Art Review The artist challenges the status quo of postmodernism, not by knocking it over but by slyly subverting it. May 28, 2026 — 4 min read Installation view of David Humphrey, anecdote (photo Adam Reich, courtesy Kate Werble Gallery) A few months ago, in the middle of a studio visit with the painter, sculptor, and critic David Humphrey, he showed me a plan on his computer for his upcoming exhibition of works on paper, Anecdote , at Kate Werble Gallery. He explained that he was going to transform the gallery into a room by painting a sofa, plant, cocktail table, standing lamp, and other pieces of furniture and decoration onto the walls.  While Humphrey’s casual, playful setting did not make the actual works on paper better or worse, it did do something unexpected: It made this viewer rethink the paintings I had looked at in his studio, the drawings I had previously seen, and his work as a whole.…