A Beloved Shop Closes, Stars Ascend
Today's Stories
Full Transcript
It is Saturday, June twenty-first, two thousand twenty-six. Let’s dive in.
If you’ve ever driven up the Hudson Valley and felt your brain do that pleasant little flip—half antique mall, half conceptual artwork—today’s first story is for you. After 30 years, Henry, artist Nancy Shaver’s collectibles shop in Hudson, New York, is closing on July 15, ARTnews reports. Shaver describes the store as a “laboratory” for learning how to put objects next to one another in ways that might not make commercial sense, but do make sense visually and intellectually. That porous boundary between shop and studio runs both ways: items migrate from her studio into Henry, and Henry’s stock finds its way into her sculptures. Shaver says the landlord wants the space back, and she’s excited to explore pop-up versions of Henry—including a tiny one in California in November with Sam Parker, timed with her show at his gallery.
Staying in New York for our second item: Hyperallergic’s editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara highlights three big reads—Julie Mehretu, Claire Valdez, and Arthur Jafa—while keeping the focus on artists moving through public life. Bishara writes about meeting New York State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, an artist and union organizer running for Congress. He describes her as “as progressive as they come,” listing positions including Medicare for all, universal rent control, taxing the rich, abolishing ICE, and freedom for Palestinians, and notes she moved to the city in 2015 to become an artist, working jobs at Taco Bell, Trader Joe’s, and Pizza Hut. Hyperallergic also spotlights Mehretu’s RISD commencement speech to the Class of 2026, and points readers to Aruna D’Souza’s review of Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince’s joint exhibition in Venice.
That’s all for today. Links to everything are in the show notes—come back tomorrow for your next download.