Under the term “autonomy”, independence in art long meant freedom of artistic creation independent of market or government influences. Especially in the second half of the twentieth century, artists served as a projection surface for a life freed from constraints that promised relative independence from socioeconomic conditions. Yet this unrealistic idea of artists having the freedom you, as a civic subject, do not dare to take has meanwhile been largely abandoned. A number of artists even pursued a critique of the institutions that include them and of the constraints associated with those institutions, though in the long run this didn’t lead anywhere. As necessary as it was, the constant pointing to the unfreedom of one’s situation eventually did start to smack of paid criticism and, instead of transforming the situation identified through analysis and critique, stabilised the institutions which accepted the criticism as a distinction. Nowadays, the situation is po

Independent Curators International announces the appointment of Amanda Parmer as Director of Programs. In this newly created position, Parmer will oversee the advancement of ICI’s exhibitions, public programs and publications, and professional development initiatives for curators. She will integrate ICI programs and international collaborations to better serve the organization’s mission to promote knowledge-exchange, broad access to contemporary art, and public awareness for the role of the curator in contemporary art. She brings a wide range of experience to ICI: Parmer was the first full-time Curator of the New School’s Vera List Center for Art and Politics since 2016, where she developed a dynamic program of exhibitions in tandem with public events. Over the last 15 years in New York, Parmer has organized programs at the Abrons Art Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Cooper Union, e-flux, High Line, The Kitche

Louis K. Meisel Gallery is presenting Museum Insider, an exhibition of Robert Neffson’s recent paintings. An American Photorealist painter, Neffson is known for his wide-angle cityscape paintings. In recent years, his subject matter has expanded to include museum interiors and spaces; Museum Insider unveils two of his latest large-scale works, which place his audience inside two of New York’s most iconic museums—the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA. A native New Yorker, Robert Neffson has an almost innate eye for urban compositions. Whether depicting a busy street scene or the interior of the Metropolitan Museum, Neffson acts as the metteur-en-scène, carefully balancing the various elements within his tableaux. Through the course of multiple visits to his chosen site, along with extensive photography, he is able to collect visual information about his subject. Reflecting light, the time of day, the juxtaposition of

The Contemporary Arts Center announces Valentine Umansky as the new Curatorial Fellow of Lens-Based Arts. The three-year fellowship, funded by FotoFocus and its Founder Tom Schiff, focuses on bringing lens-based exhibitions to the CAC with an eye toward the FotoFocus Biennial’s ten year anniversary in 2020. “We are thrilled for FotoFocus’ and Mr. Schiff’s support for this important curatorial position," says Raphaela Platow, CAC’s Alice and Harris Weston Director. “This fellowship will allow a brilliant, emerging curator to present the most forward-thinking projects with a focus on photography, video, film and digital production. After a highly competitive interview process with superb candidates from around the world we believe that Valentine Umansky will add a unique perspective and fresh voice to our curatorial program. Her curatorial experiences across Europe, the U.S. and Africa wil

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, the exhibition Related by Sister Languages examines the points of intersection between Nordic, Baltic and Central-European history and experience in the present of the 21st century, where Estonia and Hungary are both building their futures within the bounds of the European Union. Can we draw a parallel between the themes and motifs that appear in the contemporary art of the two countries? How do they relate to the general problems of our time? The majority of works exhibited at the present show of eight Estonian and six Hungarian artists and artist groups have been created in recent years, reflecting on current topics and are on display for the first time in Budapest. These are augmented by pieces selected from the museum’s collection, to further interpret and reflect on the questions raised by Estonian contemporary artists - our language sisters. Hungarian and Estonian are both languages of Finno-Ugric origin, even if

Parafin announces a first solo exhibition with the acclaimed London-based German artist Melanie Manchot (born 1966, Witten, Germany). The exhibition includes a new body of photographic works, being shown for the first time, and the premiere of a new video work, Cadence (2018). The exhibition runs concurrently with a major survey show at MAC VAL in Paris. ‘White Light Black Snow’ is Manchot’s first extended body of photographic work in a number of years, despite the medium being central to her practice. Recently Manchot’s projects have focussed primarily on film, video and elements of performance and in 2017 she was shortlisted for the prestigious Jarman Award by Film London. However, Manchot first came to prominence as an artist using photography in the 1990s and has described it as ‘the backbone to everything I do and to how I think visually. Cameras, whether still or moving, are crucial devices sha

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and Kim Chung-up Architecture Museum jointly present Kim Chung-up Dialogue, an exhibition spotlighting Kim Chung-up, the master of Korean modern architecture, from Thursday, August 30 through Sunday, December 16 at MMCA Gwacheon. Kim Chung-up Dialogue is a special exhibition commemorating the 30th anniversary of the architect’s death. This exhibition foregoes presenting a retrospective of Kim’s life and works to highlighting hidden aspects of the architect who not only introduced modern architecture to Korea but played a significant role in the history of Korean architecture, culture, and art. Over 3,000 works and materials from the MMCA archive and the Kim Chung-up Architecture Museum collections aree on display along with photo and video works specially produced for this exhibition to offer a full perspective on the architect. Kim Chung-up was born in 1922.

Art Sonje Center is presenting Francis Alÿs’ first solo exhibition in Korea, titled The Logbook of Gibraltar, from August 31 to November 4, 2018. Francis Alÿs, who was born in Belgium and moved to Mexico in the mid 1980s, portrays his views on the contested borders and socio-political concerns of international society including Mexico City with his painterly moving images and drawings. In the exhibition, The Logbook of Gibraltar, he uses his typical metaphoric and poetic language to present geopolitical issues from regions where conflicts regarding national borders persist, centering on Havana (Cuba), Key West (U.S.), and the Strait of Gibraltar between the African and European continents. In the exhibition, Alÿs presents a series of his recent works including a two-channel video, Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River (2008) as its key part on the second floor of Art Sonje Center. The Strait of Gibraltar was a