To examine the history of painting during the past century as a whole is a daunting task, fit only for the historian or curator with kamikaze fantasies. While the definition of painting as a medium is still relatively clear—despite numerous technical innovations and self-inflicted wounds—it seems futile to speak of painting as such without isolating specific issues and practices. Successful single-medium exhibitions tend to break down their subject into bite-size morsels (e.g., Paul Schimmel and Donna De Salvo’s “Hand-Painted Pop” at LA MoCA, 1992, or Laura Hoptman’s timely matchmaking in her