This morning’s unfortunate announcement of layoffs at the Tribune dealt an especially hard blow to local art criticism. Veteran Tribune art critic Alan Artner was handed the pink slip. Truth be told, Artner was both a much loved and much hated critic. His long, erudite art reviews left many readers with no entrance into an already abstruse subject matter. (Full disclosure: Artner once wrote an entire article about how an exhibition I curated lacked “wisdom.”) On the other hand, the man could spend 3,000 words deconstructing an artist, artwork or aesthetic—a dedication unmatched by nearly any other writer at a mainstream Chicago publication.

Artner’s layoff means that Chicago’s daily newspapers just bid farewell to their only critical voice—not a good thing for the visual-art community. On a weekly basis, the ever-shorter Sun-Times publishes the feel-good words of one of my favorite art writers, Margaret Hawkins. What will the Trib do now? Let’s hope they get someone else in there who can produce more than the all-too-commonly published art fluff. The Tribune could not be reached for comment.