What “Authenticity” Means in Contemporary Art

For me, authenticity isn’t about autobiography on the sleeve; it’s about consequences visible on the surface. Did the decisions cost something? Did I risk sentimentality, cliché, or failure to reach for a truer note? I test authenticity by asking whether a painting could only have been made by me, now, under these conditions. That includes the marks I didn’t fix and the passages I fought to keep. It also includes influence—owning it rather than hiding it. Authenticity shows up in process transparency: you can read the edits, the doubts, the insistence. In a market that often rewards formulas, staying present is an act of resistance. The work should feel discovered, not manufactured. That’s the standard I hold myself to.