SHOCK OF THE OLD
Saatchi Gallery

Not many in the art establishment would argue with the notion that Charles Saatchi has changed the face of contemporary art in Britain.  Many would contend that he did this single handedly and helped create the rampant speculation that until the Meltdown dominated this market.  Saatchi is a second generation Baghdadi whose combination of determination, energy and cash blew open the gates which surrounded modern art.  His skill in advertising and marketing homed in on the art market, making it the best investment around.

Today there is both jubilation and moral outrage at the insane cost of mediocre art.  We have just experienced an age of unprecedented growth in contemporary art.  Some would say it was a golden age, dominated by Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons.  Others see it as an art industry, which, like Fashion and Lifestyle, follows the trends and fashions.  Or is it an asset bubble, a place for billionaire hedge fund managers and speculators to put their ill-gained bonuses.  If all this were true art has become a trading commodity, the symbol of greed of the rich in the pre-Meltdown era.

Many would argue that Saatchi's championing the Hirst machine a decade or so ago started the dumbing down of the contemporary art market and turned it into a manufactured commodity for speculation and manipulation by billionaires.  Many of the very people who brought the global economy to its knees made fortunes in the art market.  Looked at from this perspective, Saatchi's role may not be so benevolent.  Whatever the case, his impact on contemporary art has been profound, and like it or not, Saatchi and his legacy are here to stay.

At last Saatchi's vast museum at the Duke of York's Chelsea headquarters on the King's Road has opened with a show of new art from China called The Revolution Continues.

The gigantic Georgian pile, built in 1803 by the same architect who built Sandhurst, has been transformed into a modern art gallery.  It's a far cry from the old gallery in the South Bank County Hall, fondly referred to as The Coffin because of its' wooden panelling.  And it's a far cry from his first gallery in a defunct paint factory in St. John's Wood, where in 1985 his battles with the art establishment began.

The Duke of York Headquaraters is not a avant guarde location like Whitechapel, Hoxton, or the County Hall.  This 70,000 sq.ft. space is in the heartland of Sloane Ranger land, just off Sloane Square and opposite the Temple of Sloanes, Peter Jones.  This is terra incognita for urban artists such as Banksy.  No self-respecting street artist would be seen dead here.  Their reputations depend upon identifying with seedy, urban communities.

When I visited the Chinese show, I was under-whelmed.  My main impression was that if I hadn't seen these works before, I had seen something very similar.  Although various works were mildly clever, my admiration didn't rise much above a "So what?"  The most striking piece was a giant turd filled with Chinese soldiers in Maoist uniforms.  The Mao image in contemporary art goes back to the Warhol portraits in printed colours in the 60's.  It may have amused or titillated then, but then was Then.

Sources in the auction houses say contemporary art has had its' day, at least for now.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a Damien Hirst at a car boot sale, now the hedge fund managers who worshipped him have flown the coop.  The catch phrase now is "something of value" and that certainly doesn't apply to this grossly inflated market.  It doesn't apply to the Saatchi Chinese show either.  The market for trendy Chinese art was booming in 2008, but in 2009 does the Revolution Continue?  I think not.