Brings Good Horses

In this age of virtual exhibitions and buzzword art reviews, galleries increasingly rely on the marketing potential of the works they choose to show. For many, to be a contemporary artist is to develop products for sale—Eckhaus Latta broke the fourth wall in 2018 by installing a functional clothing store in the Whitney, for example. In the New York art world, those who intentionally agitate the easy consumption of art help to pick away at the unseen forces of colonialism and economic exploitation. Brings Good Horses, a solo show by multimedia artist Wendy Red Star at Sargent’s Daughters, seems more like a museum show or a presentation of a personal collection than a commercial gallery exhibition. The result is a demonstration of historical power and subversive artmaking that stands against the pandering art market.