Being a Figurative Painter in 2025: Losses, Records, and Algorithms
A comprehensive end-of-year synthesis of figurative painting in 2025: California studio fires, Klimt auction records, generative AI pastiche, and institutional reckonings.
Portraiture Passing Through Prohibition: An Overview of 2025's Censorship Controversies
A comprehensive overview of censorship, institutional pressure, and political contestation surrounding portraiture and figurative painting throughout 2025.
Nnena Kalu and the Turner Prize: Recognition for an Artist Beyond Categories
Appraising Nnena Kalu winning the 2025 Turner Prize on December 9: neurodivergent creativity, ActionSpace studio, and dismantling the 'Outsider Art' ghetto.
Beeple, "Regular Animals": Robot Dog Portraits of Technology Tycoons
Analyzing Beeple's animatronic installation 'Regular Animals' at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025: robotic quadruped bodies, tech billionaire heads, and satirical power portraiture.
Frida Kahlo, "The Dream (The Bed)": The Meaning of a Female Artist Auction Record
Reflecting on Frida Kahlo's 'El sueño (La cama)' setting an all-time auction record for female and Latin American artists at $54.7 million in November 2025.
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.