Arts criticism is the process of describing, analyzing, interpreting, and judging works of art . It is distinct from art criticism (which focuses on visual arts) due to its broader remit.^{[citation needed]} The disciplines of arts criticism can be defined by the object being considered rather than the methodology (through analysis of its philosophy): buildings (architecture criticism), paintings (visual art criticism), performances (dance criticism, theatre criticism), music (music journalism), visual media (film criticism, television criticism), or literary texts (literary criticism).

Criticism of the arts can be broadly divided into two types. There is academic criticism such as that found in scholarly works and specialist journals, then there is criticism of a more journalistic nature (often called 'a review') which is seen by a wider public through newspapers, television and radio. The academic criticism will be of a more vigorous and analytical nature than the journalistic, the journalistic may even focus on entertaining the reader at the expense of detail about the art under discussion.^{[citation needed]}

David Pagel is an art critic, educator, curator, dioramatist, and bike enthusiast.

Pagel is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and has written nearly 500 articles since 1997. He serves as Chair of the Art Department at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.

Pagel has written several books and essays about artists such as Jim Isermann and Irene Hardwicke Olivieri.

He was the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Contemporary Arts Criticism in 1990 and was a Macgeorge Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2002.

David Pagel has curated: