Conceptual art is surely coming to an end. The sudden collapse of Damien Hirst's stock, unsurprisingly coinciding with the bursting of the economic bubble, is the most obvious piece of evidence. But I wonder what that tells us?

I think it must go back to the obvious characteristic of conceptual art: the artists themselves don't make anything. They produce ideas, and issue instructions to craftsman or manufacturers with the requisite skill. That says a lot, because, in truth, the best ideas can't be detached from the effort to realise them. That's arguably as true in philosophy as in art. It's that breakage in conceptual art that generates the other obvious characteristic of it, its struggle against vacuity.

Aristotle had a word for this synthesis: phronesis, or pratical intelligence. It's the kind of wisdom that emerges from the long training of mind, body, character and engagement with a tradition. And I think the way phronesis shows itself in art of worth is beginning to come through again. The pottery of Grayson Perry is the most obvious example. (He should be careful when making tapestries by machine.) But I think particularly of the sculptures of my friend Guy Reid, one of which is pictured above. If you want to see phronesis in action, watch this film.