SpallArt Collection - The Best Show Ever

Exhibition

The Best Show Ever

Kunsthalle Nürnberg
November 1, 2025 to February 22, 2026
loans

Since the mid-1990s, the art world has evolved from a manageable scene into a global industry. New museums, biennials, fairs, and auctions are springing up worldwide, the number of female artists is growing rapidly, and an almost unmanageable array of exhibitions, openings, and discussion formats characterizes the business. With the boom, competition is also increasing: artists must constantly be innovative, museums deliver blockbuster exhibitions, and curators, gallery owners, and collectors tirelessly chase after the new. Rankings, market values, and visitor numbers increasingly determine what is considered significant. The concept of the blockbuster show has profoundly changed the exhibition business – event character, consumer orientation, and media attention often supplant depth of content and reflection. As early as 2008, Dan Graham noted that many artists were less outstanding creators than excellent entertainers. The exhibition The Best Show Ever picks up on these developments and raises questions about the relationship between art, the market, and the public: How do artists deal with the pressure to succeed? How is globalization changing artistic freedom? Is art today consumed more than it is reflected upon? Around 28 positions use critical humor to shed light on how the creative process and the concept of art are changing in the tension between event culture and the economy of visibility.

Participating artists: Massimo Bartolini (IT), Brent Birnbaum (US), Jan Bräumer (DE), Lars Breuer (DE), Marcel Broodthaers (BE), Michael Conrads (DE), VALIE EXPORT (AT), FORT (DE), Daniela Friebel (DE), Philipp Goldbach (DE), Haus-Rucker-Co (AT), Candida Höfer (DE), Christian Jankowski (DE), Howard Kanovitz (US), Maik and Dirk Löbbert (DE), Paul McCarthy (US), Stephan Reusse (DE), Claus Richter (DE), Patrick Rieve (DE), David Shrigley (GB), Wolfgang Stehle (DE), Sebastian Tröger (DE), Ben Vautier (FR), and Johannes Wohnseifer (DE) as well aa a documentation of temporary works by Michael Asher (US), VALIE EXPORT (AT), Haus-Rucker-Co (AT/DE), Yves Klein (FR), Allen Ruppersberg (US), Jean Tinguely (FR)