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An overview of the artist who turned museums into his medium, the godmothers of ecosexuality, and more.
What happens if you collect MoMA’s deaccessioned paintings into one handy catalog, or move the wall of a house about a foot, all in the name of conceptual art? Michael Asher may have some answers for you. The artist’s work is cerebral – sometimes bordering on inscrutable – but also politically charged, socially conscious and continually relevant, even more than a decade after his death. Read Renée Reizman’s review of a study into the father of institutional criticism – a form dear to us here Hyperallergic.
Also today you will love to meet Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, the godmothers of ecosexuality. What does that mean? “Become a lover of the earth, erode it, maybe even get married?” Tulsa Kinney writes. Their latest film will be shown at various locations until the end of the year.
Plus, the decennial exhibition of Connecticut artists at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum proves this isn’t a problem, a mural was damaged during a burglary at the Harriet Tubman Museum, a former director of the High Museum pleads guilty to embezzlement, and all the art reading you need to start the day right.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, editor-in-chief
For Michael Asher, the museum was the medium
Walking through the exhibition Michael Aser at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, you could mistake the artist for a donor. The small solo exhibition spans two galleries and Asher’s name is most prominently emblazoned above the opening separating the rooms, like a patron with deep pockets who has purchased their estate.
Asher, who died in 2012, was not as wealthy as the Annenbergs or the Sacklers, famous benefactors who pushed museums to name wings after them. He was a conceptual artist and longtime teacher at CalArts, and his reputation endures despite the lack of marketable objects he produced. Asher was more interested in the way museums looked and functioned, and his exploration of these behind-the-scenes machinations helped establish “Institutional Criticism” as a category of conceptual art. | Renee Reizman
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Cranbrook Academy of Art is reopening applications for Fall 2026
The art institution will accept applications from June 22 to August 15 for artists and designers considering university studies.
More information
News
- The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland, reported a burglary last weekend that resulted in damage to a mural. The party involved, who is still at large, demolished the building within a month after it reopened to the public following extensive renovations.
- The former Chief Operating Officer of the High Museum of Art, Brady Lum, has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $600,000 from the nonprofit art institution.
From our critics
Features
Meet the Doyennes of ecosexuality
In their latest film, Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens argue for replacing an exploitative relationship with the Earth with one based on intimacy, care and pleasure. | Tulsa Kinney
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Erin, thank you for this article, so carefully researched and well written. It is a loud call to all museums and collectors who still possess looted material. No one can claim not to know, not after you shine a clear, revealing light on all the lying, deception and greed. Brava, and thank you for exposing the truth.
Doria Hughes on “Why Do So Many Museums Keep the Treasures of a Convicted Antique Dealer?”
From the Archives
Art in a time like this: take one action
Open call for courageous political images and ideas about citizen action to save democracy. Selected artists will participate in a public art campaign and/or be featured in an online exhibition this fall. Honorarium up to $1000.
Deadline: August 21, 2026 | atlt.org
See more in this month’s list of opportunities for artists, writers and performers!
