Themistoklis Pagoudis

Biography

My PhD research examines what is at stake when artworks are labelled “pretentious” and what this accusation reveals about the ethics, politics, and affective dynamics of contemporary art criticism. I approach pretentiousness as a performative and often destructive critical gesture that can reinforce social hierarchies and render the art world an inaccessible or unsafe space. Drawing on philosophy, critical theory, art history, and affect studies, my work traces the historical genealogy of pretentiousness in Western art criticism while analysing its contemporary uses across lay, professional, and academic contexts. Adopting a post-critical perspective, I explore alternative modes of art criticism grounded in care, reflexivity, and epistemic humility, aiming to imagine forms of disagreement and evaluation that remain rigorous without reproducing exclusionary or punitive discourse.