Eliana Willis

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    in Exhibitions

    The Art Collective MSCHF—Makers of the Viral ‘Big Red Boots’—Opens Its First Museum Retrospective

    From big red rubber boots to a chopped-up Damien Hirst painting to an anime-themed tax filing software—the medium-spanning work of MSCHF doesn’t lend easily to pithy definitions. Rather, the Brooklyn-based art collective’s output has been aimed toward playfully unpacking structures that undergird our social, economic, and cultural realities—the absurdity of virtual aesthetics, say, or corporate greed.  
    As the group’s co-founder Kevin Wiesner told me over email: “MSCHF has always very much been defined by how it works, partly because we are aggressively agnostic about the literal physicality of what we make.” 
    In other words, some perspective is needed where MSCHF is involved. Happily, the collective’s first institutional retrospective has just opened at Daelim Museum in Seoul. Aptly titled “Nothing Is Sacred,” the showcase brings together about 130 works, including paintings, interactive games, and fashion objects, created by the group since 2016. However disparate, these so-called “drops” have emerged as strands from “a single practice,” said Wiesner. 
    “Looking at all of these projects grouped together, it becomes possible to tease out running themes and commonalities, but also to see the common process employed in making all of them in the first place,” he said. 
    MSCHF Wholesale (2020) installation at “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    At the exhibition, due space is given to MSCHF’s pieces such as its medical bill paintings, microscopic designer handbag, and large canvases of A.I.-generated feet. A sprawling installation is dedicated to MSCHF Wholesale (2020), its merch-making exercise that produced 1,000 pairs of socks and 1,000 hats, only available to buy in bulk, in a satire of drop culture. 
    MSCHF’s core principle, Wiesner said, takes off from Athletic Aesthetics. The theory, proposed by writer Brad Troemel in 2013 that artists today are cultural producers elbowing for airtime in an attention economy, has colored the collective’s craft as much as its extreme release schedule (once every two weeks). But another helpful way to view the group’s practice is as performance art, in which the audience serves as active participants. 
    “It is the behavior of the project in the world, the way people interact with and talk about the work, that is the totality of the piece,” explained Wiesner. 
    And MSCHF’s drops have had their intended effect. Works like Big Red Boot (2023) and ATM Leaderboard (2022) have gained traction across social media just as others have left IRL footprints. Satan Shoes (2021), for which MSCHF sold Nike Air Max 97s embedded with a drop of blood, brought a lawsuit from the shoe company and sparked what Wiesner termed “a miniature Satanic Panic”; while Severed Spots (2020), which retailed individual dots from a Hirst spot painting, bred its own resale ecosystem. 
    In this way, Wiesner offered that the retrospective is less art exhibition and more an anthropological showcase, bringing together as it does “artifacts of the performance, entry points into retelling the stories of each work’s existence in culture.” 
    MSCHF’s Jesus Shoes (2019) and Satan Shoes (2021) on view at “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    It’s a sentiment echoed by Daelim Museum’s curatorial director, Sabina Yeowoon Lee. In an email, she characterized MSCHF’s practice as “dealing with today’s zeitgeist… [with] sophisticated and witty manipulation to engage participants with their work.” 
    “MSCHF is defining a new generation of artists,” she added, “armed with… an unwillingness to be defined or categorized, a deliberate choice of controversial subject matters to push the boundaries, uniquely satirical viewpoints, and fast working athleticism.”
    The Daelim exhibition follows MSCHF’s 2022 solo show at Perrotin, its first gallery outing, which signaled the art world’s embrace of its conceptual daring and cultural critique. But viewing almost all of the collective’s work under one roof at the retrospective, said Wiesner, offers the clearest picture yet of how its releases have grown in ambition and complexity.
    What’s remained consistent though is the group’s abiding irreverence: “The show title ‘Nothing Is Sacred’ has been a MSCHF internal mantra for years,” Wiesner said. 
    “We hope that visitors will get a sense of the underlying sensibility and process that runs through the works in the show,” he added. “We also hope that MSCHF can act as a model for a particular type of making that foregrounds how the work lives in culture at large from the very beginning of the creative process.” 
    See more images from the show below. 
    Installation view of “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    Installation view of “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    Installation view of “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    Installation view of “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    Installation view of “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    Installation view of “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” at Daelim Museum. Photo courtesy of Daelim Museum.
    “MSCHF: Nothing Is Sacred” is on view at Daelim Museum, 21 Jahamun-ro 4-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, through March 31, 2024. 
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    in Street Art

    “Graffiti Art in Prison” by Martha Cooper & David Mesguich in Florence, Italy

    In the early days of 2021, a personal encounter with the prison system opened doors to a unique opportunity. Gabriella Cianciolo, a professor at the University of Cologne, extended an invitation to become a speaker in the interdisciplinary “Graffiti Art in Prison” project, aptly named GAP. Eagerly embracing the chance, our protagonist proposed taking the initiative a step further by organizing a workshop within the confines of Florence Sollicciano jail.Sollicciano prison, like many correctional facilities worldwide, exists in a shadowy space on the periphery between two municipalities – Florence and Scandicci. Isolated from the city, it becomes a place forgotten, much like those left behind its imposing walls. During this period, a serendipitous encounter with the renowned New York-based photographer Martha Cooper occurred in a train yard while our protagonist was engaged in graffiti work. seizing the opportunity, Martha was invited to document the entire transformative process within the jail from 2022 to 2023.Our idea was to place art at the center of a dialogue between the past and the present, between often-forgotten individuals and the possibilities of redemption through artistic expression, says David Mesguich.An intriguing aspect of the project is the involvement not only of inmates but also of prison guards. Thus, the project becomes a true social experiment that aimed to break down mental and cultural barriers.We saw surprising human connections emerge between guards and inmatesduring an experience that transcended simple artistic creation, says a representative from the prison administration involved in the project.Teaming up with Martha for an entire year, the project aimed to fulfill promises made to the participants. In collaboration with workshop attendees, 3D scans of volunteer inmates were created, with the intention of using these scans for later sculpting. Surprisingly, a respectful relationship between some guards and inmates emerged, leading to the inclusion of a few guards in the scanning process. After extensive negotiations with jail authorities, permission was granted to create two large-scale installations on the jail fence at different times during the year.Choosing to portray the two most discreet participants – a police woman and an inmate – without disclosing their identities, our protagonist highlighted the shared humanity within this unusual place. Despite relentless attempts by the jail’s police commander to thwart the installations, the team persevered, successfully setting them up on time. The second phase involved the creation of murals – three by inmates with complete artistic freedom, followed by nine more by our protagonist. The murals featured portraits and sentences from both guards and inmates, deliberately obscured to challenge preconceptions.This immersive journey unfolded as a beautiful human adventure, marked by workshops and murals conducted by Martha, inmates, and students from the GAP project. The enclosed photographs by Martha Cooper serve as the sole remnants of this monumental yet ephemeral project. Their significance lies in being witnesses to a moment when fences were crossed, and differences were temporarily erased – a testament to the power of art to transcend boundaries and create connections in unexpected placesCheck out below for more photos of the project. Photo Credits: Martha Cooper, David Mesguich More

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    in Exhibitions

    Frieze Will Sponsor John Akomfrah’s British Pavilion at the Next Venice Biennale

    In an unprecedented move, Frieze has partnered with the British Council to support the British Pavilion at next year’s 60th Venice Biennale. As well as providing funding for the solo presentation by British-Ghanaian filmmaker John Akomfrah, which is on view from April 20 through November 24, 2024, this promised support will extend to promoting the exhibition online via social media.
    This is the first time an art fair has sponsored a national pavilion at the biennale. The move reflects the commercial art world’s growing interest in partnering with non-profit cultural organizations, while acknowledging the vital influence these institutions have within the art ecosystem at large. These offers are, no doubt, often welcome in the wake of successive cuts in public spending.
    In 2021, Frieze’s majority owner, the U.S. entertainment and media conglomerate Endeavor, went public, although it has recently been reported that it may again go private, according to the Financial Times. In other words, the British pavilion is being in-part supported not only by an art fair, but by a U.S. corporation.
    The British Council’s own financial contribution to the pavilion has not decreased since previous years, and it has always been supplemented by private donors, including Burberry, who was the “headline partner” last year and is now returning. However, the forthcoming Akomfrah commission is apparently particularly ambitious and costly. The council’s director of development, Andrew McGlynn, described the extra funding from Frieze as “essential”, according to The Art Newspaper. The undisclosed sum has not granted Frieze any right to decide how it will be spent.
    “Championing the artists, institutions, galleries, and non-profit organisations that comprise the British arts landscape has always been at the heart of what we do at Frieze,” said Frieze London’s director Eva Langret. “Our new partnership with the British Council feels like a natural extension of this core commitment.”
    Appearing at the Venice Biennale gives a major boost to an artist’s profile, but the pavilions are rarely cheap to put together. It has long been feared that, as the budgets of local governments and arts councils tighten, galleries and collectors will have the opportunity to take the reins and move biennials in a more commercial direction. While the pay off for galleries is obvious, it is less clear how an art fair stands to benefit, although Frieze does rent out spaces at its London gallery complex, No.9 Cork Street.
    Frieze has been significantly expanding its presence in the U.S., announcing in July that it was buying up two well-established fairs: the Armory Show and Expo Chicago. 

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    in Exhibitions

    An Innovative Fashion Exhibition at de Young Museum Will Get an A.R. Boost From Snap

    In January 2024, when “Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style” opens at the de Young Museum, visitors won’t just be viewing a major showcase of historic garments by more than 50 designers. They’ll also get to try these outfits on—not literally, but virtually. 
    In collaboration with Snap Inc, which is behind Snapchat, the museum will be rolling out an interactive dressing room that deploys the tech company’s augmented reality mirrors. The booth invites visitors to view an image of themselves in a large screen, virtually dressed in their choice of three evening wear ensembles—by French designer Yves Saint Laurent, Italian couturier Valentino, and Bay Area-based clothing artist Kaisik Wong. Snap’s technology will further configure the garments to fit different sizes, shapes, and genders. 
    “We’re excited to democratize fashion by giving attendees the opportunity to try on timeless fashion they otherwise might never be able to with the help of augmented reality,” Rajni Jacques, Snap Inc’s global head of fashion and beauty, said in an email.
    The installation, said curator Laura L. Camerlengo over email, “offers the rare opportunity for visitors to participate in the exhibition and write themselves into the show, so to speak, by virtually trying on iconic ensembles and gowns from the collection.” 
    The augmented reality mirror by Snap Inc. Photo courtesy of Snap Inc.
    In development for more than a decade, “Fashioning San Francisco” will trace the sartorial history of the city, exploring how style has been entwined with the Bay Area’s social identity over the past century. The show raids the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), the umbrella organization that oversees the de Young, surfacing pieces from early 20th-century haute couture to contemporary dress—a number of them historic donations by Bay Area women philanthropists. 
    Fashions on view will include early French evening wear by Callot Sœurs and Lucile, luxurious pieces by European couturiers such as Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain, little black dresses by Karl Lagerfeld and Oscar de la Renta, and experimental pieces by Japanese creatives from Rei Kawakubo to Yohji Yamamoto. These designs will be arrayed alongside the story of San Francisco’s revival, in the wake of the great 1906 earthquake, into a thriving metropolis.
    Valentino Garavani, Evening gown (1987). Photo: Randy Dodson, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
    Yves Saint Laurent, Evening ensemble: blouse and skirt (Fall/Winter 1976–77 Haute Couture). Photo: Randy Dodson, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
    “Traditional fashion histories have celebrated the so-called ‘major’ fashion cities—Paris, London, Milan, and New York,” said Camerlengo. “I enjoyed learning about how San Francisco’s sartorial histories—whether those of local fashion designers such as Richard Tam and Kaisik Wong, or retailers—were and still are major players in the national and international fashion landscapes.” 
    She pointed to how haute couture took root in the city early in the 1900s. It happened not just as a result of San Francisco women buying such pieces in luxury department stores, but because of exclusive trade agreements between the city’s manufacturers and France’s Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. At the local level, she added, “our vibrant philanthropic sector encouraged the wear of couture to high-profile events, driving sales.” 
    Kaisik Wong, Evening ensemble (1985). Photo: Randy Dodson, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
    To build the A.R. experience around the exhibition, the FAMSF curatorial team worked closely with Snap to capture the content of the three outfits. 3D versions of the looks will then be animated and loaded into the A.R. mirror, which will be designed alongside the de Young with bespoke elements. “The ultimate goal,” said Jacques, “is to stay true to the designs themselves, preserving their history as much as possible.”
    The show will mark the museum debut of Snap’s A.R. mirrors, which, so far, have largely been adopted by retailers such as Nike. It also adds FAMSF to the tech company’s growing cadre of cultural partners—joining the likes of LACMA, which collaborated with Snap’s A.R. studio for its multi-part Monumental Perspectives project, and the Louvre, which just launched its Egypt Augmented program enabled by the company’s A.R. technology.
    “’Fashioning San Francisco’ chronicles the ways in which style in the Bay has evolved over generations,” said Thomas P. Campbell, CEO and director of FAMSF, in a statement. “Thanks to Snap’s augmented reality mirrors, our visitors will have the opportunity to visualize themselves as a part of this history and to imagine their role in charting the city’s next sartorial chapter.”
    “Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style” will be on view at the de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, California, from January 20 through August 11, 2024. 

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    in Exhibitions

    A Once-in-a-Lifetime Loan Brings Zen Buddhist Masterpieces to the U.S.

    A pair of Japanese national treasures that are considered among the world’s most important Zen Buddhist masterpieces are heading to San Francisco this week, where they will be part of a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the Asian Art Museum.
    The two ink paintings, Persimmons (popularly known as Six Persimmons) and Chestnuts, are attributed to the famous Chinese artist Muqi, a Song Dynasty monk who lived from about 1210 to 1269. The paintings also gained prestige when Japanese government designated them as important cultural property in 1919.
    “When I was taking art history courses in school, these paintings were always discussed and in the textbooks,” the museum’s associate curator of Japanese art, Yuki Morishima, said, admitting she “was kind of starstruck” to learn they would be coming to the Bay Area.
    ”The use of dark and light tones within the brushwork is really something to marvel at. It seems very simple, but actually they’re quite complex and would be difficult to achieve by someone who wasn’t quite skillful in their handling of the brush,” Laura Allen, the museum’s senior curator of Japanese art, added. “It’s interesting to look at the composition and the use of negative space, and to see how carefully placed each of the persimmons is and how the chestnuts are arranged.”
    Attributed to Muqi, Chestnuts (13th century), detail. China, Southern Song Dynasty. Lent by Daitokuji Ryokoin Temple, Kyoto. Photo © Kyoto National Museum
    They are on loan from the Daitokuji Ryokoin temple in Kyoto, which has owned them since the early 1600s. The two works haven’t left the country since their arrival at some point in the 1400 or 1500s, and the Zen Buddhist temple is not open to the public, making this a unique opportunity to experience a pair of paintings that have been famous for generations. (Both pieces were seen briefly at the Miho Museum, about an hour outside of Kyoto, in a 2019 exhibition.)
    The San Francisco show has been in the works since 2017, when the temple’s abbot, Kobori Geppo, came to the Asian Art Museum while in town for a symposium. By the end of the visit, he had shocked everyone by proposing a historic loan of Muqi’s work. “We were quite surprised by the proposal and very honored,” Morishima said.
    The works will be on view for just three weeks each, overlapping for only three days in the center of the run, betwen December 8 and 10. Loaning the works required approval from the Japanese government’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs, with all sorts of restrictions designed to ensure the paintings’ safety, including carefully monitoring the lighting and humidity at the galleries.

    Attributed to Muqi, Persimmons (13th century), detail. China, Southern Song Dynasty. Lent by Daitokuji Ryokoin Temple, Kyoto. Photo © Kyoto National Museum
    Though the paintings have become famous in the West as the best-known example of Zen Buddhist art, the two hand scrolls originally would not have been seen as particularly spiritual. Instead, they would have served a decorative function, displayed during tea ceremonies in an alcove called the tokonoma, intended for artworks.
    What has been special about the works from the beginning was the artist, who remains incredibly renowned in Japan—even more so than in his native China.
    “Muqi is a big name in Japan and has been for centuries. He was popular in China, but it was a short-lived popularity,” Morishima said. “The Japanese tend to like more atmospheric brushstrokes while the Chinese historically prefer more precise brushstrokes and naturalism.”
    The artist’s outsized influence in Japan made him a likely starting point when Western scholars began studying the field, and helped solidify the now-outsize reputation of Persimmons and Chestnuts.
    “Early in the early 20th century, and certainly by the 1920s, there was a kind of  fascination with the idea of Zen Buddhism in the West,” Allen said. “These paintings became part of the literature of quote-unquote ‘Zen art’, and at a certain point attained the status of being iconic works. The idea was that their simplicity and the perceived spontaneity of the paintings was characteristic of Zen and its expression in art.”
    “The Heart of Zen” will be on view at the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California, November 17–December 31, 2023. Six Persimmons will be displayed November 17–December 10, 2023, and Chestnuts will be displayed December 8–31, 2023.
    “Japanese Tastes in Chinese Ceramics: Tea Utensils, Kaiseki Dishes, and More” will be on view at the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California, December 21, 2023–May 6, 2024.
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    in Exhibitions

    Valentino Collaborates With the Only American Museum Focused on Italian Art for Its New Store

    To celebrate the launch of its Madison Avenue flagship, its largest in the world, Valentino is exhibiting the work of renowned Italian painter Mario Schifano in the hyper-modern, concrete-clad mezzanine that presides over the new space.
    The gleaming showcase is part of a collaboration with Magazzino Italian Art, a unique nonprofit museum and research center located upstate in the Hudson Valley—Cold Spring, to be exact—dedicated to Italian art, particularly Arte Povera. The only American museum specializing in Italian art, Magazzino was the natural choice as Valentino’s art partner in the Empire State.
    Installation view of the Mario Schifano exhibition at Valentino’s new Madison Avenue flagship. Courtesy of Magazzino.
    “The ethos of this collaboration is education,” said Magazzino’s executive director Vittorio Calabrese on a preview tour before the store’s November 10 launch. We’re “inviting a new community into the vibrant world of Italian art while supporting our programs.”
    “Recognizing Valentino’s embodiment of quintessential Italian and Roman heritage,” he added, “we saw the maison as the ideal partner to explore a collaboration in support of our exhibition. Their creative team embraced the idea, and together with our conservators, exhibition designers, curators and art preparers, we crafted this project to introduce Mario Schifano [and] Rome during the decades of the ’60s and ’70s to a broader audience.”
    Interior view of Valentino’s new Madison Avenue flagship. Courtesy of Magazzino.
    Schifano, who died in 1998 at the age of 63, is one of the most significant artists of Italian postmodernism, known for his vibrant paintings that combine elements of Pop Art, Arte Povera, and Surrealism, and explored themes of consumerism and mass media. While few in number, his five paintings at the Valentino store bridge the worlds of art and fashion, Magazzino and Valentino, New York and Rome—and not just because the central work is rendered in the house’s signature shade of pink. 
    The collaboration comes with a major expansion of Magazzino, too, which was founded in 2017 by the collecting couple of Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. In September, the institution opened its Robert Olnick Pavilion (named after Nancy’s father) to further its curatorial and scholarly pursuits and increase its indoor space by two-thirds. The new building—designed by Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo—brings new auditorium capabilities, a store, and a cafe serving Italian cuisine by chef Luca Galli, straight from Livigno in the north of Italy.
    Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and Florence Pugh attend the 2023 Met Gala. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
    Valentino is well-versed in high-level art patronage. In 2022, the brand sponsored the Italian Pavilion at the 59th Biennale di Venezia. Pierpaolo Piccioli—the brand’s celebrated creative director since 2016—worked closely with the pavilion’s curator, Eugenio Viola, to develop a compelling narrative for the pavilion. The resulting exhibition, “History of Night and Fate of Comets,” featured the work of multidisciplinary artist Gian Maria Tosatti, whose immersive, evocative installations explored themes of time, memory, and the human condition.
    Valentino has conversed with the art world in other ways, too. Over the years, its On Canvas initiative has shed light on contemporary and emerging painters and sculptors. For example, in Shanghai in 2020 and Beijing in 2021, the brand staged physical experiences in which its codes were interpreted by contemporary local artists, offering fresh perspective on the house’s history and DNA.
    Installation view of the Mario Schifano exhibition at Valentino’s new Madison Avenue flagship. Courtesy of Magazzino.
    In addition, Valentino participated in Frieze in Singapore and Seoul, again asking artists to reinterpret its iconic codes through their own prisms, producing novel works. Meanwhile, Valentino and Triennale Milano have partnered to present the exhibition “Pittura Italiana Oggi” (Italian Painting Today) that is currently on view (through February 11, 2024). The exhibition, curated by Damiano Gullì, features works by 120 Italian artists from the 1960s to the 2000s.
    Further, convinced that painting is to contemporary art what couture is to fashion, Pierpaolo Piccioli recently brought a group of painters of all ages and backgrounds into the atelier to help design the Fall/Winter 2021-22 couture collection. The experimental process saw grandiose ball gowns and enormous hats loaded with vibrant colors and sinuous draping, trademarks of Valentino. As Calabrese said, “Valentino, like Magazzino, consistently champions new contemporary expressions while staying rooted in Italian heritage, captivating a global audience.”
    Installation view of the Mario Schifano exhibition at Valentino’s new Madison Avenue flagship. Courtesy of Magazzino.
    Valentino Garavani himself, the brand’s namesake (though no longer part of the company), is well-known in collecting circles. According to the Artnet Price Database, his colossal 1983 canvas by Jean-Michel Basquiat brought over $67 million at Christie’s in May. The painting, El Gran Espectaculo (The Nile), depicts floating skulls and figures set against scrawled phrases alluding to pharaohs and ancient Egyptian sites. It lived in Garavani’s personal collection for 18 years, and appeared in a 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, in which Garavani also spoke of owning works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, Fernand Léger, and Richard Prince. 
    Following Schifano in its new Madison Avenue space, Valentino plans to host a series of exhibitions with Magazzino in the coming months, highlighting a range of Italian artists. Though he can’t say who exactly, Vittorio Calabrese did say that “Rome and New York will still be at the center of this dialogue. The collaboration serves as an avenue to delve deeper into Italy’s contemporary art landscape, amplifying its relevance on the global scene—the best of Italian culture.”
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    in Exhibitions

    A Centuries-Spanning Exhibition Investigates the Age-Old Lure of Money

    Three miles north of the Manhattan court room where Sam Bankman-Fried went on trial, a very different investigation into the nature of money is taking place—the setting is the Morgan Library & Museum and the examination in question is an exhibition into the rise of the monetary economy in Medieval Europe. The centralized systems that FTX rebelled against were, in some ways, born in the 12th and 13th centuries as agricultural advancements—helped by an ecological “warm period” during the Middle Ages—and expanding trade routes that brought an economic revolution to the continent.
    Banks were established in Spain, Northern Europe, and the Italian city-states to facilitate increasingly complex and widespread financial transactions. Coin production duly boomed, a fact apparent in the first display visitors encounter at “Medieval Money, Merchants, and Morality”: a dull pile of low-value coins, the likes of which were minted in high volume to lubricate the economy.

    Coins from the Chalkis hoard in Greece, late 14th century. Photo: courtesy of American Numismatic Society, New York.
    “Previously mints produced few coins and these were of high value. This situation couldn’t sustain growth at all levels of the economy,” said exhibition curator Diane Wolfthal. “After the year 1100, more coins, including lower-value coins, began to be produced, which were essential for market penetration into the everyday life of ordinary people.”
    As money flowed into every facet of Medieval life, uplifting some and indebting others, it brought forth a litany of ethical complications. Chief among these was the quandary over how to pursue wealth and yet lead a good Christian life. Fitting then that the former personal library of J. Pierpont Morgan should play host to such questions.
    The American banking giant was a devout Episcopalian and, if the 16th-century tapestry that still hangs over his East Room is anything to go by, he may have grappled with the inherent corruptions of wealth. Triumph of Avarice, designed by Netherlandish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst, shows the personification of the deadly sin riding out of Hell and past the corpses of the gluttonous.
    Triumph of Avarice, Willem de Pannemaker ca. 1534-1536. Photo: courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum.
    Elsewhere, Hieronymus Bosch chimes in through Death and the Miser, a work on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It is, as ever, a work of anguish, trickery, and—to modern eyes at least—searing wit. Death slips a slender ankle across the threshold and tempts a dying man to ignore the angel lingering at his shoulder. Will he choose the gold in his strongbox or turn to God? Bosch leaves the decision to the viewer.
    Characteristically, works from Morgan’s collection ground the exhibition, which runs through March 10. There’s a register frontispiece from a Bologna lending society that shows a goldsmith at work in a room swirling with the precious metal. A kindly Hans Memling portrait of an Italian merchant holding a pink flower serves as a clear, if obvious, reminder that the Northern Renaissance was largely funded by a class of newly minted merchants.
    Hieronymus Bosch, Death and the Miser (ca. 1485–90). Image: courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.
    Most notable, however, are the Medieval manuscripts, of which Morgan was a greedy collector. Together, they show how money slipped into seemingly every aspect of Medieval life. It made financial planning possible, as shown in a 16th-century calendar commissioned by royal chamberlain Philibert de Clermont, which recommends men to begin gathering their retirement resources at the age of 48.
    It fueled urban vice and gambling, presented in the illustration of an epic German poem on sin showing three criminals huddled around a dice game. It deepened social inequalities which prompted the church to act as a financial benefactor to the poor and give alms, as depicted in the prayer book of Queen Claude of France.
    Gerard of Villamagna Soliciting Alms for the Poor, from Vita Christi (Life of Christ). Illuminated by Pacino di Bonaguida and workshop Italy, Florence, ca. 1300–25. Image: courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum.
    Although concerns of money’s corrupting power became more pressing in this period, they weren’t, of course, entirely new. There were lessons aplenty in the Bible with the virtues of frugality preached by Jesus, St. Francis, and St. Antony, all of whom are portrayed at the Morgan.
    It’s a reminder not of a simpler time, but rather of a world gripped by the same questions and stereotypes as today. Take the stigmatization of Jews, Wolfhal says, or the categorization of poor people as undeserving, or religious narratives used to justify the extraordinary wealth of a few (think of today’s prosperity theology or indeed effective altruism).
    “I hope visitors will see how complex Medieval discussions of money were, and think about the role money plays in their own lives,” Wolfhal said. “We have much to learn from the Medieval past.”
    See more images from the exhibition below.
    Frontispiece from a register of creditors of a Bolognese lending society Illuminated by Nicolò di Giacomo di Nascimbene (ca. 1394–95). Image: courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum.
    Hans Memling, Portrait of a Man with a Pink (ca. 1475). Image: courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum.
    Hugo von Trimberg Der Renner (The Runner), Gamblers and Criminals (1476–99). Image: courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum.
    Andrea di Bartolo, Joachim and Anna Giving Food to the Poor and Offerings to the Temple, Sienna (ca. 1400–05). Image: courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
    Hans Holbein the Younger, Der Rychman (The Rich Man) (1523–26, published 1538). Image: courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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    in Exhibitions

    The Power Of the Throne Explored Through Royal Furniture

    The throne is an almost outmoded object in an age of fading monarchy. Still, the idea of a piece of furniture that confers a higher authority continues to hold sway in today’s political and cultural imagination. Consider the fancy seat Emmanuel Macron occupied during his inauguration, or the iconic sword-backed perch that anchored HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones. 
    At the Paleis Het Loo in the Netherlands, a new exhibition is examining the symbolism—and surprising staying power—of the throne. Featuring about 70 objects, “The Power of the Throne” explores the history and contemporary relevance of this power seat, while questioning exactly what elevates a humble chair into a symbol of sovereignty.  
    The show, said curator Niels Coppes in a statement, “will tell stories of different cultures through the lens of the throne: the defining symbol of divine and secular rule as a claim to power and authority. It will also invite visitors to reflect on the theme: ‘Is there a future for the throne?’” 
    The Iron Throne from the TV series Game of Thrones, installed at “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    The thrones gathered here range from historic examples, including an artifact of the Ashanti Empire in Ghana, to contemporary specimens like the East River Chairs, which accommodated speakers at 2019’s G20 Women’s Summit. The royal throne of King Willem-Alexander, the current Dutch monarch, serves as one of the show’s centerpieces, on loan from the Hague for the first (and apparently only) time. 
    According to Coppes, the participation of the Dutch king has spurred the loan of another—possibly more beloved—chair. A replica of the Iron Throne, the coveted seat of the Seven Kingdoms in Games of Thrones, joins the exhibition as a prime example of how popular culture has shaped our appreciation of royal furniture.  
    The chairs in the show are also accompanied by throne-centric artworks from the museum’s collection. Nicolaas Pieneman’s c.1840 painting immortalizing the inauguration of King Willem II depicts the grandeur of royal authority, just as Claes Jacobsz van der Heck’s The Judgement of Solomon (1616) captures its rare sagacity. A historical cartoon cheekily portraying the elder Willem I on a throne of cheese, however, dismantles that aura.
    Claes Jacobsz van der Heck, The Judgement of Solomon (1616), installed at “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    Alas, most of the thrones included in the show aren’t for sitting in. However, visitors are invited to plonk themselves on two seats: the Iron Throne and Alfred van Elk’s work Troon (Throne). The latter is a four-seat sculpture, crafted by the industrial designer with 288 wooden planks for the 2016 edition of Symposion Gorinchem. Its form, he said, was intended to reflect the “multiple truths and multiple beliefs” of his “ideal society.”  
    According to Van Elk, he had the opportunity to speak with then Queen Beatrix about the work. “Of course, she is the one with experience when it comes to thrones,” he wrote of their interaction. “Even Queen Beatrix felt that the one sitting on a throne does not necessarily hold the truth.” 
    See more views of the exhibition below. 
    Alfred van Elk, Troon (Throne), installed at “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    Installation view of “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    Helen Verhoeven, The Family (2021), installed at “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    Installation view of “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    Installation view of “The Power of the Throne” at Paleis Het Loo. Photo courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.
    “The Power of the Throne” is on view at Paleis Het Loo, Koninklijk Park 16, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, through March 10, 2024. 
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