The experience of beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. The artist's relation to the object of beauty, how the art makes that happen, is a whole other subject. Beauty is an event. Beauty is something that happens. There is no such thing as a beautiful object or a beautiful woman.

For Rembrandt, reality is role-playing.... Everyone is portrayed in relation to a social hierarchy.

I think being interested is really what being civilized is about. I mean, you have to be conscious of everything.

There's art that I would readily buy if I could afford it, and enjoy, but would never write about because it doesn't seem significant.

It's possible I am the only art critic that a lot of people read. And maybe Robert Hughes, if he's still writing.

With art criticism it's difficult to discuss beauty, to assess it, because there's always the possibility that we're insane.

Artists are expected to talk about their work but writers aren't expected to talk about their writing.