Charles Saatchi Opens Up for His New Book and BBC Reality Show

By Steve Delahoyde on September 9, 2009 9:00 AM

Charles Saatchi, advertising legend and noted art collector, has a new book out this week in the UK called My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic (it doesn’t look like it will be released in the US until early October). In it, Saatchi opens up and reportedly answers all the questions people have been dying to ask him over the years. It also will be helping to support a new art-focused reality show Saatchi will be starring in on the BBC. The Independent has a nice overview of the book, the new show, and Saatchi’s new quest to bring art to the people, and the Telegraph has an interesting interview, asking the famed collector some additional personal questions, some of which we really were a little surprised by how frank he was. Though we suppose when you reach a certain level in an industry, who would you be afraid of offending? Worst case is that he gets another fake photo book made about him probably. Here’s the section of the interview we were the most interested in:

Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst — you discovered them both in their early days, but which one do you think is the greater artist?

They both have made so much extraordinary work that their position in the pantheon of greats is assured. That said, both of them have been rather off-form for a while and would have done better to show far less from what we will kindly refer to as their midcareer period. But you can be absolutely certain both artists will break through again with something remarkable and unexpected.