The Beastie Boys, Nirvana, Debbie Harry, Nico, Johnny Sex, Vaginal Davis — these are just a few of the artists who performed over the years at the Pyramid, New York’s legendary nightclub.
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July 10, 2025

The Beastie Boys, Nirvana, Debbie Harry, Nico, Johnny Sex, Vaginal Davis — these are just a few of the artists who performed over the years at the Pyramid, New York’s legendary nightclub. A new book looks back at the glory days of the defunct East Village venue, and we got acclaimed author Arthur Nersesian to review it. Give it a read.

In reviews, our Rome-based contributor Anthony Majanlahti visits a show that explores how the Roman Empire viewed the rest of the world through art, while Jad Salfiti reports from a Berlin exhibition uplifting Palestinian voices amid an atmosphere of censorship.

Meanwhile, workers at Philadelphia’s Penn Museum vote for a strike, demanding higher wages, and imprisoned Chinese artist Gao Zhen of the Gao Brothers prepares for trial over charges of "defaming" Mao Zedong. Thanks for reading!

— Hakim Bishara, Managing Editor

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The Wild, Inclusive Brilliance of New York’s Pyramid Club

A book of oral histories about the now-shuttered venue takes us through those who came before, made it big, and died too soon. | Arthur Nersesian

SPONSORED

Toshiko Takaezu: Bronzes, on View at James Cohan’s 48 Walker Street Gallery

Toshiko Takaezu was celebrated for her experimental approach to abstraction and form over a lengthy career, which spanned the 1950s into the 2000s. While she is widely known for her painterly ceramics, Takaezu spent three decades mastering the possibilities of bronze. Toshiko Takaezu: Bronzes foregrounds the artist’s series of outdoor sculptures in the medium.

Learn more

IN THE NEWS

Gao Zhen, Chinese Artist Detained for “Defaming” Mao, Looks Ahead to Trial

A leading human rights lawyer will represent the artist, who faces China’s infamously repressive anti-defamation laws over artworks he created 15 years ago. | Maya Pontone

Penn Museum Workers Vote to Authorize Strike

“Too many of the workers we represent at the Museum struggle to make ends meet,” said the union, which is urging the University of Pennsylvania to increase wages. | Maya Pontone

LATEST IN ART

In a Culture of Silence, a Berlin Initiative Speaks Up for Palestine

The Spore Initiative views the Palestinian struggle as part of a pattern of global extraction. | Jad Salfiti

How the Roman Empire Saw the World Through Art 

Global Baroque surveys the triumphant internationalism of a new age of vast and rapid interchanges of art and culture, with Rome at its center. | Anthony Majanlahti

IN MEMORIAM

Henry Hunt (1949–2025)
Houston arts administrator who connected artists | Glasstire

Jim Parkinson (1941–2025)
Lettering artist and art director at Rolling Stone | New York Times

Patricia Peterson (1926–2025)
Fashion editor who worked at The Met’s Costume Institute | New York Times

Peter Phillips (1939–2025)
British founder of the Pop Art movement | Times

Isaka Shamsud-Din (1940–2025)
Painter who centered Pacific Northwest Black history | Oregonian

Jim Shooter (1951–2025)
Comic book editor at Marvel | New York Times

Julie Speidel (1941–2025)
Seattle-based geological sculptor and printmaker | Seattle Times

Gerard Taylor (1951–2025)
Visionary Scottish designer | Guardian

Lumin Wakoa (1981–2025)
Painter inspired by nature | Tallahassee Democrat

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