From left, Kiki Smith's Untitled (Bowed Woman), 1995; Jeff Koons's One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank, 1985. (Photo: Benoit Pailley) via New York Magazine
“Skin Fruit: Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection” is the current New Museum exhibition curated by Jeff Koons that’s causing quite a stir in the art world. The show screams of quid pro quo favors and clubby relationships, and for good reason. Not only are Koons and Joannou have a famous friendship with Joannou being one of Koons’ biggest collectors, but Joannou is also a trustee for the New Museum. Behind-the-scenes back-and-forth aside, is the show itself any good? Famous art critic Jerry Saltz gives a take worth taking into consideration in his New York Magazine review. To sum it up, I chose this quote by Saltz:
“The art world has not embraced the show (to put it mildly), and here’s why. In playing to its largest audience to date, the New Museum is not only pandering, but trying to trump the competition with the undeclared game of “collect the collector.” At the show’s core is a distorted and depressing reality: Joannou’s collection is drawn from a tiny slice of the art world—the superrich, the super-hyped and the supermale. (Barely a quarter of the work is by women.) It includes far too many famous artists who sell to major collectors for vast sums. It’s a history of the winners of one particular game—a narrative that’s simultaneously blinkered, elitist, and annoying.”
Be sure to read the full article here.
argotandochre.wordpress.com 