Finding that "painting has now essentially marked off its overall set of boundaries and is engaged in the task of elaboration and infilling," Richard Kalina offers four possible categories to begin the critical dialogue anew.

"The point," he writes, "is to recognize the situation on the ground, to see things for what they are, and importantly not to put a hierarchical order or any kind of historical inevitability on these different approaches, although one must acknowledge the historical arc of which painting is a part. To do so allows for a more clear-eyed vision of the state of the art: focus is maintained on what a painting looks like and what it does."