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Art

This guide provides an introduction to resources that support research in visual arts. It includes helpful pages and links to connect with contemporary art journals, art databases, exhibition reviews, images, and more!

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You can always make an appointment the visual arts librarian (Jenna Dufour) by clicking here. Appointments can be made virtually or in-person. I'm here to help!

Exhibition Reviews

What is an exhibition review?

Exhibition reviews are an important way of creating active critical discussion, and also of building tomorrow’s art history. Art exhibition reviews serve two purposes: (1) to tell readers who haven’t seen the exhibition a little about it so they can consider going, and (2) to document and critique the activities of a city’s art world. 

Exhibition reviews are excellent sources for researching emerging artists who are not yet represented in scholarly literature as well as established artists in order to gain insight into the reception of their work over time. They can be found in major US newspapers as well as in many peer-reviewed visual arts journals and critical art magazines. This page includes resources to finding and writing exhibition reviews. 

Examples of Exhibition Reviews

Below are just a few examples of exhibition reviews with various date ranges in various arts journals/publications to give you a sense of content, presentation, writing style, and critical analysis. 

Finding Exhibition Reviews Online: Contemporary Reviews

Search Tip: If you know the name of the exhibition, use that in your search strategy. If you are not sure but know the artist you want to find exhibition reviews on/about, then type the name of the artist in your search AND a keyword "review*" which will search for reviews.

Finding Exhibition Reviews Online: Historical Reviews

Search Tip: If you know the name of the exhibition, use that in your search strategy. If you are not sure but know the artist you want to find exhibition reviews on/about, then type the name of the artist in your search AND a keyword "review*" which will search for reviews.

Resources for Writing Exhibition Reviews

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