Being Critical Of Art Is A Way

Biennial Culture Is Already Almost Irrelevant, Because So Many More People Are Providing So Many Better Opportunities For Artists To Exhibit Their Work.

Artistic Qualities That Once Seemed Undeniable Don't Seem So Now. Sometimes These Fluctuations Are Only Fickleness Of Taste, Momentary Glitches In An Artist's Work, Or An Artist Getting Ahead Of His Audience (it Took Me Ten Years To Catch Up To Albert Oehlen). Other Times, However, These Problems Mean There's Something Wrong With The Art.

When The Purse Strings Tighten Up At Museums, The Institutions Usually Cut Back And Cancel Shows. That's Exactly The Wrong Reaction. In Fact, Now Is A Good Time For Them To Loosen Up - A Chance To Breathe And Experiment A Little - And Go For The Juicy Solution Lurking In Their Own Basements.

I Also Take Pleasure In The So-called Negative Power In Grotjahn's Work. That Is, I Love His Paintings For What They Are Not. Unlike Much Art Of The Past Decade, Grotjahn Isn't Simply Working From A Prescribed Checklist Of Academically Acceptable, Curator-approved 'isms' And Twists.

It's Great That New York Has Large Spaces For Art. But The Enormous Immaculate Box Has Become A Dated, Even Oppressive Place. Many Of These Spaces Were Designed For Sprawling Installations, Large Paintings, And The Relational Aesthetics Work Of The Past Fifteen Years.