It is wonderful to be back in Reykjavik, a beloved city for me that I have visited many times—wonderful, but also strange. For the past three months Covid-19 (the Omicron variant) has been surging in heavily vaccinated Iceland. Many of my Reykjavik friends have gotten ill, some quite recently, although cases have tended to be fairly mild.

The American West has long been important for Paine, personally and artistically, and its impact is pronounced in his impressive, exceptionally pertinent new exhibition Normal Fault, featuring 13 relief paintings and one wall-mounted diorama.

There are no real movements in contemporary art these days, replete with passionate advocates and passionate opponents. But then again, this also has its plus side. Just about anything is possible, and contemporary art appears to be an amazingly diverse enterprise, especially given its increasingly globalized focus. In the absence of art movements, what is certainly occurring is a movement of curators, and by this I mean a fairly tight band of itinerant curators whose exhibitions (especially large-scale, international exhibitions) frequently address socio-political issues.