Ben Davis

Jeffrey Epstein’s Taste in Art Was Just as Twisted as You’d Think The art collection of Jeffrey Epstein remains a symbolically important enigma within the much larger morass of unresolved mysteries around him

On that hanging bride sculpture from those NYT Epstein house photos
news.artnet.com/art-world/je...

Essays and Podcasts of July 2025 Andrea Fraser's 5 art worlds, Dan Colen's biennial, Johnny Depp's Modigliani movie, Homeland Security's painting posts, a fun chat about delightmares, more.

Here is my July 2025 personal newsletter, with links to all the things I wrote and podcasts I did last month
substack.com/home/post/p-...

The Round-Up: Johnny Depp Does Modigliani, Labubu Mania, and a Weird Idea for the Venice Biennale Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 07/31/2025 · 46m

The Art Angle monthly round-up with Kate and Naomi: Johnny Depp's self-mythologizing Modigliani film, Andres Serrano's pitch for Venice, the Labubu-art synthesis
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

How to Think About Homeland Security’s Unhinged Art Posts | Artnet News A random collection of art is being swept into the DHS's social feed, alongside Star Wars memes and mugshots. What does it mean?

Today’s Editor’s Pick is 'How to Think About Homeland Security’s Unhinged Art Posts' by @benadavis.bsky.social for Artnet. A critic’s take on the meaning behind recent social media posts of classic artworks from Homeland Security.

How to Think About Homeland Security’s Unhinged Art Posts | Artnet News A random collection of art is being swept into the DHS's social feed, alongside Star Wars memes and mugshots. What does it mean?

I wrote about the shitposting mess that is the DHS official social media feed... As I say, I don't think that gibbering cruelty is actually a popular strategy, though as I think about it, maybe it suggests a post-democratic mindset, and the intent is to underline that news.artnet.com/art-world/dh...

The Field of Contemporary Art: A Diagram - Notes - e-flux Andrea Fraser lays out the five subfields of contemporary art and their complex interrelations.

Thanks! I was very glad to discover the essay by Fraser, and it is really worth the read www.e-flux.com/notes/634540...

Talking with the great Andrea Fraser about the evolving world(s) of art. Promo below, link here podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

How the Post-Pandemic Generation Is Changing Digital Art The Art Angle · Episode

I talked to Maya Man about how digital art is evolving post-pandemic. One thing I got out of this is how, as digital stuff becomes more and more embedded in life, the character of digital art becomes more and more like performance, less and less like an object open.spotify.com/episode/69wr...

The Subtly Unsettling Logic of This Prize-Winning A.I. Film | Artnet News Does A.I. film unlock the deepest secrets of reality? Yes, argues Jacob Adler's 'Total Pixel Space,' which won gold at the A.I. Film Festival.

The more I think about this A.I. film's idea of "total pixel space," the stranger it gets
news.artnet.com/art-world/to...
with reference to @taylorlorenz.bsky.social on A.I. worship and tywenkelly.com on the "New Acheiropoieta"

Which Artists Are Big at U.S. Museums This Month? I Scoured Hundreds of Shows to Find Out | Artnet News Read about the artists who have the most shows going on in museums around the United States this month.

Today’s Editor’s Pick is 'Which Artists Are Big at U.S. Museums This Month? I Scoured Hundreds of Shows to Find Out' by @benadavis.bsky.social for Artnet.

Which Artists Are Big at U.S. Museums This Month? I Scoured Hundreds of Shows to Find Out | Artnet News Read about the artists who have the most shows going on in museums around the United States this month.

Always a very demanding but rewarding project--combing hundreds of museum websites to find out which artists are getting the most attention from curators right now
news.artnet.com/art-world/mu...

I Have Seen the 'Dark Enlightenment Art World' and It Is Extremely Dorky | Artnet News Silicon Valley monarchist Curtis Yarvin really, really wants to trigger you over his Venice Biennale idea.

Here's something about Curtis Yarvin's very, very thirsty ad for himself to take over the Venice Biennale
news.artnet.com/art-world/cu...

The Odd Experiment of A.I. Art Summaries in Venice | Artnet News At Carlo Ratti's Biennale, “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.,” an A.I. Summary wrestles with human text.

We got a reply to this from the team behind the A.I.-generated text that'll go up over the weekend news.artnet.com/art-world/a-...

The Art World's Octopus Teacher Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 06/05/2025 · 37m

Did a podcast with artist Miriam Simun, who teaches people how to think like an octopus. I mean that literally. embodiment, sensory inversion, speculative cognition, all in a workshop, which I did
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

#miriamsimun #recessart #transhumanism #octopuscore

ISP Alumni & Faculty Friends, Faculty, and Alumni of the Whitney Independent Study Program

Open letter from the alumni and faculty of the Whitney Independent Study Program. Ispalumni.org

Here's My Personal Method for Seeing an Art Show, If You Want to Get the Most Out of It | Artnet News How to get the most out of a day at the museum? Consider these three steps: Make a Map, Find the Story, and Focus In.

Some personal thoughts on how to see an art show news.artnet.com/art-world/ho...

Essays and Podcasts of May 2025 "Anti-memes" as a cultural force; artwork-as-software-as-ride; the agenda hidden in the NEH cuts; more.

My monthly personal newsletter
substack.com/home/post/p-...

A Crypto Billionaire's Lawsuit, Koons’s Hulk Blasts Back,' the Art Basel Awards Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 05/29/2025 · 39m

Talking about billionaire art shenanigans, the sweet sounds of a Koons 'Tuba Hulk,' and Art Basel's 'Survivor'-style art awards
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

There's One Area Favored by Trump's Culture Grants, and It's Not the U.S. | Artnet News What the National Endowment for the Humanities's paltry summer funding for scholars says about the administration's worldview.

My analysis of what's getting support in this Trump-era round of National Endowment for the Humanities grants (possibly last round, if they succeed in defunding NEH) news.artnet.com/art-world/ne...

The New Rules of Subculture Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 05/22/2025 · 37m

Talking on the Art Angle with Nadia Asparouhova about her theory of #antimemetics
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Please, Somebody, Put This Delirious Digital Artwork on View Somewhere Permanent! | Artnet News Why this 4D "software poem" installation, 'Halcyon.exe: The Ride,' by Mark Fingerhut is a contemporary artwork that you should know.

This is a very good artwork
news.artnet.com/art-world/ma...

How Painters Today Are Reframing… the Frame The Art Angle · Episode

Really enjoyed talking to Katie White about her article on the history of the frame and artists exploring the frame as a creative space open.spotify.com/episode/3Eci...

Very true... unfortunately we are in defense not offense at the moment

10 Practical Reasons Why We Need to Fund—and Defend—the National Endowment for the Arts | Artnet News Trump is proposing to cut the National Endowment for the Arts, again. Here are the most common attacks on it, and replies.

Absolutely heart-breaking stuff going on with the NEA. I wrote this resource during Trump 1, after debating with a Heritage flack on Chicago Public Radio. It was designed to offer as thorough a possible rebuttal to all the most common anti-NEA talking points news.artnet.com/art-world-ar...

Essays and Podcasts of April 2025 Trump's sculptures for Johnny Appleseed, Hannah Arendt, and Kobe Bryant; a bungled A.I. Dali film; Jack Whitten's magnum opus; more.

My personal newsletter rounding up things I wrote in April, podcasts, interview, and appearances substack.com/home/post/p-...

How to Look at Jack Whitten's Unforgettable Painting '9.11.01' | Artnet News Jack Whitten's painting, currently at the MoMA, is one of the most powerful paintings of recent times. Yet it still contains much to unpack.

One of the most extraordinary paintings out there news.artnet.com/art-world/ja...

Fine, Let's Argue About Trump's National Garden of American Heroes | Artnet News Unpacking the logic of from's National Garden of American Heroes honoring figures from Christopher Columbus to Whitney Houston.

A look at the political logic of Trump's chaotic National Garden of American Heroes public art initiative, which honors figures from Columbus to Whitney Houstonhttps://news.artnet.com/art-world/national-garden-of-american-heroes-analysis-2636464

November: Ben Davis in conversation with Thalia Stefaniuk, “Without a critical mass of art criticism and debate, you may have something that looks like art but it won’t feel like art.”

I was interviewed about museums, education, and media by curator Thalia Stefaniuk for this issue of November www.novembermag.com/content/ben-...

Trump: Cultural Offensive or Offensive Culture? The Art Angle · Episode

Talking with @brianboucher.bsky.social about Trump's first 100 days of attacks on arts and culture, and why the president has thrown his support behind a monument to Hannah Arendt
open.spotify.com/episode/1dGw...

Is This the Most Confused Pitch for Arts Funding Ever? | Artnet News 'Intellectual for Trump' Mark Bauerlein's New York Times op-ed on MAGA art funding seems pretty delusional to me!

On that very weird NTY op-ed calling for a pro-Trump WPA news.artnet.com/art-world/ma...