The way I understand art history is that antagonisms are good. Whereas once there was neo-geo, neo-expressionism, or whatever else doing battle, the only thing antagonistic to painting now is everything outside it, if the curators who do Documenta or the Venice Biennale are any kind of gauge. Painting is in this ridiculous place: It’s dead, it’s alive, it’s dead, it’s alive. The problem is that the dialogue around painting is too flat, because there aren't enough recognized antagonisms; we’re bundled together against the so-called progressive genres.
—As told to Tim Griffin
