The Critics' Table Close Looks Art

Can't Look or Can't Look Away? Our Critic on Mesmerizing Video Installations by Steve McQueen and Sara Cwynar

Steve McQueen and Sara Cwynar's installations in New York challenge viewers to confront trauma, aspiration, and art's unsettling power.

  • October 16, 2024
sara-cwynar-baby-blue-benzo-zwirner
Sara Cwynar, "Baby Blue Benzo" (Installation view), 2024, 52 Walker. Image courtesy of the artist and 52 Walker.

Welcome to Close Looks: a semi-regular column from our critics. This series of long-form reviews dives into buzzy and under-the-radar shows alike, revealing the trends, ideas, and controversies that shape what’s happening—and what’s to come—in the art world. For this installment, two striking moving-image works, now on view in New York, demand CULTURED’s Co-Chief Art Critic Johanna Fateman's queasy attention. 

Steve McQueen through Summer 2025
Dia Chelsea | 537 West 22nd Street

Sara Cwynar through December 2024
52 Walker | 52 Walker Street

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