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Tate boss is art's power player
By Tom Teodorczuk, Evening Standard 13.10.06
Nicholas Serota: art power
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Tate director Nicholas Serota has been named the most powerful Briton in the art world.
He rose to third in Art Review magazine's annual Power 100 list, a measure of who's who on the modern art scene.
Damien Hirst, who topped the list a year ago, has fallen to number 11 after having a quiet year by his standards.
Millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi has climbed 12 places to seven.
The list is topped by French retail tycoon Francois Pinault, owner of Christie's auction house, whileAmerican art dealer Larry "Go-Go" Gagosian, who has spaces in King's Cross and close to Bond Street, is in second place.
Sir Nicholas, 60, is one of 25 Britons listed. The accolade follows a busy year for the man who has been Tate director since 1988 and says he has no plans to step down in the near future.
Tate Modern has had a major rehang, initiated a four-day summer arts festival and announced a giant, pyramid-shaped, £215 million extension in time for the 2012 Olympics.
However, the Tate was severely reprimanded by the Charity Commission in July for breaking the law by buying art by serving trustees.
Tate Modern architects Herzog & de Meuron are at 56 on the list while artists Carsten Holler (68), Gilbert and George (52) and Pierre Huyghe (48) have had, or are about to have, shows at the Bankside gallery.
Art Review's editor John Weich said: "Tate Modern is probably the most innovative contemporary art gallery in the world as well as being the most popular. Tate is also expanding its web presence impressively and the past 12 months have shown it's not afraid to take risks."
Of Saatchi, whose USA Today show at the Royal Academy has proved characteristically contentious, Weich said: "Saatchi is the collector's collector. No other collector is so devoted and hands-on, year in, year out." Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, who are behind the Frieze Art Fair being held in Regent's Park, have risen 25 places in a year to eighth place, while White Cube owner Jay Jopling is 19th.
Other Britons listed include artists Tracey Emin (51) and Anish Kapoor (94) and dealers Victoria Miro (26) and Sadie Coles (35). Whitechapel Art Gallery director Iwona Blazwick is at 43 and Hayward Gallery's new American curator Ralph Rugoff is at 63.
Zaha Hadid, Chris Ofili and Rachel Whiteread all drop out. Forty Americans are in the top 100 as are UBS (49), Deutsche Bank (50) and Google (100), reflecting the importance of big business in modern art.
• The Art Review Power 100 appears in the November issue of the magazine, out on Thursday. The Power 100 can also be downloaded in digital format from its website www.artreviewdigital.com
World rankings (last year's position in brackets)
Sir Nicholas Serota, Tate director 3 (4)
Charles Saatchi, collector 7 (19)
Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, Frieze Art Fair founders 8 (33)
Damien Hirst, artist 11 (1)
Jay Jopling, White Cube owner 19 (31)
Victoria Miro, gallery owner 26 (50)
Sadie Coles, dealer and owner of Sadie Coles HQ 35 (48)
Nicholas Logsdail, owner of the Lisson Gallery 41 (re-entry)
Iwona Blazwick, director of the Whitechapel Gallery 43 (67)
Tracey Emin, artist 51 (re-entry)
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