70
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The PlaylistOktay Ege KozakThe PlaylistOktay Ege KozakArt Bastard is a respectful and affectionate look into the life of a true outsider in the art world.
- 80The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenFor 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.
- 80NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloRobert 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.
- 75RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyA 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."
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckAs a film, Victor Kanefsky's documentary about the iconoclastic painter Robert Cenedella makes a great art exhibit.
- 70Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleThough Art Bastard is a zesty, engaging documentary about a veteran outsider, when it comes to his complexities, it’s not terribly cohesive.
- 63Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaSlant MagazineKenji FujishimaRobert Cenedella exudes humility even as he sounds off against the societal forces that anger him and fuel his work.
- 63Washington PostStephanie MerryWashington PostStephanie MerryThe 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.
- 60Time OutTime OutBreezy 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.
- 50Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerVictor 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.