On December 7, 2016 The New York Times arts critics Holland Cotter and Roberta Smith shared their selections for the best art of the year. Cotter reflected on the shows he reviewed throughout the year that have stayed with him, particularly in a complex political climate.
At number 7, Cotter calls out the continued relevance of the exhibition A Feast of Astonishments which traveled to the Grey Art Gallery at NYU, after originating at the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University.
7. ‘A FEAST OF ASTONISHMENTS: CHARLOTTE MOORMAN AND THE AVANT-GARDE, 1960S-1980S’ Many of the year’s best shows were of art by women, including this one devoted to Charlotte Moorman (1933-1991) at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery. Moorman was tagged as the “topless cellist” but far beyond being a novelty act, she was an artist of wit and anarchic invention, and the inventor of the Annual Avant Garde Festival of New York, an anti-Art Basel if ever there was one.
The Block Museum is honored to be part of The New York Times list of the best art of the year which includes exhibitions at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Met Breuer, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
