Know What You’re Walking Into
Before you critique an exhibit, know what kind of show you’ve stepped into. A solo exhibition is personal laser focused on one artist’s vision. A group show might be built around a theme, a moment, or just a curatorial experiment. Retrospectives look back across an artist’s body of work, asking you to spot evolution, not just impact. Thematic shows link works by idea rather than artist, and that can shape how pieces talk to each other.
Next, look into who assembled the exhibit. The curator’s track record, the gallery’s mission, and the institution’s reputation all carry weight. Are they known for shaping the discourse or just chasing clout? This context can shift how you read the work on display.
Finally, always read the exhibit statement. It’s not filler it’s a lens. It might frame the artist’s intent, outline the curatorial choices, or cue you into the bigger questions at play. Skipping it is like skipping the foreword in a book: technically optional, but it sets the stage.
Train Your Eye: Observing Without Bias (At First)
Before you dive into what a piece means or whether it’s “good,” give yourself a chance to simply experience it. Walk the room. Pay attention to how the exhibition is staged. Is the lighting harsh or soft? Are there shadows playing off the pieces, or is everything brightly lit and clinical? The space itself frames how you read the art sometimes subtly, sometimes not.
Next, look at how the works are arranged. Do they follow a timeline? Are they grouped by theme, artist, or medium? Maybe it’s a mix or deliberately disordered. Whatever the layout, it’s not accidental. How things are placed reinforces how the curator wants you to move through the narrative or pushes you to detach from one altogether.
Then, pause. Don’t rush to tag each piece with an opinion. At least not yet. Let your eye move slowly. Give each work its own moment. Some pieces will speak immediately. Others almost nothing. Still, stay with them. The goal is not to like everything; it’s to notice everything, before judgment kicks in.
Ask the Right Questions
Start by asking yourself: what’s the artist really trying to say? Strip away the wall text for a moment. Is there a personal story buried beneath the color choices? A social critique hidden in the repetition of form? Artists often leave visual clues symbols, contrasts, juxtapositions that invite interpretation without spoon feeding it.
Next, dig into the materials and methods. Is that charcoal smudged deliberately or a gesture of urgency? Does the artist use traditional oil paint to talk about something rooted in history, or maybe digital renderings that comment on tech overload? Materials matter they carry meaning even before you decode what’s being depicted. Historical references, too, drop hints. A composition that echoes a Renaissance painting or evokes Dada chaos can signal lineage, critique, or tribute.
And don’t ignore the space between artworks. Sometimes the placement the gaps, the collisions, the quiet corners tells you more than the pieces alone. A sculpture leaning into a wall may be hinting at dependency, tension, or resistance. A soft photo series next to brutish industrial textures could be a planned contrast. Art doesn’t live in a vacuum; ask yourself how it echoes, disrupts, or harmonizes with what’s around it.
Art Context > Art Preference
Step Back Before You Judge
Art criticism isn’t about liking or disliking a piece it’s about understanding it. Rather than asking whether something is “good” or “bad,” aim to analyze how it functions within a broader context:
What does the artist intend to convey?
What message or emotion is the work trying to evoke?
How does it align with or challenge its cultural or historical moment?
Shift Your Language: From Opinion to Insight
Instead of labeling a piece as “boring,” consider why it might feel unresolved. Swap “I don’t like it” with more nuanced descriptors such as:
“The composition feels intentionally disjointed, creating a sense of tension.”
“The use of material is effective in reinforcing the theme of impermanence.”
“The piece raises thought provoking questions about identity and space.”
Using constructive and specific language separates casual commentary from informed critique.
Check Your Bias at the Door
We all approach art with personal tastes but when evaluating critically, it’s essential to acknowledge and set aside aesthetic preference:
Ask yourself: Would I still find this piece interesting if it didn’t align with my taste?
Consider: Am I judging the subject, or how effectively the artist handles it?
Be aware of cultural conditioning and genre familiarity that might skew your initial read.
Great art often challenges comfort zones. Make space for that discomfort in your evaluation.
Use Historical Reference Points to Deepen Understanding
Art doesn’t evolve in a vacuum. Over the past two decades, consistent threads like identity, surveillance, ecological crisis, and decolonization have run through major exhibitions, but the techniques and tones used to express them have shifted noticeably. Take the Venice Biennale, for example. Ten years ago, artists leaned heavily on immersive installations and symbolic abstraction. Today, you’re more likely to see cross medium narratives combining video, performance, and social media that lean into direct commentary and real time documentation.
The Biennale Decade Review underlines how political upheaval and digital acceleration have pushed artists toward immediacy. Surveillance themed works, once subtle and metaphor rich, now feature live feeds, algorithmic manipulation, and audience participation. Techniques that were once novel like using industrial detritus or viral video formatting are now baseline. In response, some artists are pushing minimalism as resistance, stripping back tech to refocus on presence and process.
Social shifts especially movements around racial justice, climate change, and global migration have also reshaped artistic focus. Exhibitors today are expected to be context aware and globally literate. Compared to past decades where Western art history dominated the curatorial lens, there’s now palpable pressure to include diasporic and Indigenous voices not as token gestures, but as core redefinitions of what contemporary art is and whom it’s for.
Bottom line: the art may look different, but it’s echoing the same human concerns, refracted through a more complex, connected, and uneasy world. Keep past exhibits in mind not to create a hierarchy, but to better read the evolution of visual language.
Don’t Just Look Engage
Passive viewing limits you. A critical eye sharpens through participation, not just observation. Take notes not just on what stands out, but how it makes you feel, what it reminds you of, or where it loses you. These small reactions are gold when piecing together your broader take on the exhibit later.
If artist talks, walkthroughs, or curator led tours are on offer, make the time. They won’t hand you ‘the meaning,’ but they’ll often crack open a layer you might have missed. Even a short Q&A can shift how you see a piece.
Finally, talk it out. Compare notes, disagree, ask questions. Hearing how others react helps you test your framework and occasionally rebuild it. The key is to stay open. You don’t need to abandon your views, but you should let them evolve.
Wrap with a Clear, Balanced Perspective
When evaluating an exhibit, don’t stop at the concept dig into how well that concept was executed. A strong idea falls flat if the work feels rushed, disconnected, or overwritten by curatorial ambition. Ask: did the pieces communicate the intended message clearly? Was there cohesion between form and content?
A good review acknowledges both wins and weaknesses. Maybe the layout fostered a smart dialogue between works, but the lighting washed out finer details. Maybe half the show resonated deeply, while the other half felt like filler. Don’t shy away from pointing these out but keep your tone direct, not dismissive.
Forget art world jargon. You’re not writing for a museum committee. Be specific, be clear, and back your observations with simple language that still respects the craft. Insight sticks longer than snobbery.
Explore more parallels in our Biennale Decade Review for a masterclass in thoughtful retrospective curation.
