Much of Instagram’s video content is organized around transformation—the virtual magic of the before-and-after and clips that show cause and effect. A person makes pasta from scratch in 20 seconds via edits that compress time-intensive labor. We experience a sense of revelation as time-consuming processes—like gym workouts or analyzing films and books—are compressed into instant, digestible moments. Somewhat surprisingly, painters have gained traction online with this visual grammar. I say it is surprising because JPEGs are at a serious disadvantage in the era of videos and reels, and unlike performance art, video art, or kinetic art, paintings tend to be quite static. In order to survive social media’s algorithmic preference for transformation, spectacle, and time compression, artists—especially amateur ones with an interest in influencer culture—have turned their studios into a stage.…