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Art Monthly Magazine
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Contents
Issue 499 September 2026
Amar Kanwar, Such a Morning, 2017
Interview
Testimony
Amar Kanwar interviewed by Amanprit Sandhu
All politics, theories, legal struggles, advocacy and activism emerge from the lived experience of people. Sometimes human experience is condensed, summarised or pushed away and we are left only with ideological or technical discussions and arguments. Testimonies help us bring the lived experience of people back into the centre of discussion.
Stephen Willats, Concrete Window, 1991
Feature
On Self-Representation
Stephen Willats talks to Chris Clarke
I realised that you had to use the language of the audience. That was one way forward. So, I decided to go beyond the art institution directly into the fabric of society and to operate with people living in environments which were more typical of the world we lived in.
Suzanne Lacy, School of Revolutionary Girls, 2024
Feature
Closing Down
Ranjana Thapalyal sees the recent closures of public art spaces as indicative of a wider shutting down of cultural debate
While a direct correlation between the closure of art spaces and the rise of far-right presence in our streets is not suggested, the connections between the underlying causes must be addressed. An economic paradigm that pushes institutions of governance and education into a culture of cut-throat, profit-driven single-mindedness does the same harm to art and education as it does to the social fabric in general.
From the Back Catalogue The Absence of Presence
Mark Wilsher revisits the art historical legacy of presence under the Covid-19 pandemic. First published in 2020, now free online.
Lap-See Lam, Floating Sea Palace, 2024
Profile
Lap-See Lam
Phoebe Cripps
Lap-See Lam grew up in a restaurant in Stockholm, the Bamboo Garden, which was opened by her grandmother in the 1970s before her parents took over. The artist has spoken about spending her childhood watching her parents perform someone else’s image of China.
sponsored
Editorial
The Sleep of Reasoning
Days before many of us donned blacked glasses to view the majestic solar eclipse, the world’s richest man accidentally crashed a rocket into the moon. Clearly, the insatiable appetite of capitalism has driven our attention economy – now AI economy – into a death spiral, and we’ll need more than dark glasses to protect us from this spectacle of excess.
Is it too late for us to reset, to abandon our contemporary lifestyle and tap into a more ancient and respectful relationship with our planet, to regain the ability to listen to our body clocks and embrace our circadian rhythms and ‘go paleo’?
Pussy Riot protesting Russia’s inclusion in this year’s Venice Biennale, which resulted in a loss of European funding for the Biennale
Artnotes
Climate Emergency
The summer’s relentless heatwaves were felt in the arts sector; as ACE turns 80, outgoing chair Nicholas Serota outlines his priorities for the arts; the museum sector’s international code of ethics is published; the Venice Biennale loses European funding over its inclusion of Russia this year; Russia targets airstrikes on Ukrainian cultural institutions; cultural institutions are advised over safeguarding at a time when criminals use GenAI to exploit children; plus the latest on galleries, people, prizes and more.
Obituaries
Christine Borland 1965–2026
Katrina M Brown
Simone Forti 1935–2026
Fiontán Moran
Jemma Desai, There Are No Honest Poems About Dead Women, 2026, Somerset House Studios
Exhibitions
Ana Mendieta
Tate Modern, London
Bryony White
David Wojnarowicz: some day this will all be crumbling ruins
The Modern Institute, Glasgow
John Douglas Millar
Nomenclature for the Time Being
Raven Row, London
Luisa Lorenza Corna
sponsored
Flare-Up
Goldsmiths CCA, London
Amanda Cachia
Daniel Buren: Pages in Situ
Lisson Gallery, London
Peter Suchin
Jemma Desai: There Are No Honest Poems About Dead Women
Somerset House Studios, London
Amrita Dhallu
sponsored
Bod Mellor: Sybil
Moon Groove, Manchester
Lauren Velvick
Social Unrest
Matta, Milan
Frida Sandström
Manifesta 16 Ruhr
various venues, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Gelsenkirchen
Maximiliane Leuschner
distinguish the limit from the edge
Artists’ Books
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha and Jimmy Robert: distinguish the limit from the edge
Greg Thomas
These works on graph paper by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, such as Untitled (Après tu parti), 1976, perhaps predict the spirit of the grid as defined by Rosalind Krauss in 1979: emblem of both formalist monomania and reverie.
Jeremy Nedd, from rock to rock ... aka how magnolia was taken for granite, 2024/26
Performance
Jeremy Nedd: from rock to rock … aka how magnolia was taken for granite • slidin’ thru
Ravi Ghosh
By the time the hoverboard character appears, chaos has been embraced: limbs pull at the air overhead, the dancer in the silver sleeping bag – previously writhing – has settled to become another boulder.
Cao Fei, Asia One 02, 2018, from ‘Asia One’ series
Film
Cao Fei: Testimonies to the Near Future
Maria Walsh
‘Testimonies to the Near Future’ is ultimately a feat of technological and designer prowess that envisages the accelerated times and spaces of globalisation and gentrification sweetened by romance and play.
engineers looking after ‘The Donauinsel’, 2026, photo by Klaus Pichler
Reports
Letter from Vienna
Miriam Stoney
The various ideas for the Danube Island’s use and the ultimate decision to retain the newly created land for ecological conservation and recreational activities provide a rare instance of politics working to affirm life, as opposed to more abstract values such as capital, status or power. It’s still propaganda, but at least benevolently so.
AfricaMusuem’s introductory galleries
Reports
Letter from Tervuren
Deborah Schultz
The range of names that Belgium’s AfricaMuseum has been known by over the years seem indicative of how it has responded to wider political and historical changes while uncertain of its role in society. I have long been interested to see how its displays deal with its complex and highly problematic history. How does it look to its past? To what extent does it engage with the present?
Haim Steinbach, family ties, 2007, estimate £10,000–15,000, sold for £1,270
Salesrooms
The Zabludowicz Sale
Colin Gleadell
While the big money in London this summer was focused on Sotheby’s, contemporary art followers had their eyes on Christie’s, which was the beneficiary of the surprise decision by Anita and Poju Zabludowicz to sell more than 100 works from their collection with an estimated value of £15m.
Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941
Artlaw
Only Fools and Horses
Henry Lydiate
US-based photography dealer James Danziger used GenAI to make a ‘colourized’ version of Ansel Adams’s iconic Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941, then displayed it at The Photography Show’s annual fair in New York City. Danzinger offered his creation for sale in three differently sized editions of ten at $6,000, $8,000 and $10,000; the Ansel Adams Gallery, meanwhile, run by the artist’s grandson, was offering a unique print of the original Moonrise for over $100,000.
Artlaw Retrospective
Henry Lydiate marks the magazine’s 50th year by reviewing his Artlaw column since its first publication in 1976. Throughout 2026, one broad subject is explored each month, noting significant events and issues, and commenting on key changes and developments to date. Read the Artlaw Retrospective articles
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50 Years of Artlaw
Artlaw Retrospective
Art Monthly covers from the present back to Issue 1
Artists and Money
Henry Lydiate on art and artists’ complex relationship with money
Daniel Tzanck was a Paris-based collector, enthusiast of modern art, and dentist. In 1919, visiting Tzanck for dental work, Marcel Duchamp chose to pay his bill of 400Fr ($115) with a cheque he created and Tzanck accepted. It was slightly bigger than life-size, entirely hand-made, to be drawn on a fictious ‘The Teeth’s Loan & Trust Company Consolidated of New York at 2 Wall Street’. The cheque served as a conceptual artwork that questioned the relationship between true economic value and artistic labour.
Previous Retrospectives
Art Monthly celebrates its 50th anniversary and 500th issue in October 2026. Henry Lydiate marks the magazine’s 50th year by reviewing his Artlaw column since its first publication in 1976. Throughout 2026, one broad subject is explored each month, noting significant events and issues, and commenting on key changes and developments to date.
Censorship – Henry Lydiate on the repression of art over the decades
Art After Death – Henry Lydiate on the legal wrangles over artists’ estates
Artist’s Moral Rights – Henry Lydiate on the development of artist’s moral rights
Artist’s Copyright – Henry Lydiate on the scope of artist’s copyright
Artist’s Contracts – Henry Lydiate on the value of artist’s contracts
About Artlaw – Henry Lydiate on the development of Artlaw over the past half century
Liam Gillick black cap modelled by Vivienne Griffin
Art Monthly x Liam Gillick
TAKING ART APART SINCE 1976
New black version!
To celebrate Art Monthly’s 50th anniversary in 2026, Liam Gillick has produced a cap design to support the magazine’s fundraising campaign.
• 100% cotton
• One-size, adjustable
• £39 including UK delivery
Oreet Ashery’s Piece, 2025, modelled by Onyeka Igwe
Art Monthly x Oreet Ashery
PIECE
Last few available!
To celebrate Art Monthly’s 50th anniversary in 2026, Oreet Ashery has produced a T-shirt to support the magazine’s fundraising campaign.
• Limited edition of 30
• Organic white cotton
• One-size
• Introductory price £39 including UK delivery
Each T-shirt is supplied with a separate printed poem signed by the artist, which includes the lines:
Piece by piece
No Justice, No Peace
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Meet the Artist: Jenny Bratt South Square, Bradford, Sat 26 Sep 12.00pm
Dream Inheritances Finnissage Chapter, Cardiff, Sat 26 Sep 3.00pm
Industrial Coast Presents Ancient Methods The Auxiliary, Middlesbrough, Sat 26 Sep 7.00pm
Selected Exhibition Openings
In Turner’s Wake: Contemporary Visions by Jake Wood-Evans The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Kent, 19 Sep - 15 Nov Experience rare original J.M.W. Turner masterpieces presented in direct dialogue with Jake Wood-Evans’s luminous, evocative contemporary art.
promoted
Laila Majid and Louis Blue Newby Niru Ratnam, London, opens Wed 2 Sep | PV 2 Sep
Find local shows with the Art Monthly gallery maps!
Podcasts
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Jun: Mark Prince argues that sculptures once-default position as a surrogate for presence has been challenged. Hosted by Matt Hale.
May: Sarah E James explains why political action always falls to individual artists, Matthew Bowman discusses Lucia Pizzani’s exhibition at Focal Point Gallery. Hosted by Matt Hale.
Mar: Dave Beech argues that the still life should be re-examined in the light of wider political, social and cultural contexts to understand what he calls ‘still lifescapes’. Hosted by Matt Hale.
Twelfth Edition of the International Awards for Art Criticism
Submit a piece of critical writing about a contemporary art exhibition held anywhere in the world or online between 1st September 2025 and 11th August 2026, for a chance of winning one of four prizes totalling over 20k euros. IAAC, Royal College of Art, Edinburgh College of Art, AICA, School of Philosophy Fudan University, Shanghai Zhangyuan Art Museum. | 14 Sep iaac-m21.com
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