Fascinating article by Rachel Wetzler:
https://www.artforum.com/features/year-in-review-2024-rachel-wetzler-new-historicism-1234721659/
Is beauty really vanishing from our world, or are we witnessing something more complex? A fascinating debate is unfolding in the art world, where social media warriors bemoan the loss of classical aesthetics while contemporary artists quietly revive traditional forms in surprising ways. When conservative voices post viral threads comparing ornate historical doorknobs to plastic Amazon basics, they’re not just talking about design – they’re making claims about moral decay and cultural identity. Yet in galleries from TriBeCa to Kreuzberg, artists like Cecily Brown and Jordan Casteel are embracing beauty with fresh eyes, returning to classical techniques and subjects without the weight of nostalgia. The late critic Dave Hickey argued that beauty isn’t vanishing but was deliberately sidelined, seen as too commercial, too seductive. Perhaps beauty isn’t disappearing at all – we’re just caught in an electric moment of redefining what it means and who gets to decide. Between gilt doorknobs and contemporary canvases, the future of beauty hangs in the balance.
Something in my soul feels so flat.
MCV Arts 