Max L. Feldman

Max L. Feldman (born London, 1988) is a writer, critic, and educator based in Vienna.

He has: uncovered forgotten German abstract painters and the wild gatherings of (alleged) witches in 17th century Sicily; covered minimalist sculpture in big museums and ‘ancient alien’ conspiracy theories online; written a review comparing a performance of ‘The Magic Flute’ at London’s Royal Opera House and the same thing done as a school play; reported on war, tourism, architecture, illness, the sheer unjustifiable luxury of art fairs, the expanded field of horror, selfies — how we all carry a sturdy little backpack full of myths, griefs, and misunderstandings from the past into the present, putting an academic background to good use by looking into the real emotional texture of things.

If this approach can be names, it’s the ‘antiquarianism of the right now’ or ‘sober surrealism’.

He studied at Heythrop College (University of London), Birkbeck College, The University of Warwick, and The New School for Social Research, New York.

Now he teaches at the University for Applied Arts in Vienna and University of the Arts Linz. He has also taught at Heythrop College, The University of Roehampton, and The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

His writing has appeared in Artforum, e-flux, Frieze, The Spectator, Hyperallergic, The New Criterion, Verso, Texte zur Kunst, Dublin Review of Books, and many others, reflecting a commitment to critical thinking across ideological and disciplinary lines.