Art Bastard
Cavu Pictures | Release Date: June 3, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerOct 13, 2016
The documentarian Victor Kanefsky paints a vivid picture of an entertaining rogue, one who finally gets his due with this film. Then again, Cenedella might refuse to accept the recognition. There’s no bastard like a principled bastard. Read full review
83
The PlaylistOktay Ege Kozak Jun 2, 2016
Art Bastard is a respectful and affectionate look into the life of a true outsider in the art world. Read full review
80
NPRBob MondelloJun 3, 2016
Robert Cenedella, the titular painter in the briskly entertaining new documentary Art Bastard, is a New York artist who has spent years battling the New York art establishment. To be clear, he is a bastard, in that he was born to parents who weren't married. But also in that he's an inveterate troublemaker — a mocker of other artists — who can be a thorn in the side of even people who are trying to help him. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJun 2, 2016
For philistines mystified by the value attached to so many artworks that to an untrained eye look worthless, Mr. Cenedella comes across as a reassuring voice of sanity. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonJun 23, 2016
Cenedella may never become a household name, but Art Bastard argues persuasively that fame is overrated. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJun 3, 2016
A beautiful portrait of the man himself, still going strong at age 76, as well as a critique of the art world that has ignored him (and others) because they don't "fit." Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanJun 23, 2016
It reveals Robert Cenedella to be an artist far too infused with life to ever let a movie like this one live up to its title. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJun 16, 2016
Though Art Bastard is a zesty, engaging documentary about a veteran outsider, when it comes to his complexities, it’s not terribly cohesive. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJun 2, 2016
As a film, Victor Kanefsky's documentary about the iconoclastic painter Robert Cenedella makes a great art exhibit. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryJun 9, 2016
The documentary is a compelling indictment of the way commerce drives the art market. But the movie’s methodology is hit-or-miss, jumping from one interview to another, to jarring effect. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaMay 30, 2016
Robert Cenedella exudes humility even as he sounds off against the societal forces that anger him and fuel his work. Read full review
60
Time OutTomris LafflyJun 8, 2016
Breezy and vivid, Art Bastard ultimately delivers the person: criminally underrated yet still principled and generous. It just leaves you wishing for more defiance, especially when a conventional tone takes over with too many interviewees and overpowers the film’s most lucrative asset: a pulsating New York backdrop. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick SchagerJun 1, 2016
Victor Kanefsky's documentary nonetheless manages to be as cursory as it is intimate, skimming over so much of Cenedella's life and career that it imparts only a hazy impression of who he is and what he believes. Read full review
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