Hyperallergic

In the Time of Social Distance, Galleries Go Digital
By Jasmine Weber and Dessane Lopez Cassell
March 20, 2020

As galleries transfer programming online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve noted exhibitions worth checking out.

Tired of hate-watching reality TV? Same here. Luckily, these days there’s an extra plentiful selection of visual art you can view from the comfort of your own tower of self-isolation. With today’s public launch of ​Basel’s Online Viewing Rooms, art lovers all over the world now have an opportunity to view works that were previously planned for the Hong Kong iteration of the prestigious art fair. (Originally scheduled to begin March 19, the fair was canceled last month due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.) To accompany your virtual visit to the fair, we’ve gathered several other online exhibitions worth checking out. While the viewing conditions may be new to some, engaging with these standout artists and artworks is well worth the learning curve as we adjust to our new normal.

Nicholas Galanin: Carry a Song / Disrupt an Anthem, Peter Blum Gallery (through March 28)

Regarding the title of his first solo exhibition with a New York gallery, Nicholas Galanin explains, “to carry the songs of Indigenous people, to carry the songs of the land, is inherently disruptive of the national anthem.” This expansive show brings together work of varying mediums primarily concerned with the experiences of Indigenous folks in the United States, and the precarity and violence of assimilation after colonialism. His woven textile work, “White Noise, American Prayer Rug” (2018), featured here, was a fan favorite in the most recent Whitney Biennial. Installed nearby is “The Imaginary Indian (Totem Pole)” (2016), which clings to a wall. The hanging totem, covered by Victorian wallpaper, is a poignant commentary on assimilation in a nation that has been diligent in its attempts to violently stamp out Indigenous cultures. —Jasmine Weber