Leading ladies: Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Peyton, Olga Viso
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Leading ladies: Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Peyton, Olga Viso

A postscript of sorts to our earlier post about Elizabeth Peyton’s brand-new portrait of Michelle and Sasha Obama, which was added to Peyton’s survey at the New Museum after our soon-to-be brand-new president was elected (and will also travel with the exhibition, which arrives here in February). That portrait was commissioned by W magazine in conjunction with its November issue, which is dedicated to all things cool and cutting-edge in the art world and therefore features a profile of the Walker’s director Olga Viso.

The story, while brief (it’s also a profile of Madeleine Grynsztejn, director of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art), offers a solid overview of Viso’s background, and also allows her to air her views on multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary art, as well as the contemporary art market. The latter was described in the piece as “exploding,” though keep in mind, glossy magazines work on very long lead times …

Meanwhile, plenty of artists and others are commenting on what the financial meltdown portends not just for the art market, but for art itself. More on that soon.

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