Painting Is Dead, Long Live Painting? (Don’t You Believe It)

This is the year collector Charles Saatchi was supposed to be renewing the cause of painting. “In 2005, the celebrated Iraqi/British collector would be reviving the cause of painting. He would be bringing a new batch of painters to the world’s attention with a series of exhibitions called The Triumph of Painting. Part One opens tomorrow. Its title makes a clear bid for legend. It sounds like a chapter in a history book already. So, to start with, let’s put the record straight. All the above story is untrue. Whenever you hear about a revival of painting you should be suspicious.”