA last March, has been charged with attempted murder.

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Powerhouse Arts Welcomes Applications for Community Ceramic Studio Program

The Brooklyn arts organization offers discounted pre-launch membership for experienced ceramic artists beginning January 15, with reduced hours of operation. Learn more.

ART & FILM

Eight New Art Spaces to Visit in Brooklyn

From a Williamsburg basement to a Bed-Stuy living room and a project space in Gowanus, there’s no shortage of art to discover in the borough. | Valentina Di Liscia, Elaine Velie, and Billy Anania

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IDSVA’s Non-Studio PhD in Philosophy and Art Theory Is for Artists and Creative Thinkers

The Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts fuses interactive online education with intensive residencies around the world. Learn more.

Barbie's Pink World Order

Entering World of Barbie felt like stepping through Oz, but the Oz that is Barbie: a James Turrell, Ganzfeld-like diffusion of hyper-femme magenta pink. | Rea McNamara

Is Body Horror the New Intimacy?

While sex is clearly in its cultural flop era, intimacy with ourselves and with others is being deftly portrayed in body horrors. | Billie Walker

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