BREAKING #274

Here are the facts

Nicole Ex

Column

July 2025

I was just reading about Donald Judd’s writings. Between 1959 and 1964, he wrote monthly reviews covering over fifteen exhibitions at a time. That detail struck me, especially since I had just interviewed Joël Riff last week – the curator of La Verrière, Hermès’ exhibition space in Brussels. Riff’s way of life echoes Judd’s – only taken to the next level.

Here are the facts. Since 10 AM on 27 September 2004, Riff has visited at least one exhibition a day – though in reality, many more. For fifteen years, he published a weekly Monday column, Chronique Curiosité (2008-2022), featuring a selection of seven exhibitions. That adds up to 5,540 exhibitions and 780 columns. The archive is still online, and once you start scrolling, you can’t stop.

Curator Joël Riff at La Verrière, the exhibition space of Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès in Brussels, during Aster, the exhibition featuring works by Eva Nielsen (background) and Arnaud Eubelen (foreground). Photo: Laurent Peyoux.

Fig 1. Curator Joël Riff at La Verrière, the exhibition space of Fondation d’entreprise Hermès in Brussels, during Aster, the exhibition featuring works by Eva Nielsen (background) and Arnaud Eubelen (foreground) | photo: Laurent Pejoux, director of Fondation d'entreprise Hermès

‘On the very first day at Duperré, the Parisian school for art and design, a teacher told us to see as much art as possible. From that day on, I would study the agenda ladder, open my eyes each morning, get out of bed, swing open the front door, and step into the world. I was young, had no money, but always found a way to travel. There is so much to see!’

He describes two kinds of people involved in art: the ‘curious’ and ‘studious’ those who prefer to seek out knowledge and understanding in books and libraries. He himself doesn’t mind not knowing: ‘I only trust what I’ve seen and experienced on site, with my own eyes – if not, it simply doesn’t exist for me. But I’m okay with that – because I know others will carry this art forward and let it be seen.’

Riff’s dedication has stuck with me ever since. I’m brewing on a continuation of what he started with Curiosité. I’ll need his blessing – but picture this: an online column open to all, where contributors spend a week visiting as many exhibitions as they can, select seven, and share their reflections – building a growing archive of what’s being seen right now. Are you ready for this challenge too? Let us know.

— Nicole Ex
editor-in-chief