God bless Jerry Saltz, for calling it out when being interviewed by Irving Sandler for The Brooklyn Rail:

"The same sixteen curators assemble all the shows all over the world, showing the same sixteen artists. It’s horrible and frustrating. If you’re not on the circuit you can’t get in the circuit. That’s bad. I see a lot of mid-career artists who have done something for years get passed over for a much younger artist doing essentially the same thing. I see younger artists getting passed over simply because another curator hasn’t given them the stamp of approval."

Published last Fall, but just called to my attention. Love the world wide web of working artists, in the trenches in disparate parts of the world, passing the good shit on, in case you missed it.