{"id":1864469,"date":"2026-04-02T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1864469"},"modified":"2026-04-02T10:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:00:07","slug":"the-art-world-is-a-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1864469","title":{"rendered":"The Art World Is a Joke"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><main class=\"gh-main\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"gh-article post tag-daily-newsletter tag-newsletter no-image\">\n<header class=\"gh-article-header gh-canvas\">\n<p>                Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"gh-article-title is-title\">The Art World Is a Joke<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">April Fools\u2019 round-ups, Aruna D\u2019Souza on the abstract painter who\u2019s everywhere this year, art books to read this spring, and more.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta\">\n<div class=\"gh-article-author-image instapaper_ignore\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-wrapper\">\n<h4 class=\"gh-article-author-name\">Hyperallergic<\/h4>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-content\"><time class=\"gh-article-meta-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-02\">April 2, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 3 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>Happy April! Hope you got a kick out of our April Fools\u2019 issue. If that wasn&#8217;t enough for you, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar rounded up the best jokes in the art world this year \u2014\u00a0check it out and let us know who you think did it best. (For the record, I still think it\u2019s us.) And in other ways to celebrate this month, we\u2019ve also put together a list of 10 recommended books coming out in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kamrooz Aram is everywhere this year, from Mumbai Art Week to the Whitney Biennial, and critic Aruna D\u2019Souza is grateful. She pens a beautiful meditation on his work, reading his abstract paintings as not simply a denunciation of Western modernism nor a reassertion of Islamic visual motifs, but something else entirely \u2014\u00a0something gestural, exuberant, riotous, and incomparably his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also in this issue, Aaron Boehmer deconstructs the intimate gaze of Palestinian-American artist Dean Majd, who captures joys, griefs, and rites of passage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/DSC09403-3.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>A visitor at <\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Kamrooz Aram: Infrequencies<\/em><\/i><span> at Alexander Gray Associates (photo Hrag Vartanian\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"kamrooz-aram-breaks-down-the-grid\">Kamrooz Aram Breaks Down the Grid<\/h3>\n<p>Rather than deconstruct Western modernism or reinsert Islamic visual idioms, the artist loosens the grip of the grid. | Aruna D\u2019Souza<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/03\/Paat_Announcement-1-2.jpeg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Meet the First Cohort of Haystack\u2019s Artist Grant Initiative<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Eight artists pushing boundaries in design and materials find support through mentorship and an unrestricted grant award.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"news\">News<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-1.23.45---PM--2-.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>(via the Peggy\u00a0Guggenheim\u00a0Collection on <\/span><span>Instagram<\/span><span>; screenshot Rhea Nayyar\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>In addition to our own fresh and feral stock of jokes, we wanted to show some love to a few other examples of April Fools shenanigans across the arts and humanities.<\/li>\n<li>A new bipartisan bill introduced in Colorado could help enshrine intellectual property rights and expand healthcare access for cultural workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>MEMBER EVENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/03\/TonikaLewisJohnson_PhotoByBrianCrawford-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Tonika Lewis Johnson: Segregation and How to Disrupt It<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Join us on April 15 for a conversation with social justice artist and recent MacArthur \u201cGenius Grant\u201d winner Tonika Lewis Johnson and Hyperallergic Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/1200mohamed--prayer---2020-1.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Dean Majd, \u201cMohamed (prayer)\u201d (2020) (courtesy the artist)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-palestinian-american-photographer%E2%80%99s-intimate-gaze\">A Palestinian-American Photographer\u2019s Intimate Gaze<\/h3>\n<p>Dean Majd captured images of his inner circle for a decade, deconstructing performances of masculinity in the process. | Aaron Boehmer<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"what-we%E2%80%99re-reading\">What We\u2019re Reading<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/image-5-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"10-art-books-for-your-spring-reading-list\">10 Art Books for Your Spring Reading List<\/h3>\n<p>Theresa Hak Kyung Cha\u2019s first catalog in 25 years, Molly Crabapple chronicles the Jewish Bund, a photographer captures a Black Southern waterway, and more. | Lisa Yin Zhang,\u00a0Lakshmi Rivera Amin,\u00a0Hakim Bishara,\u00a0Hrag Vartanian,\u00a0Sophia Stewart,\u00a0Nageen Shaikh<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"in-memoriam\">In Memoriam<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/obit-3-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Glen Baxter in 1992 (photo <\/span><span>CC0 1.0<\/span><span>, courtesy Noord-Hollands Archief \/ Fotoburo de Boer)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"remembering-glen-baxter-pat-steir-melvin-edwards\">Remembering Glen Baxter, Pat Steir, Melvin Edwards<\/h3>\n<p>This week, we honor an absurdist cartoonist, a trailblazing feminist artist, and a sculptor who probed the history of violence in the US.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<p>Lowery Sims on Isa Farfan\u2019s \u201cCurator\u2019s Shoes Steal the Show at MoMA Reception\u201d:<\/p>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">Oh you guys! You get us every year. Thanks for the laughs.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\"><strong>From the Archive<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/image-6-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1460\" height=\"821\"><figcaption><span>King Nabonidus\u2019s letter to (image courtesy Liberty University Archeological team)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"archaeologists-discover-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-break-up-letter-at-neo-babylonian-site\">Archaeologists Discover World\u2019s Oldest Break-Up Letter at Neo-Babylonian Site<\/h3>\n<p>A tablet discovered this year, suggests that Neo-Babylonians may have been the first to start writing break up letters. | Hrag Vartanian<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<article class=\"gh-article post tag-daily-newsletter tag-newsletter no-image\">\n<header class=\"gh-article-header gh-canvas\">\n<p>                Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"gh-article-title is-title\">The Art World Is a Joke<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">April Fools\u2019 round-ups, Aruna D\u2019Souza on the abstract painter who\u2019s everywhere this year, art books to read this spring, and more.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta\">\n<div class=\"gh-article-author-image instapaper_ignore\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-wrapper\">\n<h4 class=\"gh-article-author-name\">Hyperallergic<\/h4>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-content\"><time class=\"gh-article-meta-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-02\">April 2, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 3 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>Happy April! Hope you got a kick out of our April Fools\u2019 issue. If that wasn&#8217;t enough for you, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar rounded up the best jokes in the art world this year \u2014\u00a0check it out and let us know who you think did it best. (For the record, I still think it\u2019s us.) And in other ways to celebrate this month, we\u2019ve also put together a list of 10 recommended books coming out in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kamrooz Aram is everywhere this year, from Mumbai Art Week to the Whitney Biennial, and critic Aruna D\u2019Souza is grateful. She pens a beautiful meditation on his work, reading his abstract paintings as not simply a denunciation of Western modernism nor a reassertion of Islamic visual motifs, but something else entirely \u2014\u00a0something gestural, exuberant, riotous, and incomparably his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also in this issue, Aaron Boehmer deconstructs the intimate gaze of Palestinian-American artist Dean Majd, who captures joys, griefs, and rites of passage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/DSC09403-3.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>A visitor at <\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Kamrooz Aram: Infrequencies<\/em><\/i><span> at Alexander Gray Associates (photo Hrag Vartanian\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"kamrooz-aram-breaks-down-the-grid\">Kamrooz Aram Breaks Down the Grid<\/h3>\n<p>Rather than deconstruct Western modernism or reinsert Islamic visual idioms, the artist loosens the grip of the grid. | Aruna D\u2019Souza<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/03\/Paat_Announcement-1-2.jpeg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Meet the First Cohort of Haystack\u2019s Artist Grant Initiative<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Eight artists pushing boundaries in design and materials find support through mentorship and an unrestricted grant award.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"news\">News<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-1.23.45---PM--2-.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>(via the Peggy\u00a0Guggenheim\u00a0Collection on <\/span><span>Instagram<\/span><span>; screenshot Rhea Nayyar\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>In addition to our own fresh and feral stock of jokes, we wanted to show some love to a few other examples of April Fools shenanigans across the arts and humanities.<\/li>\n<li>A new bipartisan bill introduced in Colorado could help enshrine intellectual property rights and expand healthcare access for cultural workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>MEMBER EVENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/03\/TonikaLewisJohnson_PhotoByBrianCrawford-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Tonika Lewis Johnson: Segregation and How to Disrupt It<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Join us on April 15 for a conversation with social justice artist and recent MacArthur \u201cGenius Grant\u201d winner Tonika Lewis Johnson and Hyperallergic Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/1200mohamed--prayer---2020-1.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Dean Majd, \u201cMohamed (prayer)\u201d (2020) (courtesy the artist)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-palestinian-american-photographer%E2%80%99s-intimate-gaze\">A Palestinian-American Photographer\u2019s Intimate Gaze<\/h3>\n<p>Dean Majd captured images of his inner circle for a decade, deconstructing performances of masculinity in the process. | Aaron Boehmer<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"what-we%E2%80%99re-reading\">What We\u2019re Reading<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/image-5-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"10-art-books-for-your-spring-reading-list\">10 Art Books for Your Spring Reading List<\/h3>\n<p>Theresa Hak Kyung Cha\u2019s first catalog in 25 years, Molly Crabapple chronicles the Jewish Bund, a photographer captures a Black Southern waterway, and more. | Lisa Yin Zhang,\u00a0Lakshmi Rivera Amin,\u00a0Hakim Bishara,\u00a0Hrag Vartanian,\u00a0Sophia Stewart,\u00a0Nageen Shaikh<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"in-memoriam\">In Memoriam<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/obit-3-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Glen Baxter in 1992 (photo <\/span><span>CC0 1.0<\/span><span>, courtesy Noord-Hollands Archief \/ Fotoburo de Boer)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"remembering-glen-baxter-pat-steir-melvin-edwards\">Remembering Glen Baxter, Pat Steir, Melvin Edwards<\/h3>\n<p>This week, we honor an absurdist cartoonist, a trailblazing feminist artist, and a sculptor who probed the history of violence in the US.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<p>Lowery Sims on Isa Farfan\u2019s \u201cCurator\u2019s Shoes Steal the Show at MoMA Reception\u201d:<\/p>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">Oh you guys! You get us every year. Thanks for the laughs.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\"><strong>From the Archive<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/image-6-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1460\" height=\"821\"><figcaption><span>King Nabonidus\u2019s letter to (image courtesy Liberty University Archeological team)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"archaeologists-discover-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-break-up-letter-at-neo-babylonian-site\">Archaeologists Discover World\u2019s Oldest Break-Up Letter at Neo-Babylonian Site<\/h3>\n<p>A tablet discovered this year, suggests that Neo-Babylonians may have been the first to start writing break up letters. | Hrag Vartanian<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>Happy April! Hope you got a kick out of our April Fools\u2019 issue. If that wasn&#8217;t enough for you, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar rounded up the best jokes in the art world this year \u2014\u00a0check it out and let us know who you think did it best. (For the record, I still think it\u2019s us.) And in other ways to celebrate this month, we\u2019ve also put together a list of 10 recommended books coming out in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kamrooz Aram is everywhere this year, from Mumbai Art Week to the Whitney Biennial, and critic Aruna D\u2019Souza is grateful. She pens a beautiful meditation on his work, reading his abstract paintings as not simply a denunciation of Western modernism nor a reassertion of Islamic visual motifs, but something else entirely \u2014\u00a0something gestural, exuberant, riotous, and incomparably his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also in this issue, Aaron Boehmer deconstructs the intimate gaze of Palestinian-American artist Dean Majd, who captures joys, griefs, and rites of passage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/DSC09403-3.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>A visitor at <\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Kamrooz Aram: Infrequencies<\/em><\/i><span> at Alexander Gray Associates (photo Hrag Vartanian\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"kamrooz-aram-breaks-down-the-grid\">Kamrooz Aram Breaks Down the Grid<\/h3>\n<p>Rather than deconstruct Western modernism or reinsert Islamic visual idioms, the artist loosens the grip of the grid. | Aruna D\u2019Souza<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/03\/Paat_Announcement-1-2.jpeg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Meet the First Cohort of Haystack\u2019s Artist Grant Initiative<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Eight artists pushing boundaries in design and materials find support through mentorship and an unrestricted grant award.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"news\">News<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-1.23.45---PM--2-.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>(via the Peggy\u00a0Guggenheim\u00a0Collection on <\/span><span>Instagram<\/span><span>; screenshot Rhea Nayyar\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>In addition to our own fresh and feral stock of jokes, we wanted to show some love to a few other examples of April Fools shenanigans across the arts and humanities.<\/li>\n<li>A new bipartisan bill introduced in Colorado could help enshrine intellectual property rights and expand healthcare access for cultural workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>MEMBER EVENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/03\/TonikaLewisJohnson_PhotoByBrianCrawford-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Tonika Lewis Johnson: Segregation and How to Disrupt It<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Join us on April 15 for a conversation with social justice artist and recent MacArthur \u201cGenius Grant\u201d winner Tonika Lewis Johnson and Hyperallergic Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/1200mohamed--prayer---2020-1.jpeg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Dean Majd, \u201cMohamed (prayer)\u201d (2020) (courtesy the artist)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-palestinian-american-photographer%E2%80%99s-intimate-gaze\">A Palestinian-American Photographer\u2019s Intimate Gaze<\/h3>\n<p>Dean Majd captured images of his inner circle for a decade, deconstructing performances of masculinity in the process. | Aaron Boehmer<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"what-we%E2%80%99re-reading\">What We\u2019re Reading<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/image-5-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"10-art-books-for-your-spring-reading-list\">10 Art Books for Your Spring Reading List<\/h3>\n<p>Theresa Hak Kyung Cha\u2019s first catalog in 25 years, Molly Crabapple chronicles the Jewish Bund, a photographer captures a Black Southern waterway, and more. | Lisa Yin Zhang,\u00a0Lakshmi Rivera Amin,\u00a0Hakim Bishara,\u00a0Hrag Vartanian,\u00a0Sophia Stewart,\u00a0Nageen Shaikh<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"in-memoriam\">In Memoriam<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/obit-3-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><figcaption><span>Glen Baxter in 1992 (photo <\/span><span>CC0 1.0<\/span><span>, courtesy Noord-Hollands Archief \/ Fotoburo de Boer)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"remembering-glen-baxter-pat-steir-melvin-edwards\">Remembering Glen Baxter, Pat Steir, Melvin Edwards<\/h3>\n<p>This week, we honor an absurdist cartoonist, a trailblazing feminist artist, and a sculptor who probed the history of violence in the US.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<p>Lowery Sims on Isa Farfan\u2019s \u201cCurator\u2019s Shoes Steal the Show at MoMA Reception\u201d:<\/p>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">Oh you guys! You get us every year. Thanks for the laughs.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\"><strong>From the Archive<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/04\/image-6-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1460\" height=\"821\"><figcaption><span>King Nabonidus\u2019s letter to (image courtesy Liberty University Archeological team)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"archaeologists-discover-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-break-up-letter-at-neo-babylonian-site\">Archaeologists Discover World\u2019s Oldest Break-Up Letter at Neo-Babylonian Site<\/h3>\n<p>A tablet discovered this year, suggests that Neo-Babylonians may have been the first to start writing break up letters. | Hrag Vartanian<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/03\/Copy-of-9.jpg\" alt=\"Summer Marathons in Painting and Drawing at the New York Studio School\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Summer Marathons in Painting and Drawing at the New York Studio School<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Join an immersive, two-week session and transform your studio practice. Online or in-person.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">New York Studio School<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/03\/033125_FineArtsBFAPaintingThesisExhibition_MP-22.jpg\" alt=\"Mondays at Pratt Institute: Weekly Openings of Work by Graduating Artists\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Mondays at Pratt Institute: Weekly Openings of Work by Graduating Artists<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Free and open to the public, Pratt Shows celebrate the school\u2019s graduating students. MFA and BFA work is on view this spring in Brooklyn, New York.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Pratt Institute<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/03\/roselynnsstudiohyperallergic-1-.JPG\" alt=\"NYU Steinhardt Presents 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibitions\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">NYU Steinhardt Presents 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibitions<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Part I: April 1\u201318, Part II: May 6\u201323. On view at 80WSE Gallery in New York\u2019s Greenwich Village. <\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">NYU Steinhardt<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/03\/RajniPereraandMarigoldSantosEfflorescenceTheWayWeWake2023.Courtesytheartists.PhotoMACLyon-3-.jpg\" alt=\"Take Your Practice Further in a Visual Arts Residency at Banff Centre\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Take Your Practice Further in a Visual Arts Residency at Banff Centre<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Engage with leading contemporary faculty, access exceptional studios, and develop your practice in Banff\u2019s inspiring mountain setting.  <\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/the-art-world-is-a-joke\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;] Daily Newsletter The Art World Is a Joke April Fools\u2019 round-ups, Aruna D\u2019Souza on the abstract painter who\u2019s everywhere this year, art books to read this spring, and more. Hyperallergic April 2, 2026\u2014 3 min read Happy April! Hope you got a kick out of our April Fools\u2019 issue. If that wasn&#8217;t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,69],"class_list":["post-1864469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-hyperallergic-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1864469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864469\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1864469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1864469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1864469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}