The 50 Least Powerful

LONDON—With all the talk about power in the art world, it was inevitable that someone would get around to poking fun at the concept. The Rebel magazine in London is taking a shot with its list of the “50 Least Important” art world figures, a heavily British roster that includes the Hayward Gallery (no. 29), artist Gavin Turk (no. 48) and Royal Academy head Norman Rosenthal (no. 32). “It’s a satirical idea of the power list and completely arbitrary,” says a Rebel editor, Jasper Joffe, of Sartorial gallery in London, which publishes the quarterly. “It questions what importance means.” Even so, the burning question remains: Who occupies the Rebel’s top—or is it bottom—spot? The answer is J. J. Charlesworth, an editor at Art Review. The bemused critic responded to the news with undiminished wit: “I’m very happy to share the list with such complete unknowns as Liam Gillick and Darren Almond. I’m glad that I’m apparently more less important than they are. And what is this Rebel magazine anyway? I’ve never heard of it.”

"The 50 Least Powerful" originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's February 2008 Table of Contents.