New York, summer 1991: I was nervous, youthful and probably a bit too keen, perched on a sofa, clinging to an excessively generous glass of vodka. Through the window and summer haze, the filmic panorama of Central Park spread out before me. Traffic murmured below. To my left sat Clement Greenberg, slightly bored, chomping on a breadstick; each crunch breaking the uncomfortable silence. I stared around the room and my eyes alighted upon the heaving gelled surface of a Jules Olitski painting. “I saw those recently in London for the first time in the flesh” I said. “In the flesh,” he reiterated my phrase; “correct terminology, good for you young man."

To read more about my take on paintings seen in the flesh, please read this article from the Royal Academy website opinion section CLICK HERE