Old Enemies

Damien Hirst's recent decision to sell some of his work directly through auction at Sotheby's rather than through the more traditional means of galleries brings up the old question of old enemies. In my experience there is always going to be a friction between artist and gallery. Having run a gallery and as a practising artist I feel that Damien may be being a touch too sensitive about the "snotty" gallerists, after all, at an earlier stage in his carreer they were essential to him. Indeed, one of the criticisms that might be levelled at Damien Hirst is that he is the product of the gallery world. I do not think that his work has come to the public attention as cream simply rising to the surface. For good or for bad galleries make artists in this day and age. I happen to be quite a fan of some of his work and can understand why he would rather Robert Hughes leaves him alone. There is good and bad in the ouevre of Hirst but this also so true of many other great artists, Picasso being a very well known example. By the by, anyone interested in this question should read the Success and Failure of Picasso by John Berger. A great book.
I discovered as a gallery owner that the maxim that "if the work sells this is because the artist is great and if it doesn't sell, it is the fault of the gallery."