Kirk Varnedoe epitomized the “stereotype of the contemporary art world in all its unapproachable elan” while he was chief curator of the Museum of Modern Art. But Varendoe left one of the most prominent curatorships in the art world last year. Now he’s preparing for lectures, and being treated for inoperable cancer. “I always thought I’d make it through the Mellon Lectures. I always thought I’d be able to do that. But I just don’t make any predictions about six months from now.”