Arte: Catching up with Charles (Saatchi)
The last time I saw Charles Saatchi he was sitting in a window eating lunch, some kind of salady thing, some figs and an entire cucumber. “That’s not mine,” he gestured, “it’s for the Sarah Lucas”. I’ve worked withhim for eight years, and I can still never tell for sure when he’s joking.People always ask me what he’s like, as if he could be pegged. Well… he’s the kind of guy who brown-bags it to work, and brings in bits of art from his refrigerator. He likes hip-hop videos, has a penchant for slippersand keeps a Marc Quinn rubber body cast suspended in his toilet. He never stands still for more than a minute, takes a personal interest in absolutely everything, and has a vague air of perplexity about him, a sort ofjet lag frustration that reality just can’t keep up with mental speed. He’s instantaneously likeable:warm, down to earth, charming, a bit shy, and wickedly funny. Not in a laugh out loud kind of way, but understated and clever. You have to think for a moment then smile.There’s very little that isn’t common knowledge about the Saatchi legacy. The advertising guru turned collector in the ’80s, his championing of Brit Art from the early ’90s to the present, keen eye and reputation for reinventionand trend-setting, and widening interest in the international market; the controversy that surrounds him like a festiveentourage. It’s hard to reconcile the man with the myth. Partly because in person he bears little resemblance to his media portrayal, and when seen from up close his tremendous accomplishments are so evidently theresult of excruciatingly hard work rather than a ‘golden touch.
’But mostly it’s because he exudes this ballistic energy that’s exclusively and intensively targeted on what’s next. And what’s next is pretty incredible. Charles Saatchi bought his first piece (a Sol LeWitt drawing) when he was a young man, developed his interest in the ’70s, and bought artists such as Donald Judd, Bruce Nauman,and Richard Serra to exhibit in his north London warehouse gallery in the ’80s.
In the early ’90s, the ‘punk minimalism’ of artists such as Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, and the Chapmanbrothers captured his imagination, culminating in the 1997 “Sensation” exhibition.
Ten years on, the Saatchi Collection now encompasses more than 2,000 artworks, spanning fromWarhol’s pop to Rego’s romanticism, YBA irreverence, German intellectualism, to works from every corner of the globe: Andro Wekua, Thomas Zipp, Isa Genzken, Anselm Reyle, Terence Koh, Martina Steckholzer and KirstineRoepstorff just to name a few. His taste defies classification, constantly shifting between cross-reference and contradiction, unpredictable, and always on the cutting-edge.
Re-characterizing what the role of a collector can be, his operations are quite simply fluid.Working on a platform where traditional rules just don’t apply, Saatchi’s uniquely visionary approach has instigated real change and invigoration in all aspects of how art is perceived in the UK — from investment, gallery structure, studio production, to public awareness. Over the past few years his collection has grown past its YBA notoriety, coming into its own with blockbuster shows more radical and extravagant than most public museums can muster.Retrospectives of Damien Hirst and the Chapman brothers brought in record crowds, followed up with “The Triumph of Painting,” a mammoth reconsideration of the medium today. In its four-part entirety, half already seen, it will showcase over 400 canvases, including heavy-hitter work by the likes of Luc Tuymans, Marlene Dumas, PeterDoig and Martin Kippenberger, and superstars such as Dirk Skreber, Kai Althoff and Thomas Scheibitz, making even the most cantankerous critics gush. Though the gallery has been closed for the past year, Saatchi’sexcelled himself in activity.Behind closed doors, countless younger artists are being picked up at lightening speed from international quarters. UK picks include: Pablo Bronstein, Olivia Plender, Alastair MacKinven, Idris Khan and Ged Quinn. It’s fair to say that Saatchi’s officially gone global. The only thing bigger is virtual.
Not limited to only the Saatchi Gallery, the site propagates the Saatchi ethos: encouraging active participation enmasse. Readers can submit their own essays and reviews, list exhibitions and events, and join online discussions through message forums and live chat rooms. It’s also got one of the most gossipy blog sites going (with several who’s whos contributing under pseudonyms), a complete regularly updated London gallery guide, and an extensive meeting board to connect with artists from around the globe. There’s even a kiddie’s studio. Most interesting of all though, are the Your Gallery pages offeringgratis online space for artists from around the world to upload images and CVs and sell their work commission free.
Now boasting over 10,000 artists, with thousands of pounds worth of sales for artists internationally, Your Gallery introduces artists to collectors on an unprecedented level. Bypassing the traditional gallery system, it’s a sure fire way for artists to get their work seen by ‘The Man’ himself and promote their work to industry insiders — andfor buyers to score a bargain. In a collaborative project with the Guardian, a short-listed selection has been drawn up by invited critics and curators, and through public vote, thirty new artists will be included in an exhibition early next year, which will be held at the Guardian’s own new gallery.Now in its 21st year, the Saatchi Gallery is undergoing another massive expansion. Having moved from their first location, a converted paint factory in St. John’s Wood, to the palatial digs of Westminster’s County Hall in 2003, they’re set to move again, reopening next summer at the Duke of York’s HQ building in Chelsea.
It’s a monster of a space: 15,200 square meters spread over three floors with fifteen individual galleries, all super-slick and ultra-modern. A full-fledged museum reflecting a collection that over thirty years has matured with flourish. It’s more than apt that the new gallery is rumored to be opening with a show titled “Abstract America,” including top tips such as Amy Sillman, Andy Collins and Eric Freeman. America for Saatchi has always been topical; it’s the starting point for his career as a collector, and a theme he’s visited in previous exhibitions.It’s also the focus of his next explosive venture.In their first collaboration since “Sensation” in 1997, Charles Saatchi teams up with Norman Rosenthal to present “USAToday” at the Royal Academy in October, set to open one week before the Frieze Art Fair.
Lara Schnitger’s crafty fabric predators, Jon Pylypchuk’s pathetic varmints, and Ryan Trecartin’s suburban mutations flesh out an asocial sympathy. Luis Gispert’s ‘tribal’ portraits and Florian Maier-Aichen’s toxic landscapes readily blur reality and fiction, while Matthew Day Jackson’s drawings reinvent American history with an apologist’shumour, Rodney McMillian’s Supreme Court sags with poetic irony, and Marc Handelman’s Luministinspired paintings readily subvert the power of propaganda.Drawing from the parodic and poignant, “USA Today” mirrors current zeitgeist, encapsulating the revolutionary rumblings of a global future.It’s a coincidence that the very first time I met Charles Saatchi was at his “Young Americans 2” show in 1998 (sitting at his desk, wearing slippers, eating vitamins, and enthusing about the movie Starship Troopers).Young artists like John Currin, Elizabeth Peyton, Laura Owens and Tom Friedman were just a whisper of artworld interest, and his gallery was chalk full of them. Saatchi was then, as he is now, always one step ahead. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never asked Charles about the secret of his success. I suspect that he wouldsay that there’s nobody alive who likes looking at art more than he does.
Patricia Ellis is a writer based in London.
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