The International Association of Art Critics (AICA: Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art) presents an annual lecture addressing current issues in the world of art criticism. This year’s distinguished critic, Michael Brenson, is an independent curator and writer, and a member of the faculty of the Bard College.

Since the beginning of the century, the American art world has been defined in part by concern bordering on alarm about the future of art criticism. In roundtables, panels and books, art critics have raised questions about their impact on—or even their relevance in the face of—the booming global art market and the proliferation of international biennial exhibitions. Discussing these real concerns within the context of contemporary art and politics, and against the background of a relationship to art criticism that has changed substantially since his years at The New York Times [1982-1991], Michael Brenson clarifies both the challenges and the opportunities facing art critics in 2007.

Michael Brenson is a critic, art historian, curator, editor, and teacher. He has written extensively on modern and contemporary art, art museums, public art, and cultural politics. His writings include Visionaries and Outcasts: The NEA, Congress, and the Place of the Visual Artist in America and Acts of Engagement: Writings on Art, Criticism, and Institutions 1993-2002. He has been a consultant for the Rockefeller Foundation and a Getty scholar and is a member of the faculties of Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies and Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts. He is working on a biography of David Smith.

AICA was founded in the wake of World War II to protect the openness of global discourse in the arts. There are now chapters in 64 countries currently promoting art criticism and its insights into contemporary culture. AICA-USA, with a nationwide membership, contributes significantly to the current dialogue.

This is the first AICA-USA Distinguished Critic Lecture at The New School, an annual event addressing current issues in the world of art criticism. It is presented by the International Association of Art Critics (AICA: Associations Internationale des Critiques d’Art) in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics.