Because apparently the art world needed another magazine to tell you what's important (spoiler: we actually might). A contemporary art magazine that examines art at the 21st century - you know, the stuff happening while everyone's busy arguing about whether a banana taped to a wall counts as culture. Reviews that won't make you feel intellectually inadequate. Interviews that go beyond "my practice explores the liminal space between..." Well, mostly. Because the world clearly needed more opinions about contemporary art.

 

In 2022, we launched the Refresh programme with the exhibition "Future-Proof" – a genuinely ambitious attempt to grapple with questions

Through decaying utopias, simulations of ecological catastrophes and the gamification of parallel realities, the exhibition employed speculative fiction to examine anthropocentric models in decline. It offered a stark warning about the futures we are currently constructing – not the usual hand-wringing about climate change that we've come to expect from every greenwashing event, but a serious investigation into how we might actually navigate the mess we've made.

 

Future-Proof emphasised the urgency of ensuring that our futures are no longer constrained by present limitations. We face a time of profound transitions, and while everyone else is busy arguing about whether AI will replace artists, this exhibition actually asked the more pressing question: what kind of world do we want to live in? Technology alone will not suffice if we fail to commit to a vision that reimagines our way of living in the world – a world defined by diversity, interconnectivity and interdependence.

 

As we navigate towards uncertain horizons, Refresh firmly believes that artists will continue to plant the seeds of fertile futures amid the ruins of the former world. It's a romantic notion, perhaps, but one that Future-Proof managed to ground in genuine artistic inquiry rather than empty rhetoric.

 

The magazine Refresh.art emerged from this realisation – the earth-shattering discovery that art magazines might be useful for discussing art. Revolutionary stuff. Where 21st century art pulses with possibility, we strip away art world bullshit to reveal how creativity is hijacking the future. Yes, we're aware of the irony of claiming to strip away bullshit while using phrases like "hijacking the future." We're working on it.

 

We invite you into a vibrant dialogue between technology, nature and artistic vision – the holy trinity of contemporary art discourse, guaranteed to appear in at least 73,2% of all artist statements written since 2020. Beyond spectacle, we celebrate art that resonates with depth and disruption. Because shallow, non-disruptive art is apparently what's been holding us back all this time.

 

Refresh.art is an explainer magazine moving away from the jargon that characterised the 20th century, which often created a closed system. We're replacing old jargon with new jargon, naturally. Recognising that the art world itself is an evolving concept – much like "disruption," "innovation," and "authentic" – we explore 21st century art in all its complexity. Which is to say, we'll explain why that pile of bricks in the corner is actually a profound meditation on post-capitalist anxiety.

As we move deeper into the digital age, the role of art is shifting. Art is no longer only confined to static works and enclosed spaces. Instead, it unfolds across physical and digital landscapes, blending the tangible and virtual. 

However, art should not be reduced to entertainment or decoration – a risk that is particularly acute in an age where technology enables grand installations that often lack deeper meaning. Yes, we're looking at you, every immersive digital experience that thinks flashing lights and surround sound constitute profundity. While maintaining our commitment to quality (whatever that means in 2025), we create content that is understandable and engaging. Revolutionary concept: art writing that people can actually read without a PhD in semiotics.

 

In these challenging times – and when aren't times challenging, really? – we believe that art is more crucial than ever. This is the kind of statement that sounds important until you realise it's been the tagline of every arts organisation since the dawn of time. But we mean it this time.

 

Refresh.art explores the digital age through engaging contemporary art and cultural commentary, moving beyond the binary opposition between technophiles and dystopian critics. Because nuance is apparently a rare commodity these days. We're neither breathlessly excited about every new app nor convinced that smartphones are destroying civilisation. We're somewhere in the middle, which is the most radical position of all in our polarised world.

Refresh encourages a rethinking of our relationships with technology, art, and nature, advocating for a future where diversity thrives. This is our way of saying we're not entirely sure what the future holds, but we're pretty confident it should include the 99%. It is a necessary admonition in a time where authoritarian ideologies seek to confine our understanding within narrow boundaries, stifling the vibrant tapestry of human thought and creativity. Translation: fascists are bad for art, which is not exactly a controversial take in most circles.

 

The magazine invites readers to navigate an evolving reality where the physical and the digital have merged, where the invisible and visible intertwine, revealing new ways of seeing, understanding, and engaging with the hybrid world we live in. 

Experience the now. Anticipate the future. Two imperatives that sound profound until you realise they're basically telling you to pay attention and think ahead – advice your grandmother probably gave you, but with less mystique and more practical application.

 

So here we are, launching another art magazine into a world that definitely, absolutely, certainly needed another voice telling you what to think about contemporary art. We promise to be different from all the other magazines that promised to be different. We'll strip away the pretension while being only moderately pretentious ourselves. We'll make art accessible while maintaining just enough intellectual distance to keep our credibility intact.
Because in the end, someone has to document this strange moment when humanity decided that the best response to an uncertain future was to make more art about it. And if that someone might as well be us, then so be it. The world may not have asked for Refresh, but it's getting us anyway.

Welcome to the future of art criticism. It looks suspiciously like the past, but with better Wi-Fi and more existential dread.

 

Refresh magazine  ( Online and Printed) is produced in the European Union

Editor in chief : Philippe Riss-Schmidt - Press Release to send to art@refresh.art