Professional artists are fortunate to not starve when they start their careers. This rule does not apply to the son of the president.Hunter Biden is the son of President Joe Biden and recently began painting. He has offered to sell some of his artwork in a gallery. Some of them may be worth as high as $500,000.ART GALLERY TO MOVE FORWARD ABOVE N-WORDTEXT MESSAGE SCANDALHow much of this value is due the art itself? It's simple: None of that, said Jeffry Cudlin (professor of art curatorial practices and studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art) in an email to The Washington Examiner. These are fine decorative amateur works. Everyone needs a hobby.Cudlin stated that while Biden's art might raise eyebrows, none of his paintings are particularly memorable. These paintings could be purchased for $850 to $3,000 and hung over a couch.If Hunter Biden was applying for a BFA degree in painting, a portfolio that had these pieces would show a sense of the medium and some talent. I encourage anyone to look at it and realize that, with some training and study, Biden could one day create some beautiful paintings.Cudlin differentiates avant-garde culture in gallery culture from traditional gallery culture which is filled by rich people who love to surround themselves with cool stuff.Cudlin stated that Biden and his curator fall into the second category based on their comments about art in an interview with Artnet.Biden stated in an interview that he doesn't paint out of emotion or feeling. Both of these are very fleeting. Painting to me is more about trying to express the universal truth.According to Cudlin the last time such statements were made by artists was probably in 1955. This is a common modernist trope. Modernism has effectively ended sometime in the next decade, around 1968.Continue the storyCudlin stated that the comments made by Georges Berges, Bidens dealer, aren't much better.Bergess Gallery is located in SoHo (New York), which was once home of many avant-garde galleries. It became a sanctuary for traditional galleries around 1980.Berges stated in an interview with Artnet that Bidens art is authentic in that it reflects the authenticity of a lot artists I love, such as [Lucien] Freud and [Francis] Bacon.Cudlin stated that neither Hunter Biden nor any other artist can do anything about it.You can be sure that Freud or Bacon are the favourite painters of every straight-white fraternity man who has taken one art appreciation class undergrad. This guy is a snob about most art after Degas or Whistler, and occasionally voice his opinion "That's not art!" about art created in 1928.According to the New York Post, Berges plans to expand beyond his usual New York base into Beijing and Shanghai. He also stated that China was changing the world's art and culture landscape in 2014.In a 2016 lawsuit, he was accused of defrauding a $500,000 investor. He was sentenced to 90 days imprisonment and 36 months probation in 1998 for assaulting a fatal weapon and making terrorist threats.Cudlin considered Biden's comments and those of his gallerists part of a traditional gallery pitch.Cudlin didn't say it to be snobbish. He's not playing the game, and there is only one town.Cudlin compared Bidens art with a Kurt Cobain sweater or other collectible owned or created by a celebrity.He said that things are worth what people will pay for them. A curator, an art historian, or critic might value a work for its ability to successfully convey powerful content or show an artist's keen understanding of the history and possibilities, but that may not have anything to do with the investment potential of an object.Others celebrities, who aren't artists by trade, have created and sold paintings.Sylvester Stallone also has paintings in Berges' galleries. He considers himself an actor, but he is a better painter than an actor.I don't think Hunter, Sir Paul or Ronnie Wood should be criticized for having an audience for their works or any other publications or shows they have appeared in. They are very fortunate, I suppose. Cudlin also praised Mr. Biden.CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THE WASHINGTON XAMINEREverybody should push brushes around. You can also cash that check if you are offered a half-million dollars for the results.Washington Examiner VideosTags: News, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Art, Arts, Art Gallery, ChinaCharles Hilu is the original authorOriginal Location: Is Hunter Bidens' art worth $500,000 Here's what a curator says
