Art's Revivalism Cycle Accelerates as Post-Internet Aesthetics Return
Contemporary art's retro cycle, traditionally spanning 30 years, is speeding up. In Berlin's Gallery Weekend, galleries like Société, Neu, Sprüth Magers, and Esther Schipper are showing post-Internet artists Timur Si-Qin, Yngve Holen, Cao Fei, and Hito Steyerl, reviving early-2000s aesthetics. The Schinkel Pavillon has been rehabilitating post-Internet artists, featuring Jon Rafman, Anna Uddenberg, and the New York collective DIS. In New York, Josh Kline receives a Whitney Museum retrospective and Artforum cover. The article argues that artistic recycling is accelerating, with neo-Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism 2.0 also emerging, and predicts that revival cycles may shorten further, mirroring fashion.
Key facts
- Art's retro cycle has traditionally looked back 30 years but is now speeding up.
- In Berlin Gallery Weekend, post-Internet artists Timur Si-Qin, Yngve Holen, Cao Fei, and Hito Steyerl are showing at galleries Société, Neu, Sprüth Magers, and Esther Schipper.
- Schinkel Pavillon recently showcased Jon Rafman, Anna Uddenberg, and the collective DIS.
- Josh Kline is being honored with a Whitney Museum retrospective and Artforum cover.
- Neo-Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism 2.0 are also experiencing revivals.
- The article suggests revival cycles may shorten to a few seasons, like fashion.
- Pablo Bronstein predicted a postmodernist revival in 2007.
- The 2022 touring show Surrealism Beyond Borders and the last Venice Biennale widened the modernist canon.
Entities
Artists
- Timur Si-Qin
- Yngve Holen
- Cao Fei
- Hito Steyerl
- Jon Rafman
- Anna Uddenberg
- Josh Kline
- Pablo Bronstein
Institutions
- Société
- Neu
- Sprüth Magers
- Esther Schipper
- Schinkel Pavillon
- Whitney Museum
- Artforum
- The New York Times
- Berlin Biennale
- Venice Biennale
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- New York
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom