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Works by Thomas Nozkowski on view at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, in 2009. Photo courtesy of Stephen Friedman Gallery.

Painting and Its Exhibitions: Talking with Thomas Nozkowski and Robert Storr

Painting and Its Exhibitions: Talking with Thomas Nozkowski and Robert Storr

Painting: a subject that never fails to excite passion, and, despite rumors of its demise, continues to prove itself as vital as ever. On May 3, 2010, at the invitation of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, two of contemporary visual arts’ most distinguished figures—Thomas Nozkowski and Robert Storr—came together for a compelling conversation addressing the practice of painting, the making of painting exhibitions, and the relationship between the two.

Nozkowski is one of our most critically acclaimed abstract painters and Storr has been the curator of major painting exhibitions for artists including Gerhard Richter and Chuck Close. Excerpts from their lively exchange can be found below.

Thomas Nozkowski. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage on May 3, 2010.

“A great curator, I think, makes a new kind of history.”
—Thomas Nozkowski

Robert Storr. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage on May 3, 2010.

“The interpretation is not so much exegesis of the work as making the work visible.”
—Robert Storr

Thomas Nozkowski. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage on May 3, 2010.

“I’m not a big fan of the idea that an artist project should extend into the exhibition.”
—Thomas Nozkowski

Robert Storr. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage on May 3, 2010.

“I make models. I make and remake parts of those models.”
—Robert Storr

Thomas Nozkowski. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage on May 3, 2010.

“Have [the] works been cast free from the tyranny of their own size?”
—Thomas Nozkowski

Robert Storr. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage on May 3, 2010.

“If you don’t know what you want to do as a curator, just go looking.”
—Robert Storr