Jerry Saltz

Jerry Saltz - art critic

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! Totally approachable! I briefly met him at SVA's open studios. I can tell he really cares about his students

Anonymous said...

i LOVE him. he's not exactly approachable in person but you can easily reach him via email.

kalm james said...

Jerry Saltz is a multi talented guy who we’re just lucky enough to have writing about our little art scene. He’s funny, urbane, hip and knowledgeable. Between he and Roberta, they’ve probably perused ten thousand miles of gallery walls, trekked seven continents, and written millions of words about what’s out there.

And to think, he gave up being a long haul truck driver, or a stand-up comedian for this.

Anonymous said...

He was always open to chat when he came to our gallery. (He did write an article in ArtReview about how he hated being collared by gallerists, though.)

Nice guy, friendly to young artists and very intelligent. Tends to fall for sexy girls' art, though.

Anonymous said...

I am very upset that Jerry is always bashing Marlene Dumas. He actually said in his column that her work was not worth what people paid for it at Auction. I have never heard him question the monetary value of a male artist's work at auction. No one can stand it when women start to make real money.

Anonymous said...

marlene dumas is generally viewed as being over-priced, Mr. Saltz is not picking on her because of her gender. Dumas' work is one of many who exist in the bubble that is bursting as we speak. Don't blame Mr. Saltz for having an opinion.....it's his job.

Colin's Ghost said...

Did Jerry REALLY say that Dealer's are the most interesting people in the artworld?

It was on Artforum.diary.

See, it's just like Linda Y., Jerry's great, as is Linda, but come on!

Sure SOME dealers, but just like SOME artists and SOME critics.

Marian Goodman is fascinating, and great, but she is not, and would be the FIRST to admit, that she is not Gerhard Richter.

But then Richter doesn't have a duplex in the El Dorado, and invite Jerry and Roberta over for dinner.

Jerry is loved by artists. But watch out, every critic is a hair's breath away from total obscurity.

It is, after all, only air guitar.

Colin's Ghost said...

I liked Dumas better AFTER the Deborah Solomon piece in the Times.

And Storr is a fan?!?

One of the few.

Anonymous said...

Jerry is an upstanding guy that is totally dedicated to the art itself, as opposed to the art world - even if some of his features point differently.

He and Roberta are entirely immune to the "free lunch" school of journalism, and he is completely approachable. I've seen him come up to an unrepresented art handler whom he met in the past, and inquire (with genuine interest) how his art was coming along. Not only that, but he remembered what his work entailed! I can't even do that with some of my friends!

Anonymous said...

True, Jerry hates Dumas's work, but in general is a HUGE supporter of the work of women. He's the one who's always taking count, looking at percentages, giving MoMA (especially MoMA but all the museums) grief for not showing more women artists.

Anonymous said...

I've found Jerry to be total 'high-school' and not much more. When I introduced myself I did not ask for his advice about my work, but he immediately launched into it -- very presumputuous! He's got a seriously overblown sense of his importance. I don't think his writing is very astute either. He is cliquish in the worst way never having gotten over his high school reject days, still hanging around the fringes of the 'cool' group.

Anonymous said...

Jerry is an incredibly dedicated, hard-working critic. He sees a huge amount of artwork and lectures across the glove -- I don't know how he fits it all in. I don't always agree with his opinions, but his enthusiasm is contagious and he is not afraid to write negative reviews.

I met him while I was in grad school, and several years later when I moved to New York he still remembered me. He is friendly and approachable.

Your site should note that Jerry is married to Roberta Smith.

Anonymous said...

ever notice that he seems to focus only on 24th street?And just a few spaces there too? Sure he comes around, his writing is clear and on point, but i don't get the feeling of practice what you 'preach from him. Oh and BTW Marlene Dumbass is a weak Clemente with no sense of composition- and can we put the object anywhere else than the CENTER???? and is it always need to be a suffering victim of some atrocity? Jerry is right on that call.
Any one out there notice he is much more tame since the switch?

Anonymous said...

will rogers of the artworld

Anonymous said...

It should be noted that Jerry has facilitated a very interesting and engaged forum on his Facebook wall. He has created a space open to hundreds of people actively and heatedly discussing various artworld issues that often serve as valuable addendums to his column. Likewise, discussion on the forum has crossed over into his print column. He is even using it as a positive bully pulpit to petition for change at the MoMA for their under-representation of women artists.

The discussions get heated and he will spank you. But his embrace of social networking technology to connect people and foster debate (and yes, call attention to his columns and opinions) is pretty remarkable.

I say this as someone who not only likes his writing but as a former Facebook connection who got bounced off his page! The discussions tend towards support of people who are all agreeing with each other and there is some ganging up on dissenting opinions. But if you get booted you will at least get a nice personal message from him announcing the fact--such a gentleman.

Can't wait to see how far this gets pushed; could serve as a model for other critics who complain about the relevancy of criticism: pay attention to what's going on here!

Anonymous said...

its a Jerry love fest....
and I want in .......I love his writing.....
very real, natural...or whatever the hell....
and yeah I got to meet him too! he just started talking and joking to me as I struggled for one of the last beers.......... Roberta seemed tense though...(all these damn people everywhere!)...but i lover her as well....so i steered clear.

Anonymous said...

I am not happy with his sentimentality. He is too high up in the rear end of Jeff Koons and Koons' curators/collectors to be believably sentimental. I also think he was extremely sentimental over the current Guggenheim performance (some artist from Berlin and his host of poor Americans trying to do the work for him.)

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, but his Facebook page can be so fucking ridiculous. Some of his posts are just incredibly douchey! His pandering to feminists and calls for more equality for women artists again and again is so transparent and lame. Not to mention he said Bring Your Own Art at X Initiative was a great opportunity for artists. Give me a break. Check out his latest and possibly lamest post:

"I’m almost at the 5000 FB friend limit. I’ve got 3000 ‘friend requests.’ Time for a culling. A big one. Sometimes, given SOME men’s behavior here I think I should ONLY delete guys. I’d love to hear FROM WOMEN ONLY: What do MEN NEED TO UNDERSTAND TO NOT GET INTO THESE DEPRESSING EGO/PISSING-MATCHES? Women only!! Teach...... us. Listen up guys (me included)! Speak women… (Not ONE answer from a man! Or you’re cut!)"

Anonymous said...

you're overlooking the current New York Observer piece

http://www.observer.com/2010/media/many-friends-jerry-saltz

sure to swell the little guy's ego even more. . . .

Anonymous said...

It would be easier to take his feminism more seriously if he didn't confine it to his Facebook page and wrote more reviews of female artists in his real column. His Facebook page seems like some sort of ghetto where he tosses out a few crumbs to the ladies. It's not the sentiment itself but the patronizing way he acts on it that is so irritating.

Anonymous said...

Last show review of a living female artist:
January of 2009 Pipilotti Rist
The only other show review of a female artist in the last year was Georgia O'Keefe who is dead unless you count a negative mention of Lisa Yuskavage "instantly dated" in an article about several different artists and the art market.
Barefoot and Facebook.

Anonymous said...

Jerry Saltz is the villain from "The Fountainhead". Say what you will about Ayn Rand, but she has some of the best descriptions of critics in that book. Jerry pretends to be everyone's magnanimous friend but he's a shark with an agenda. He's one of the most disingenuous people I've ever met.

In his facebookery he is an absolutely condescending douchebag who is constantly jonesing on his own own ego. His narcissism is unparalleled and all he wants is a horde of sycophantic minions to jump on cue. Get a blog, Jerry, and stop spamming facebook.

Anonymous said...

His latest review of the Skin Fruit show had some terrible lines: "Wow, these two guys are really sick puppies. They’ve got sex, shit, birth, and death on the brain."

Is this a review for Fox News or the NY Post?

Yun Bai said...

I don't know him well but he was very friendly and approachable when I saw him speak at UCLA a few years ago.

Was really nice and gave me his card when he was still writing for The Village Voice, and even replied with some constructive criticism after he checked out my work.

And when I do bump into him in NY, he's always friendly. :)

Anonymous said...

He attempted to define the term "Skin Flute" in his review for the show Skin Fruit and totally got it wrong. I don't think that he understands that the primary action used in playing the flute is blowing. It made him sound like an out-of-touch-old-guy trying to sound cool or risque'. Like having your grandfather ask you if you got to third base with your girlfriend.

Anonymous said...

Jerry is a great guy and I love his writing and commentary even if I don't agree with him. Still, during a recent Facebook editing of friends to make room for new "friends," many people asked not to be unfriended. He demanded that they immediately name 5 contemporary artists to prove their Jerry-worthiness. I found that appalling and hope that the popularity of his Facebook page hasn't made him into a monster diva.

Anonymous said...

Such a clown....and a real bully on facebook. He brings his wife's credibility down a notch through sheer proximity.