Defending Ethical Integrity: The New Degenerate Art brings together works by AMBOS Project, Polly Borland, Cassils, Robert Andy Coombs, Hugo Crosthwaite, Jay Lynn Gomez, Ken Gonzales-Day, Forrest Kirk, Laurie Lipton, Elana Mann, Narsiso Martinez, Patrick Martinez, Paul McCarthy, Dakota Noot, Zak Smith, Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, and Steven Wolkoff.
The exhibition examines the relationship between art, censorship, and political power at a time when cultural institutions face increasing external pressure. Through a wide range of media and approaches, the artists address authoritarian influence, suppression of expression, and the ethical responsibilities of cultural production.
The exhibition’s title references the Nazi Party’s 1937 Degenerate Art exhibition, which sought to discredit and remove modern artists from public view. Defending Ethical Integrity reclaims the term “degenerate” as a statement of resistance and artistic autonomy. Together, the artists in Defending Ethical Integrity: The New Degenerate Art explore art’s role as a platform for dissent, ethical inquiry, and social critique.
