Former BBC presenter Andrew Marr slams contemporary art world for being corrupted, pretentious and offensive as he claims there is a culture of greed within the industry
Since suffering a stroke a decade ago, former BBC presenter Andrew Marr has relied on painting as a lifeline during his rehabilitation.
Since suffering a stroke a decade ago, former BBC presenter Andrew Marr has relied on painting as a lifeline during his rehabilitation.
But the LBC broadcaster has now criticised the contemporary art world, branding it as corrupted, pretentious and offensive.
The 65-year-old journalist, who was made a trustee of the National Gallery this year, claims a culture of greed within the industry has ruined it for art lovers.
Marr, who presented his eponymous TV show on the BBC for 16 years until 2021, said that Frieze London, one of the worlds biggest contemporary art fairs, had turned people off art. This years edition of the fair opened last week.
Speaking at a private exhibition of his friend, landscape painter Adrian Hemming, in Primrose Hill last week, he said: The Frieze carbuncle is going on at the moment. Lots of absurd, ridiculous, badly dressed people air-kiss and prance around and convince themselves they are incredibly sophisticated.
Andrew Marr claims a culture of greed in the contemporary art industry has ruined it for art lovers
He was speaking at a private exhibition of his friend, landscape painter Adrian Hemming, in Primrose Hilll
If anybody sells anything to anyone at Frieze, its going to end up in a Swiss warehouse surrounded by barbed wire. The world of art is wonderful, but it has been corrupted by far too much money, greed and offensive language designed to keep normal people away.
Each year, up to 60,000 people visit Regents Park to attend Frieze London and its counterpart Frieze Masters, which features work spanning thousands of years. They were developed by the founders of art magazine Frieze, and the art can fetch millions of pounds.
Marr added: A good picture is another piece of human communication, like a novel. Its put out into the world to touch people emotionally. Its not there as a storeroom [object of] value where someone has to worry about capital gains tax.
Pick up almost any catalogue from a lot of big shows and youll find a form of writing that is so obscure and so pretentious.
Its "Youre part of this tiny, little, hermetic art world" and if youre not one of us youre not wanted. Theres too much interest in whats going to appreciate in value, and not enough interest in the artist.
After Marr used painting to help him recover from his stroke in 2013, he and Hemming exhibited in Bermondsey, London, in 2017 under the title The Hemming & Marr Show.
