Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer: A $236.4 Million Face
Analyzing the record $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' at Sotheby's in November 2025: restitution, Viennese Secession, and portrait market value.
Wifredo Lam at MoMA: Pioneer of the Hybrid Figure
Reviewing 'Wifredo Lam: When I Don't Sleep, I Dream' at MoMA (November 2025–April 2026): Afro-Cuban cosmology, Surrealist hybridity, and decolonial modernism.
The Louvre Heist: Vulnerability Revealed in Broad Daylight
Analyzing the daylight robbery at the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon on October 19, 2025: stolen Crown Jewels, museum security protocols, and institutional fragility.
Gerhard Richter at Fondation Louis Vuitton: From Blurred Photograph to Portrait
Appraising the Gerhard Richter retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton (October 2025–March 2026): photo-paintings, the blur technique (Verwischung), and optical skepticism.
18th Istanbul Biennial, "The Three-Legged Cat": The Body of Self-Preservation
Analyzing the 18th Istanbul Biennial (September–November 2025) curated by Christine Tohmé: 'The Three-Legged Cat', institutional endurance, and corporeal vulnerability.
Kerry James Marshall, "The Histories": Rewriting Grand History Painting
Reviewing 'Kerry James Marshall: The Histories' at the Royal Academy (September 2025–January 2026): monumental Black figuration and the deconstruction of Western history painting.
Fragmented Memory and the Historiography of Turkish Art
Exploring the roots of contemporary art in Turkey, Turkish art history, and figurative representation through a critical re-reading of Ottoman visual culture, shared workshops, and plural memory.
The Smithsonian Inquiry: Who Writes Historical Narrative in the Museum?
Investigating the White House's August 2025 ideological content review of the Smithsonian Institution: museum governance, political oversight, and contested history.
Amy Sherald Withdraws from the Smithsonian: A Portrait's Right to Remain on the Wall
Analyzing Amy Sherald's July 2025 withdrawal of 'American Sublime' from the National Portrait Gallery over 'Trans Forming Liberty': institutional censorship and the politics of portraiture.
Peter Doig Awarded the Praemium Imperiale: Painting Where the Figure Stands Like a Dream
Appraising Peter Doig on receiving the 2025 Praemium Imperiale in Painting: figure dissolved in landscape, optical memory, and figurative persistence.