{"id":2107945,"date":"2026-08-21T15:41:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T12:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2107945"},"modified":"2026-08-21T15:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T12:41:57","slug":"kenny-schachter-says-stop-complaining-about-art-and-do-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2107945","title":{"rendered":"Kenny Schachter Says Stop Complaining About Art and Do More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-tw.jpg?w=1080&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-post-body col\">\n<div class=\"row post-body\">\n<aside class=\"post-body-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-upper\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-category d-none d-lg-block\">\n<p>    Art\n                                                                                                    <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-published d-none d-lg-block\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<ul class=\"post-body-sidebar-hype-comments-container list-unstyled d-none d-lg-block\">\n<li><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-sm-inline text\">Comments<\/span><\/span>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-author d-none d-lg-block\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider d-none d-lg-block\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-share d-none d-lg-block\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<article class=\"post-body-article\">\n<div class=\"post-gallery-container small inner-media\">\n<div class=\"gallery-container post-gallery-contain\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Kenny Schachter Says Stop Complaining About Art and Do More\">\n<div class=\"hb-gallery before-booted full-screen-enabled only-one-cell \" data-images=\"[{&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;image_caption&quot;:null,&quot;small&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=480&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;medium&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=720&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;large&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1080&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;xlarge&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1440&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;full&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1440&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;},&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/hypebeast.com\/image\/2026\/08\/19\/kenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;kenny schacter paul thek state of art exhibitions critics contemporary world installation sculpture&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:2187,&quot;height&quot;:1458,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Courtesy of Kenny Schachter&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;creditKey&quot;:&quot;general&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;annotations&quot;:null,&quot;shop&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;&quot;}}]\" role=\"list\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell landscape\" data-gallery-index=\"1\" role=\"listitem\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell-inner-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell-image-wrapper annotation-container fixed-ratio-3-2\">\n                                                                                                        <source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?q=90&amp;w=1400&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"(min-width: 1260px)\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-meta-container credit-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"credit \">Courtesy Of Kenny Schachter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"post-body-top-bar\" class=\"post-body-top-bar d-block d-lg-none\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-share-meta-container\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-meta\"><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-category\"><\/p>\n<p>    Art<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-published\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-hype-comments-container \"><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-none text\">Comments<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content\">\n<section class=\"post-summary\" aria-labelledby=\"post-summary-heading\">\n<header class=\"post-summary__header\">\n<h2 id=\"post-summary-heading\" class=\"post-summary__title\">Summary<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"post-summary__body\">\n<p>&#8216;State of Art&#8217; is a new HypeArt series inviting artists, curators, collectors and other leading voices to weigh in on the ideas, debates and cultural shifts shaping contemporary art. Through intimate questions and personal recommendations, the series offers a closer look at what is exciting the art world, what needs to change and where things may be heading next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Kenny Schachter has never been easy to categorize, which is largely the point. Artist, writer, curator, lecturer and collector, he has spent more than three decades making work while chronicling, criticizing and occasionally antagonizing the art world around him. His writing has become particularly known for turning insider access into sharp, often self-deprecating commentary on the personalities, money and absurdities driving the contemporary art market.<\/p>\n<p>For all the noise Schachter makes around the industry, however, his relationship to art itself remains remarkably earnest.Paul Thek is a case in point. Schachter\u2019s fascination with the late American artist stretches back decades, from collecting his work and contributing to <em>Paul Thek: Artist\u2019s Artist<\/em> to curating exhibitions dedicated to him, most recently alongside Jonathan Anderson at Thomas Dane Gallery in London in 2025. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no surprise, then, that Thek resurfaces throughout Schachter\u2019s answers for our latest <em>State of Art<\/em> discussion, including a small painting he first encountered in the 1990s and still hasn\u2019t been able to shake. Schachter looks ahead to his own return to the gallery this fall, considers what it takes to keep making when the art world gets gritty and delivers some characteristically succinct advice for anyone spending too much time lamenting its current state: stop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p>Read our full conversation below.\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode-slider before-booted full-screen-enabled light\" data-width=\"100%\" data-animate=\"slide\" data-slideshow data-loop data-slideshowspeed=\"7000\" data-group-cells=\"1\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel-cell\" data-gallery-index=\"1\">\n<div>\n                                    <source srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-2.jpg?q=90&amp;w=2180&amp;format=jpeg&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)<br \/>\n                                    \" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the one show from the first half of this year that you can\u2019t stop thinking about?<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul Thek at Galerie Buchholz in New York City.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did any artwork actually make you feel something real this year, or has everything felt a little flat?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo art makes me feel flat. It all moves me, to my marrow, whether good, bad or ugly. Or worse.\n<\/p>\n<p>What did touch me, to the bone, was Paul Thek\u2019s \u201cBread and Buttocks\u201d (1979\u201380) at Buchholz, depicting just that: a portion of a male torso and a slice of bread rendered in oil on canvas. The work is small in scale, incorporating a quaint overhanging picture light attached to the antique gold frame and a child\u2019s school chair situated in front to view the diminutive piece. It proves once and for all that size doesn\u2019t matter as much as what you do with it.\n<\/p>\n<p>I first encountered the painting at Thek\u2019s 1995 retrospective, <em>The Wonderful World That Almost Was<\/em>, in Rotterdam, and subsequently at the Whitney in 2010. I was touched by the colorful composition, play on words and juxtaposition of shards of abstraction with figuration.\n<\/p>\n<p>Though Thek referred to this series as purposefully \u201cbad\u201d in relation to what he saw unfolding in NYC at the time, when artists like Julian Schnabel and Francesco Clemente were painting big and bad \u2014 not in a good way \u2014 and ruled the roost, I think Thek\u2019s response is f-ing masterful.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s a show you have marked on your calendar for the rest of the year and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nNot to be (too much of) a pig\u2026but my upcoming show, <em>This Is It<\/em>, at Alex Berns gallery in New York\u2019s Tribeca in November, where I will present new sculptures, as well as photos and archives from the early 1990s.\n<\/p>\n<p><q>\u201cEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you had to give the 2026 art world a report card grade right now, what is it and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art. The rest of my life is another story, which you\u2019ll be happy to know I won\u2019t get into now.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s one trend in the art scene you want to see go away and one you want to see more of?<\/strong><br \/>\nStop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could sum up the art world right now in exactly three words, what would they be?<\/strong><br \/>\nTough. Stay committed. (Or be committed. It might be the easier choice.)\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could grab a drink or meal with any artist tonight, living or dead, who would it be and what\u2019s the first thing you\u2019re asking them?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe obvious answer for me is Paul Thek, as I have been obsessed for more than three decades, including curating exhibitions on the artist at Thomas Dane and Pace galleries and writing about him for MIT Press, among other publications.\n<\/p>\n<p>The first thing I would ask is: How did you manage to work so prodigiously and profoundly for so long? Primarily because I\u2019m so damn jealous!<\/p>\n<div class=\"show-article\">\n<p>                                                            Read Full Article<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"related-stories-main-wrapper\">\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<div class=\"stories-container\" data-layer-list-name=\"related_stories\" data-layer-list-offset=\"0\" data-layer-list-child-selector=\".story-item\">\n<div class=\"story-item\" data-layer-item-id=\"6771478\" data-layer-item-blog-id=\"1\" data-layer-item-type=\"post\"><span>&gt;<\/span>Dave Bautista Officially Cast as Kratos in Amazon&#8217;s &#8216;God of War&#8217; TV Series\n                                                                        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-email-signup-wrapper impression-tracker\">\n<h3>We got you covered. Don\u2019t miss out on the latest news by signing up for our newsletters.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"terms\">By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-author d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-share d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content-tags\">\n<div class=\"body collapsed\">\n<p>    InterviewsKenny SchachterState of Art\n                                                            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"post__body__author_info\">\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__inner\">\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__body\">\n<p>                    Keith Estiler<\/p>\n<p>                                    <span class=\"post__body__author_info__title\">Managing Editor, Hypeart<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__bio_wrapper\">\n<p class=\"post__body__author_info__bio\">Keith Estiler is a New York-born curator, writer, and the Managing Editor of Hypeart, the contemporary art arm of Hypebeast. Based in NYC, Keith heads up editorial strategy at the intersection of contemporary art and culture, capturing the icons and outliers of both the local and international scenes. He has curated exhibitions worldwide, dedicated to championing the emerging voices and subcultures currently redefining contemporary visual culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"post-footer\" class=\"post-footer row\">\n<div class=\"col-shopping-break\">\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-comments\">\n<div id=\"comments\" class=\"post-comments none \">\n<header>\n<div class=\"heading\"><span class=\"comment-count\">0<\/span><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"comment-dropdown-tooltip\">\n<ul>\n<li>\n<li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row post-body\">\n<aside class=\"post-body-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-upper\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-category d-none d-lg-block\">\n<p>    Art\n                                                                                                    <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-published d-none d-lg-block\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<ul class=\"post-body-sidebar-hype-comments-container list-unstyled d-none d-lg-block\">\n<li><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-sm-inline text\">Comments<\/span><\/span>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-author d-none d-lg-block\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider d-none d-lg-block\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-share d-none d-lg-block\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<article class=\"post-body-article\">\n<div class=\"post-gallery-container small inner-media\">\n<div class=\"gallery-container post-gallery-contain\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Kenny Schachter Says Stop Complaining About Art and Do More\">\n<div class=\"hb-gallery before-booted full-screen-enabled only-one-cell \" data-images=\"[{&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;image_caption&quot;:null,&quot;small&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=480&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;medium&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=720&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;large&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1080&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;xlarge&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1440&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;full&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1440&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;},&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/hypebeast.com\/image\/2026\/08\/19\/kenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;kenny schacter paul thek state of art exhibitions critics contemporary world installation sculpture&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:2187,&quot;height&quot;:1458,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Courtesy of Kenny Schachter&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;creditKey&quot;:&quot;general&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;annotations&quot;:null,&quot;shop&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;&quot;}}]\" role=\"list\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell landscape\" data-gallery-index=\"1\" role=\"listitem\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell-inner-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell-image-wrapper annotation-container fixed-ratio-3-2\">\n                                                                                                        <source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?q=90&amp;w=1400&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"(min-width: 1260px)\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-meta-container credit-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"credit \">Courtesy Of Kenny Schachter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"post-body-top-bar\" class=\"post-body-top-bar d-block d-lg-none\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-share-meta-container\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-meta\"><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-category\"><\/p>\n<p>    Art<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-published\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-hype-comments-container \"><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-none text\">Comments<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content\">\n<section class=\"post-summary\" aria-labelledby=\"post-summary-heading\">\n<header class=\"post-summary__header\">\n<h2 id=\"post-summary-heading\" class=\"post-summary__title\">Summary<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"post-summary__body\">\n<p>&#8216;State of Art&#8217; is a new HypeArt series inviting artists, curators, collectors and other leading voices to weigh in on the ideas, debates and cultural shifts shaping contemporary art. Through intimate questions and personal recommendations, the series offers a closer look at what is exciting the art world, what needs to change and where things may be heading next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Kenny Schachter has never been easy to categorize, which is largely the point. Artist, writer, curator, lecturer and collector, he has spent more than three decades making work while chronicling, criticizing and occasionally antagonizing the art world around him. His writing has become particularly known for turning insider access into sharp, often self-deprecating commentary on the personalities, money and absurdities driving the contemporary art market.<\/p>\n<p>For all the noise Schachter makes around the industry, however, his relationship to art itself remains remarkably earnest.Paul Thek is a case in point. Schachter\u2019s fascination with the late American artist stretches back decades, from collecting his work and contributing to <em>Paul Thek: Artist\u2019s Artist<\/em> to curating exhibitions dedicated to him, most recently alongside Jonathan Anderson at Thomas Dane Gallery in London in 2025. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no surprise, then, that Thek resurfaces throughout Schachter\u2019s answers for our latest <em>State of Art<\/em> discussion, including a small painting he first encountered in the 1990s and still hasn\u2019t been able to shake. Schachter looks ahead to his own return to the gallery this fall, considers what it takes to keep making when the art world gets gritty and delivers some characteristically succinct advice for anyone spending too much time lamenting its current state: stop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p>Read our full conversation below.\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode-slider before-booted full-screen-enabled light\" data-width=\"100%\" data-animate=\"slide\" data-slideshow data-loop data-slideshowspeed=\"7000\" data-group-cells=\"1\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel-cell\" data-gallery-index=\"1\">\n<div>\n                                    <source srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-2.jpg?q=90&amp;w=2180&amp;format=jpeg&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)<br \/>\n                                    \" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the one show from the first half of this year that you can\u2019t stop thinking about?<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul Thek at Galerie Buchholz in New York City.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did any artwork actually make you feel something real this year, or has everything felt a little flat?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo art makes me feel flat. It all moves me, to my marrow, whether good, bad or ugly. Or worse.\n<\/p>\n<p>What did touch me, to the bone, was Paul Thek\u2019s \u201cBread and Buttocks\u201d (1979\u201380) at Buchholz, depicting just that: a portion of a male torso and a slice of bread rendered in oil on canvas. The work is small in scale, incorporating a quaint overhanging picture light attached to the antique gold frame and a child\u2019s school chair situated in front to view the diminutive piece. It proves once and for all that size doesn\u2019t matter as much as what you do with it.\n<\/p>\n<p>I first encountered the painting at Thek\u2019s 1995 retrospective, <em>The Wonderful World That Almost Was<\/em>, in Rotterdam, and subsequently at the Whitney in 2010. I was touched by the colorful composition, play on words and juxtaposition of shards of abstraction with figuration.\n<\/p>\n<p>Though Thek referred to this series as purposefully \u201cbad\u201d in relation to what he saw unfolding in NYC at the time, when artists like Julian Schnabel and Francesco Clemente were painting big and bad \u2014 not in a good way \u2014 and ruled the roost, I think Thek\u2019s response is f-ing masterful.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s a show you have marked on your calendar for the rest of the year and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nNot to be (too much of) a pig\u2026but my upcoming show, <em>This Is It<\/em>, at Alex Berns gallery in New York\u2019s Tribeca in November, where I will present new sculptures, as well as photos and archives from the early 1990s.\n<\/p>\n<p><q>\u201cEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you had to give the 2026 art world a report card grade right now, what is it and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art. The rest of my life is another story, which you\u2019ll be happy to know I won\u2019t get into now.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s one trend in the art scene you want to see go away and one you want to see more of?<\/strong><br \/>\nStop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could sum up the art world right now in exactly three words, what would they be?<\/strong><br \/>\nTough. Stay committed. (Or be committed. It might be the easier choice.)\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could grab a drink or meal with any artist tonight, living or dead, who would it be and what\u2019s the first thing you\u2019re asking them?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe obvious answer for me is Paul Thek, as I have been obsessed for more than three decades, including curating exhibitions on the artist at Thomas Dane and Pace galleries and writing about him for MIT Press, among other publications.\n<\/p>\n<p>The first thing I would ask is: How did you manage to work so prodigiously and profoundly for so long? Primarily because I\u2019m so damn jealous!<\/p>\n<div class=\"show-article\">\n<p>                                                            Read Full Article<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"related-stories-main-wrapper\">\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<div class=\"stories-container\" data-layer-list-name=\"related_stories\" data-layer-list-offset=\"0\" data-layer-list-child-selector=\".story-item\">\n<div class=\"story-item\" data-layer-item-id=\"6771478\" data-layer-item-blog-id=\"1\" data-layer-item-type=\"post\"><span>&gt;<\/span>Dave Bautista Officially Cast as Kratos in Amazon&#8217;s &#8216;God of War&#8217; TV Series\n                                                                        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-email-signup-wrapper impression-tracker\">\n<h3>We got you covered. Don\u2019t miss out on the latest news by signing up for our newsletters.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"terms\">By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-author d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-share d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content-tags\">\n<div class=\"body collapsed\">\n<p>    InterviewsKenny SchachterState of Art\n                                                            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"post__body__author_info\">\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__inner\">\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__body\">\n<p>                    Keith Estiler<\/p>\n<p>                                    <span class=\"post__body__author_info__title\">Managing Editor, Hypeart<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__bio_wrapper\">\n<p class=\"post__body__author_info__bio\">Keith Estiler is a New York-born curator, writer, and the Managing Editor of Hypeart, the contemporary art arm of Hypebeast. Based in NYC, Keith heads up editorial strategy at the intersection of contemporary art and culture, capturing the icons and outliers of both the local and international scenes. He has curated exhibitions worldwide, dedicated to championing the emerging voices and subcultures currently redefining contemporary visual culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-upper\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-category d-none d-lg-block\">\n<p>    Art\n                                                                                                    <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-published d-none d-lg-block\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<ul class=\"post-body-sidebar-hype-comments-container list-unstyled d-none d-lg-block\">\n<li><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-sm-inline text\">Comments<\/span><\/span>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-author d-none d-lg-block\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider d-none d-lg-block\">\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-share d-none d-lg-block\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-category d-none d-lg-block\">\n<p>    Art\n                                                                                                    <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-published d-none d-lg-block\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-author d-none d-lg-block\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-sidebar-share d-none d-lg-block\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<article class=\"post-body-article\">\n<div class=\"post-gallery-container small inner-media\">\n<div class=\"gallery-container post-gallery-contain\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Kenny Schachter Says Stop Complaining About Art and Do More\">\n<div class=\"hb-gallery before-booted full-screen-enabled only-one-cell \" data-images=\"[{&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;image_caption&quot;:null,&quot;small&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=480&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;medium&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=720&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;large&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1080&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;xlarge&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1440&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;,&quot;full&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?w=1440&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&quot;},&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/hypebeast.com\/image\/2026\/08\/19\/kenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;kenny schacter paul thek state of art exhibitions critics contemporary world installation sculpture&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:2187,&quot;height&quot;:1458,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Courtesy of Kenny Schachter&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;creditKey&quot;:&quot;general&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;annotations&quot;:null,&quot;shop&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;&quot;}}]\" role=\"list\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell landscape\" data-gallery-index=\"1\" role=\"listitem\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell-inner-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"carousel-cell-image-wrapper annotation-container fixed-ratio-3-2\">\n                                                                                                        <source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-1.jpg?q=90&amp;w=1400&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"(min-width: 1260px)\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-meta-container credit-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"credit \">Courtesy Of Kenny Schachter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"post-body-top-bar\" class=\"post-body-top-bar d-block d-lg-none\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-share-meta-container\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-meta\"><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-category\"><\/p>\n<p>    Art<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-published\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-hype-comments-container \"><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-none text\">Comments<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content\">\n<section class=\"post-summary\" aria-labelledby=\"post-summary-heading\">\n<header class=\"post-summary__header\">\n<h2 id=\"post-summary-heading\" class=\"post-summary__title\">Summary<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"post-summary__body\">\n<p>&#8216;State of Art&#8217; is a new HypeArt series inviting artists, curators, collectors and other leading voices to weigh in on the ideas, debates and cultural shifts shaping contemporary art. Through intimate questions and personal recommendations, the series offers a closer look at what is exciting the art world, what needs to change and where things may be heading next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Kenny Schachter has never been easy to categorize, which is largely the point. Artist, writer, curator, lecturer and collector, he has spent more than three decades making work while chronicling, criticizing and occasionally antagonizing the art world around him. His writing has become particularly known for turning insider access into sharp, often self-deprecating commentary on the personalities, money and absurdities driving the contemporary art market.<\/p>\n<p>For all the noise Schachter makes around the industry, however, his relationship to art itself remains remarkably earnest.Paul Thek is a case in point. Schachter\u2019s fascination with the late American artist stretches back decades, from collecting his work and contributing to <em>Paul Thek: Artist\u2019s Artist<\/em> to curating exhibitions dedicated to him, most recently alongside Jonathan Anderson at Thomas Dane Gallery in London in 2025. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no surprise, then, that Thek resurfaces throughout Schachter\u2019s answers for our latest <em>State of Art<\/em> discussion, including a small painting he first encountered in the 1990s and still hasn\u2019t been able to shake. Schachter looks ahead to his own return to the gallery this fall, considers what it takes to keep making when the art world gets gritty and delivers some characteristically succinct advice for anyone spending too much time lamenting its current state: stop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p>Read our full conversation below.\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode-slider before-booted full-screen-enabled light\" data-width=\"100%\" data-animate=\"slide\" data-slideshow data-loop data-slideshowspeed=\"7000\" data-group-cells=\"1\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel-cell\" data-gallery-index=\"1\">\n<div>\n                                    <source srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-2.jpg?q=90&amp;w=2180&amp;format=jpeg&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)<br \/>\n                                    \" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the one show from the first half of this year that you can\u2019t stop thinking about?<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul Thek at Galerie Buchholz in New York City.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did any artwork actually make you feel something real this year, or has everything felt a little flat?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo art makes me feel flat. It all moves me, to my marrow, whether good, bad or ugly. Or worse.\n<\/p>\n<p>What did touch me, to the bone, was Paul Thek\u2019s \u201cBread and Buttocks\u201d (1979\u201380) at Buchholz, depicting just that: a portion of a male torso and a slice of bread rendered in oil on canvas. The work is small in scale, incorporating a quaint overhanging picture light attached to the antique gold frame and a child\u2019s school chair situated in front to view the diminutive piece. It proves once and for all that size doesn\u2019t matter as much as what you do with it.\n<\/p>\n<p>I first encountered the painting at Thek\u2019s 1995 retrospective, <em>The Wonderful World That Almost Was<\/em>, in Rotterdam, and subsequently at the Whitney in 2010. I was touched by the colorful composition, play on words and juxtaposition of shards of abstraction with figuration.\n<\/p>\n<p>Though Thek referred to this series as purposefully \u201cbad\u201d in relation to what he saw unfolding in NYC at the time, when artists like Julian Schnabel and Francesco Clemente were painting big and bad \u2014 not in a good way \u2014 and ruled the roost, I think Thek\u2019s response is f-ing masterful.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s a show you have marked on your calendar for the rest of the year and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nNot to be (too much of) a pig\u2026but my upcoming show, <em>This Is It<\/em>, at Alex Berns gallery in New York\u2019s Tribeca in November, where I will present new sculptures, as well as photos and archives from the early 1990s.\n<\/p>\n<p><q>\u201cEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you had to give the 2026 art world a report card grade right now, what is it and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art. The rest of my life is another story, which you\u2019ll be happy to know I won\u2019t get into now.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s one trend in the art scene you want to see go away and one you want to see more of?<\/strong><br \/>\nStop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could sum up the art world right now in exactly three words, what would they be?<\/strong><br \/>\nTough. Stay committed. (Or be committed. It might be the easier choice.)\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could grab a drink or meal with any artist tonight, living or dead, who would it be and what\u2019s the first thing you\u2019re asking them?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe obvious answer for me is Paul Thek, as I have been obsessed for more than three decades, including curating exhibitions on the artist at Thomas Dane and Pace galleries and writing about him for MIT Press, among other publications.\n<\/p>\n<p>The first thing I would ask is: How did you manage to work so prodigiously and profoundly for so long? Primarily because I\u2019m so damn jealous!<\/p>\n<div class=\"show-article\">\n<p>                                                            Read Full Article<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"related-stories-main-wrapper\">\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<div class=\"stories-container\" data-layer-list-name=\"related_stories\" data-layer-list-offset=\"0\" data-layer-list-child-selector=\".story-item\">\n<div class=\"story-item\" data-layer-item-id=\"6771478\" data-layer-item-blog-id=\"1\" data-layer-item-type=\"post\"><span>&gt;<\/span>Dave Bautista Officially Cast as Kratos in Amazon&#8217;s &#8216;God of War&#8217; TV Series\n                                                                        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-email-signup-wrapper impression-tracker\">\n<h3>We got you covered. Don\u2019t miss out on the latest news by signing up for our newsletters.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"terms\">By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-author d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-share d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content-tags\">\n<div class=\"body collapsed\">\n<p>    InterviewsKenny SchachterState of Art\n                                                            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"post__body__author_info\">\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__inner\">\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__body\">\n<p>                    Keith Estiler<\/p>\n<p>                                    <span class=\"post__body__author_info__title\">Managing Editor, Hypeart<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post__body__author_info__bio_wrapper\">\n<p class=\"post__body__author_info__bio\">Keith Estiler is a New York-born curator, writer, and the Managing Editor of Hypeart, the contemporary art arm of Hypebeast. Based in NYC, Keith heads up editorial strategy at the intersection of contemporary art and culture, capturing the icons and outliers of both the local and international scenes. He has curated exhibitions worldwide, dedicated to championing the emerging voices and subcultures currently redefining contemporary visual culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n<div id=\"post-body-top-bar\" class=\"post-body-top-bar d-block d-lg-none\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-share-meta-container\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-meta\"><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-category\"><\/p>\n<p>    Art<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-published\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-hype-comments-container \"><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-none text\">Comments<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-share-meta-container\">\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-meta\"><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-category\"><\/p>\n<p>    Art<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-published\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-meta\"><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-category\"><\/p>\n<p>    Art<br \/>\n                                                    <\/span><span class=\"post-body-top-bar-published\"><time>Aug 21, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-top-bar-hype-comments-container \"><span class=\"hype-count grey\"><br \/>\n             684<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Views<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"disqus-comment-count\"><span>0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"d-none d-none text\">Comments<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"floating-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span>Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"text\">Save<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content\">\n<section class=\"post-summary\" aria-labelledby=\"post-summary-heading\">\n<header class=\"post-summary__header\">\n<h2 id=\"post-summary-heading\" class=\"post-summary__title\">Summary<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"post-summary__body\">\n<p>&#8216;State of Art&#8217; is a new HypeArt series inviting artists, curators, collectors and other leading voices to weigh in on the ideas, debates and cultural shifts shaping contemporary art. Through intimate questions and personal recommendations, the series offers a closer look at what is exciting the art world, what needs to change and where things may be heading next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Kenny Schachter has never been easy to categorize, which is largely the point. Artist, writer, curator, lecturer and collector, he has spent more than three decades making work while chronicling, criticizing and occasionally antagonizing the art world around him. His writing has become particularly known for turning insider access into sharp, often self-deprecating commentary on the personalities, money and absurdities driving the contemporary art market.<\/p>\n<p>For all the noise Schachter makes around the industry, however, his relationship to art itself remains remarkably earnest.Paul Thek is a case in point. Schachter\u2019s fascination with the late American artist stretches back decades, from collecting his work and contributing to <em>Paul Thek: Artist\u2019s Artist<\/em> to curating exhibitions dedicated to him, most recently alongside Jonathan Anderson at Thomas Dane Gallery in London in 2025. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no surprise, then, that Thek resurfaces throughout Schachter\u2019s answers for our latest <em>State of Art<\/em> discussion, including a small painting he first encountered in the 1990s and still hasn\u2019t been able to shake. Schachter looks ahead to his own return to the gallery this fall, considers what it takes to keep making when the art world gets gritty and delivers some characteristically succinct advice for anyone spending too much time lamenting its current state: stop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p>Read our full conversation below.\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode-slider before-booted full-screen-enabled light\" data-width=\"100%\" data-animate=\"slide\" data-slideshow data-loop data-slideshowspeed=\"7000\" data-group-cells=\"1\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel\">\n<div class=\"flickity-carousel-cell\" data-gallery-index=\"1\">\n<div>\n                                    <source srcset=\"https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-2.jpg?q=90&amp;w=2180&amp;format=jpeg&amp;cbr=1&amp;fit=max\" media=\"<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),<br \/>\n                                        (min-width: 1200px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)<br \/>\n                                    \" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the one show from the first half of this year that you can\u2019t stop thinking about?<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul Thek at Galerie Buchholz in New York City.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did any artwork actually make you feel something real this year, or has everything felt a little flat?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo art makes me feel flat. It all moves me, to my marrow, whether good, bad or ugly. Or worse.\n<\/p>\n<p>What did touch me, to the bone, was Paul Thek\u2019s \u201cBread and Buttocks\u201d (1979\u201380) at Buchholz, depicting just that: a portion of a male torso and a slice of bread rendered in oil on canvas. The work is small in scale, incorporating a quaint overhanging picture light attached to the antique gold frame and a child\u2019s school chair situated in front to view the diminutive piece. It proves once and for all that size doesn\u2019t matter as much as what you do with it.\n<\/p>\n<p>I first encountered the painting at Thek\u2019s 1995 retrospective, <em>The Wonderful World That Almost Was<\/em>, in Rotterdam, and subsequently at the Whitney in 2010. I was touched by the colorful composition, play on words and juxtaposition of shards of abstraction with figuration.\n<\/p>\n<p>Though Thek referred to this series as purposefully \u201cbad\u201d in relation to what he saw unfolding in NYC at the time, when artists like Julian Schnabel and Francesco Clemente were painting big and bad \u2014 not in a good way \u2014 and ruled the roost, I think Thek\u2019s response is f-ing masterful.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s a show you have marked on your calendar for the rest of the year and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nNot to be (too much of) a pig\u2026but my upcoming show, <em>This Is It<\/em>, at Alex Berns gallery in New York\u2019s Tribeca in November, where I will present new sculptures, as well as photos and archives from the early 1990s.\n<\/p>\n<p><q>\u201cEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you had to give the 2026 art world a report card grade right now, what is it and why?<\/strong><br \/>\nEvery year I am alive, cogent and mobile is a great year for art. The rest of my life is another story, which you\u2019ll be happy to know I won\u2019t get into now.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s one trend in the art scene you want to see go away and one you want to see more of?<\/strong><br \/>\nStop complaining and do more.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could sum up the art world right now in exactly three words, what would they be?<\/strong><br \/>\nTough. Stay committed. (Or be committed. It might be the easier choice.)\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could grab a drink or meal with any artist tonight, living or dead, who would it be and what\u2019s the first thing you\u2019re asking them?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe obvious answer for me is Paul Thek, as I have been obsessed for more than three decades, including curating exhibitions on the artist at Thomas Dane and Pace galleries and writing about him for MIT Press, among other publications.\n<\/p>\n<p>The first thing I would ask is: How did you manage to work so prodigiously and profoundly for so long? Primarily because I\u2019m so damn jealous!<\/p>\n<div class=\"show-article\">\n<p>                                                            Read Full Article<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-author d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider share-divider\">\n<h6>Text By<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"author-name\">Keith Estiler<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-share d-block d-lg-none\">\n<hr class=\"sidebar-divider\">\n<h6>Share this article<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-body-content-tags\">\n<div class=\"body collapsed\">\n<p>    InterviewsKenny SchachterState of Art\n                                                            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/hypebeast.com\/2026\/8\/kenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/image-cdn.hypb.st\/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2F19%2Fkenny-schachter-state-of-art-hypeart-spotlight-tw.jpg?w=1080&amp;cbr=1&amp;q=90&amp;fit=max&#8221;] Art Aug 21, 2026 684 Views 0\u00a0Comments Comments Save Text By Keith Estiler Share this article Courtesy Of Kenny Schachter Art Aug 21, 2026 684 Views 0\u00a0Comments Comments Save Summary &#8216;State of Art&#8217; is a new HypeArt series inviting artists, curators, collectors and other leading voices to weigh in on the ideas, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,39],"class_list":["post-2107945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-hypebeast-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2107945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107945\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2107945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2107945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2107945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}