Is Art Criticism Getting More Conservative, or Just More Burnt Out?

As a critic myself, I get it. Most art exhibitions aren’t amazing. I personally think about gallery-going the way I do thrifting, even though I don’t buy art because it’s much more expensive than used clothing. At both galleries and thrift stores, I like to poke around in hopes of being pleasantly surprised. Most of what’s on display is, by definition, average: a pair of innocuous chinos; an abstract painting that would look nice above your couch. Some of it’s a bit