Saatchi Collection

The Art Gallery of South Australia is exhibiting selected works from the collection of London advertising executive Charles Saatchi. Critic Christopher Allen says much of the work, such as this portrait of pop star Cher, is “simultaneously pseudo-critical and [has an] utterly indulgent attitude to mass culture”.

Pink Cher (2009), by Scott King; paint on canvas.

One of the most infamous pieces in the exhibition is My Bed (1998), by Tracey Emin, which consists of “mattress, linens, pillows, objects”.

Saatchi’s collection is “mostly junk”, Allen says, because it “has to differentiate itself from the slick consumer products he spends the rest of his time promoting”.

Christian Dior – J’adore (2009), by Steve Bishop; taxidermied goat, concrete, chalk.

Christopher Allen says admen such as Saatchi are protagonists of the so-called “creative class”, which he adds is a “self-serving fallacy”.

Cell (2004), by Anne Hardy; diasec mounted c-type print.

This creative class “blurs the distinction between those who are concerned with truth or beauty and those who are busy producing brainless but seductive distractions for the masses”.

It Happened in the Corner (2007), by Littlewhitehead; plaster, wax, foam, hair, clothes.

Matchboxes And Necklaces (2008), by Carla Busuttil; oil on canvas.

The Lizard (2004), by Spartacus Chetwynd; fabric, latex, cardboard, paint, plastic and hessian.

Sentient Orbs (2009), by Littlewhitehead; shoes, chinos, sweater, balloons, wire, stuffing.

Madame Blavatsky (2007), by Goshka Macuga; carved wood, fibreglass, clothes, chairs.

The Masterpiece Part 4 – A Weekend In The Country detail (2005), by Olivia Plender; drawings on paper.

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory (2008), by Barry Reigate; neon stick strip light, jesmonite, ply & gloss paint.

Jungle Scene With Plane Wreck (2007), by Jonathan Wateridge; oil on canvas.

Giovanni (2009), by Maurizio Anzeri; photographic print with embroidery.