I am an independent scholar in Art History based in Southern California whose focus is upon late twentieth and early twenty-first century art. Over the course of the past decades, I have lived in and reported on the art scenes of New York, Miami, Toronto, Sydney, and now Los Angeles while working as a museum director and curator, university professor, museum educator, independent curator, and arts journalist. This website presents an overview of my professional involvements. It includes a biographical summary, a detailed CV, links to and reprints of assorted articles and catalogue essays, and descriptions of courses I have taught (or am currently teaching). Many of the art journal articles and exhibition catalogue essays reprinted here are not available elsewhere online.
At the current moment of uncertainty and upheaval in which democracy is being dismantled and discrimination sanctioned, art assumes enhanced importance. It can provide sanctuary and relief on the one hand and can stir and provoke on the other, giving voice to protest as well as to enduring aspects of the human spirit. The overwhelming rally of support for artists and art workers who lost their homes and studios in the recent fires in Los Angeles serves as a beacon of hope, demonstrating what is possible when individuals and communities come together and testifying to art’s valued place in our lives.
The intention of my writing, teaching, and this website is to reveal the wonder, beauty, and intellectual stimulation afforded by art, to revel in art’s capacity to stir the eye, heart, and mind. I explore how an artist’s work may be seen, experienced, and interpreted, how it relates to art historical precedents and the work of the artist’s contemporaries, and why the work is meaningful in the context of the time and world in which we live.
