This week Bad at Sports goes full meta, talking about talking about art. We sit down with Ben Davis, National Art Critic for Artnet News and author of 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, to unpack the state of art criticism in 2025. Davis has been one of the sharpest voices charting the relationship between culture, economics, and media—at once insider, outsider, and always keeping his mom in mind.

From the collapse of traditional publishing to the weird vacuum left by social media, Davis doesn’t just describe the cracks in the system—he names them, theorizes them, and points to where something new might emerge. We talk ZIRP (zero-interest-rate phenomena), the rise of click-driven media, what AI means for art, and why communities matter more than markets.

Listen & Follow

Ben Davis on Artnet News - https://news.artnet.com/search/Ben+Davis

 @benstoppable

https://www.benadavis.com/

Name-Drop

• Artnet News — news.artnet.com https://news.artnet.com/search/
• Brooklyn Rail — brooklynrail.org
• AI / ChatGPT — openai.com/chatgpt
• Neil Young — neilyoungarchives.com
• Slayer — slayer.net

Image care of... https://c4aa.org/our-research/interviews/ben-davis/

Recorded live from the Chicago Architectural Biennial’s booth at EXPO Chicago, Bad at Sports tailgates with artist Edra Soto and designer Dan Sullivan—Chicago’s unofficial art-world power couple. Soto unpacks her first solo art fair booth at Engage Projects, where monoblock plastic chairs, airbrushed T-shirts, and Puerto Rican vernacular architecture collide with memory, loss, and celebration. Sullivan, founder of Navillus Woodworks, riffs on craft, Ikea hacks, and the business of making high-end furniture while moonlighting as Soto’s collaborator and fabricator. "Dan helps."

What starts as a playful conversation about paparazzi, beer coolers, and chairs spirals into a meditation on grief, Puerto Rican cultural identity, and the design politics of everyday objects. Along the way, we hit Bad Bunny, the Bear restaurant, euphemisms around death, Catholic ritual, and the French (yes, the French). We close out with music talk—Sullivan on his bands Nadnavillus and Arriver—and a standing invitation for Bad at Sports to share the stage.

Death, dying, lawn chairs, and punk rock. Welcome to EXPO.

Artists & Designers

• Edra Soto
  • Instagram: @edrasoto
  • https://edrasoto.com/home.html
• Dan Sullivan / Navillus Woodworks
  • Instagram: @navillus_woodworks
  • https://navilluswoodworks.com/
• Ryan Peter Miller
  • Instagram: @ryanpetermiller
  • http://ryanpetermiller.com/
• Miguel Aguilar (Kane One)
  • Instagram: @kane_one_ 
  •  kane-1.com
  • https://www.3arts.org/artist/miguel-aguilar/
• Susan Gomes
• George Ortiz
  • Instagram: @georgeortizphotography
  • https://www.georgeortizphotography.com/
• Bad Bunny
  • Instagram: @badbunnypr 
  • https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast/459095/bad-bunny-puerto-rico-residency-history

Institutions / Venues / Events

• Engage Projects
• Instagram: @engageprojects
• https://www.engage-projects.com/

• Chicago Architecture Biennial
• Instagram: @chicagoarchitecturebiennial
• https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/

• EXPO Chicago
• Instagram: @expochicago
•  expochicago.com
• WBEZ
• Instagram: @wbezchicago
•  wbez.org/about 
• 105.5 FM Lumpen Radio (WLPN‑LP)
• Instagram: @lumpenradio  
• lumpenradio.com 
• The Franklin (project space)
• Instagram: @thefranklinoutdoor (site-run by Edra Soto & Dan Sullivan) 
• https://thefranklinoutdoor.tumblr.com/ABOUT
• The Bear restaurant (Sullivan furniture)
• This refers to the TV show The Bear on FX, 
• Art Basel
• Instagram: @artbasel
• artbasel.com
• The Armory Show
• Instagram: @thearmoryshow 
• thearmoryshow.com
• NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance)
• Instagram: @newartdealers 
• newartdealers.org 
• Color Factory
• Instagram: @colorfactoryco 
• colorfactory.co 
• Electrical Audio (recording studio)
• Instagram: @electricalaudio 
• Tenement Museum (NYC)
• Instagram: @thetenementmuseum 
• https://www.tenement.org/ 

Cultural Figures & References

• Yolanda, Lucetta, Anita (Puerto Rican celebs)
• Gilberto Santa Rosa
• Lil’ Kim, Lil’ Romeo, Neil Young, Slayer, Jeff Koons
  •  

Bands & Music

• Navilus (Dan Sullivan’s project)
• https://navilluswoodworks.com/
• Arriver (art-metal band)

image courtesy of Engage Projects

In this lively and insightful episode, Bad at Sports hosts a roundtable conversation with Dirk Denison (Founding Board Member of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB)), David Salkin (Designer, Curator, and Board Husband), and Jennifer Armetta (Executive Director of the CAB). Together, they reflect on the impact and legacy of the Chicago Architecture Biennial and its shifting forms of experimentation, urbanism, and civic engagement. The episode explores the curatorial frameworks of CAB, the roles of education and public space, and how architecture becomes a lens through which cities reimagine themselves.

Names Dropped:

- Dirk Denison - https://www.dirkdenisonarchitects.com/ - David Salkin - https://www.davidsalkin.com/ - Jennifer Armetta - https://www.engage-projects.com/ - Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) - https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/ - Venice Architecture Biennial - https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2025 - CAB 5: This is a Rehearsal - https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/exhibitions/dress-rehearsal-chicago-architecture-biennial-2023 - CAB 6: Shift - https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/ - Chicago Architecture Center - https://www.architecture.org/ - Graham Foundation - http://www.grahamfoundation.org/ - Studio Gang - https://studiogang.com/ - MASS Design Group - https://massdesigngroup.org/ - Jeanne Gang - https://studiogang.com/people/jeanne-gang/ - Open House Chicago - https://www.architecture.org/open-house-chicago/about – Burnham - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Burnham – Frank Llyod Wright - https://flwright.org/ – the ID at IIT - https://id.iit.edu/ – Mies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe – Louis Sullivian  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Sullivan - Professor Landis - https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1239455 - Rahm Emmanuel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel

We meet Paul Pfeiffer inside his retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago to talk about ghosts, spectacle, and the metaphysics of sports. Known for erasing athletes from footage and turning stadiums into stages of worship, Pfeiffer opens up about boxing as performance, the haunted loop of fandom, and building media rituals in the Philippines.

Also: parrots, Deion Sanders, lip sync monks, and the death of the moment.

Names dropped:

Deion Sanders - https://www.instagram.com/deionsanders/?hl=en  Manny Pacquiao - mannypacquiao.ph The Bible (yes, the text) - https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/hail-satan?srsltid=AfmBOoqTwkeDSDwxOmlvVLQX8QQduw8ehfzt3sYzUMFMvJO-_ym35hOg Tom Gunning - https://cms.uchicago.edu/people/tom-gunning Joshua Oppenheimer - https://cream.ac.uk/people/josh-oppenheimer/  DJ Spooky (Paul Miller) - djspooky.com Gina Osterloh - ginaosterloh.com Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago - mcachicago.org Biennale of Sydney - biennaleofsydney.art Contemporary Art Gallery Vancouver - cagvancouver.org

We sit down with curator Rachel Adams to talk about institutional evolution, artists as infrastructure, and how curatorial practice shifts between museums and biennials. Rachel reflects on working with artists like Cauleen Smith, Liz Magic Laser, and Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, the power of slow curation, and why she’s drawn to hybrid spaces that defy the market.

Along the way: phantom titles, artist contracts, Minneapolis moments, and a manifesto in a box of ice cream bars.

Cauleen Smith

cauleensmith.com

Liz Magic Laser

lizmagiclaser.com

Beatriz Santiago Muñoz

lima.art

Candice Hopkins

indigenousnewyork.org

Nato Thompson

https://www.natothompson.com/about

Christina Vassallo

columbusmuseum.org

Sarah Schultz

mplsart.com

Alison Hearst

themodern.org

Andrea Andersson

riversinstitute.org

Franklin Sirmans

pamm.org

Mary Jane Jacob

https://never-the-same.org/interviews/mary-jane-jacob/

Independent Curators International (ICI)

curatorsintl.org

We sit down with a delegation of Irish curators—Michele Horrigan (Askeaton Contemporary Arts), Michael Hill (Temple Bar Gallery + Studios), and Mark O’Gorman (The Complex)—to unpack what it means to build artist-centered institutions on an island without a commercial art market. From weather-worn banana warehouses to smoke-machine-filled nightclubs, these curators share space-making tactics, post-colonial entanglements, and the challenges of caring for artists without selling to collectors.

They’re in Chicago for EXPO and bringing the heat—with nothing but friendship, found neon, and deeply site-responsive shows. Also: fluorescent hands, oak horns, grant hustle, and Duchampian office doors

Names Dropped:

Lilian Pettinicchi / Lilian Peto – No official site found Anya McBride – Devin Mays – https://regardsgallery.com/artists/devin-mays/ Haynes Riley / Good Weather – https://www.goodweather.llc Becky Nahum (ICA) – No profile confirmed Stephanie Smith – https://curatorsintl.org/about/collaborators/4391-stephanie-smith Kate Sierzputowski – https://katesierzputowski.com Amanda Rice – https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx2lfLmL_Qk Frank Wasser – https://www.instagram.com/frankwasserartist Briony Dunne – https://www.instagram.com/bryonymaydunne Olga Balema – https://www.clearing-gallery.com/artists/olga-balema Hannah Hoffman Gallery – https://www.instagram.com/hannahhoffmangallery Bridget Donahue Gallery – https://www.bridgetdonahue.nyc John Latham / Flat Time House – http://www.flattimeho.org.uk Brian Doherty – Tom Friedman – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Friedman Duchamp (Marcel) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp The Smiths (band) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths

Website/IG Handles (if available or mentioned):

·       Askeaton Contemporary Arts / @askeatonarts

·       Temple Bar Gallery + Studios / @templebargallery

·       The Complex Dublin / @thecomplexdublin

·       Good Weather / @goodweathergallery

Live from Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago

In this intimate, laughter-filled episode recorded live at Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Duncan and Ryan sit down with artists Jaqueline Cedar and Josh Dihle on the occasion of their concurrent solo exhibitions. The conversation traverses everything from Duchampian bathroom jokes to model train nostalgia, parenthood, masculinity, and why drawing still matters.

We dig deep into Cedar's intimate, narrative-rich figure paintings and Dihle’s large, toy-like sculptural paintings, both brimming with color, play, and strange tenderness. Along the way, we explore the value of humor, discomfort, labor, scale, and why both artists moonlight as gallerists—Cedar with the roving Good Naked Gallery and Dihle with events at Color Club and The Sugar Hole ice cream shop. It’s a heartfelt meditation on art, joy, burnout, and why we keep making.

Name Drop List & Related Links

• Jaqueline Cedar Website | Instagram Good Naked Gallery – Instagram
• Josh Dihle Website | Instagram Color Club – Website | The Sugar Hole
• Andrew Rafacz Gallery Website | Instagram
• Artists & References: Roger Brown Suellen Rocca David Hockney Henry Moore Pieter Bruegel the Elder Duchamp’s “Étant donnés” Julius Caesar Gallery (Chicago)

Live from the tailgate lounge at Chicago Architectural Biennial 6's booth at Expo Chicago, Duncan and Ryan welcome Joey Orr, the newly appointed Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the MCA Chicago. In this densely brilliant and surprisingly hilarious conversation, Orr discusses what it means to steer a contemporary art institution in an era of deep social complexity, political polarization, and shifting museum ethics.

We cover everything from the social life of objects to the lore of performance documentation, and even pitch a game show based on the varied memories of Chris Burden’s early MCA performance. Orr reflects on social practice, audience authorship, and why curators are public servants—not VIPs. We get deep into what it means to be a meat sack in space, how to radicalize museum engagement, and why reenactments may just be the key to future institutional magic.

This is art talk that grinds, gropes, and glows in the dark. No hot dogs, just conceptual fireworks.

• Joey Orr – Deputy Director and Chief Curator at MCA Chicago
• IG: @joeyorr13
• Bio: https://joeyorr.com/about/

• Chris Burden – Performance artist
• Wiki: Chris Burden
• John Cage – Composer and performance artist
• Wiki: John Cage
• Resource: John Cage Trust
• Dick Higgins – Intermedia artist and Fluxus co-founder
• Wiki: Dick Higgins
• Alison Knowles – Fluxus artist
• IG: @alisonknowlesartist
• Wiki: Alison Knowles
• Mary Jane Jacob – Curator of public art and socially engaged practice
• Wiki: Mary Jane Jacob
• Bio: SAIC Faculty Page
• Pablo Helguera – Artist and educator working in socially engaged art
• IG: @pablo_helguera
• Website: pablohelguera.net
• Book: Education for Socially Engaged Art
• Diana Taylor – Performance theorist; author of The Archive and the Repertoire
• Profile: NYU Performance Studies
• Book Info: Duke University Press
• Naomi Beckwith – Curator, formerly at MCA and Guggenheim
• IG: @naomibx
• Article: Guggenheim Chief Curator Announcement

• MCA Chicago (Museum of Contemporary Art)
• Website: mcachicago.org
• IG: @mcachicago
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
• Website: saic.edu
• IG: @saic_news
• High Museum of Art (Atlanta)
• Website: high.org
• IG: @highmuseumofart
• The Louvre
• Website: louvre.fr
• IG: @museelouvre
• Queens Museum
• Website: queensmuseum.org
• IG: @queensmuseum
• Fluxus – Movement reference
• MoMA: Fluxus Overview - https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/fluxus#:~:text=Founded%20by%20George%20Maciunas%20and,to%20integrate%20art%20and%20life.
•  

Broadcast live from Rice University (yes, in Houston), this episode of Bad at Sports brings together the curator of comics and cartoon art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, Caitlin McGurk, and the Richmond-based zine publisher and comics obsessive behind Bubbles Fanzine, Brian Baynes.

We dive deep into McGurk’s new book Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins: The Life and Art of Barbara Shermund, a biography and art book reclaiming one of the first women to work for The New Yorker. McGurk details her decade-long research process, Shermund’s punk rock lifestyle in the 1920s, and the bittersweet reclamation of her uncredited legacy.

In the second half, we sit down with Brian Baynes, who champions comics culture from the DIY trenches. He shares his mission behind Bubbles, how it draws on punk zine culture, why it stays in print forever, and how he's preserving overlooked voices from India to local comic shops.

From feminist cartoon history to cassette-label archaeology and typewriter ribbon obsession, this one’s a love letter to the weird, wonderful, and un-archived margins of visual culture.

Names Dropped:

• Caitlin McGurk – Curator at Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, author of Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins
• Brian Baynes – Publisher of Bubbles zine
• Bubbles Zine – Indie comics fanzine
• Barbara Shermund – Early New Yorker cartoonist and subject of McGurk’s book
• Spain Rodriguez – Underground cartoonist who created Granny McGurk
• The New Yorker – Home of Shermund’s work in the 1920s–40s
• Rea Irvin  – The New Yorker’s founding art director
• Harold Ross – Founding editor of The New Yorker
• Art Students League of New York – Where Shermund studied
• California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute, recently closed) – Shermund’s California alma mater
• Hearst Newspapers – Syndicated Shermund’s comic strip
• Maximum Rocknroll – Long-running punk zine
• Punk Planet – Chicago-based punk zine, aesthetic cousin of Bad at Sports
• Soft Boys / Archer Prewitt – Musician and cartoonist interviewed in Bubbles
• Ludwig Wittgenstein – Language philosopher referenced by Baynes
• Cameron Arthur – Cartoonist behind The Hidden Islands
• Anand Radhakrishnan – Likely creator of Stories from Zoo (not named directly, based on context)
• Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum – At Ohio State University, world’s largest cartoon archive
• Overlooked No More (Barbara Shermund) – NYT’s obituary project

This week on Bad at Sports, Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller cruise their way into a murder mansion fever dream with Jake Nickell and Lance Curran, two of the minds behind Threadless—the Chicago-based t-shirt empire that helped invent crowdsourced artwear before we’d marketed terms like “creator economy” or “drop ship.”

What begins as a nostalgia trip (setting the stage for how the business developed through DIY screenprinting and forum culture) quickly becomes a deep dive into ethics, art careers, AI disruption, licensing chaos, and why having your work sold in Hot Topic definitely still counts as making it.

We unpack:

• The founding of Threadless on a secret art/code forum

• Shifting from screen printing to digital on-demand

• Working with artists, bands, and comic book creators

• Parody vs. IP theft (and WTF the DMCA is)

• Building safety and anti-hate moderation into a global platform

• Why Chicago still rules

• And why Punch Nazis continues to be a top seller

Along the way, we also discuss vending machines, Karl Marx, Cheetos, the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference, and what happens when art school turns into a startup.

And, importantly, how capitalism can be leveraged using Foucauldian power for artists—rather than for their subjugation.

Jake Nickell is the founder of Threadless, and a pioneer in crowdsourced design and artist-first merchandise models. He started Threadless in 2000 while still in art school.

Lance Curran is the VIP Accounts Director at Threadless, a longtime champion of artist partnerships, muralist collaborations, and weird comic book projects. He joined the company in 2005 and once described the warehouse as “the Foot Clan layer from Ninja Turtles.”

• Jake Nickell
• Lance Curran
• Threadless
• Tony Moore
• The Walking Dead
• Hot Topic
• Hope for the Day
• The Trevor Project
• Redbox
• Columbia College Chicago
• Four Seasons Total Landscaping
• Nathan Fielder
• Disney
• Warner Bros.
• Universal Studios
• Marvel
• Harvard Business School Case Study on Threadless
• Silicon Valley
• Chicago Art Scene