Above: Before I was asked to leave the PV, that was on/off. Photo by Chris Yates.
Above: By Ella Guru and Joe Machine's Blow Job.
Above: Chris Yates.
Above: Shelley Li, Mark D.
Above: Paul Harvey's Charles Saatchi.
By Charles Thomson.
This show was initiated by Kyla Bullows, an independent curator, who staged it at Artspace Gallery in Mayfair, London, and liaised with the Stuckists.
During the hanging, Vivian Choi, the gallery manager, ordered Paul Harvey's painting of Charles Saatchi to be removed from the window for reasons which are not entirely clear. This led to media coverage and a campaign on the show's Facebook page for it to be reinstated.
The Saatchi Gallery, responding to an email from Stuckist co-founder, Charles Thomson, said they had no problem with the display of the painting.
Artspace gallery then announced the show would be closed down after five days (a week early) - which created more media coverage. It was uncertain on the afternoon of the private view whether it would still go ahead. It did, with the painting of Saatchi reinstated, but some people were told it was cancelled and did not arrive. It was also pouring with rain.
By this point, the relationship had broken down between Bullows and Choi, who agreed to continue with the show, if Charles Thomson took over the responsibility for it, which, with Bullows' agreement, he did.
The show featured the first public exhibition of Ella Guru's six foot wide painting, The Last Supper, based on Leonardo da Vinci's and depicting many likenesses of Stuckist artists.
The show goes on: see Newcastle Journal (28.8.10) and Coxsoft (27.8.10).
For the back story see Dow Jones Financial News (26.8.10), Daily Mail (7th item) (26.8.10), Coxsoft (26.8.10), Spoonfed (25.8.10), Evening Standard (24.8.10) Philippa Adams, Senior Director, Saatchi Gallery, emailed us, "Charles Saatchi is presently away, but I can confirm he would not have any problem with Paul Harvey's painting being displayed."
See also Facebook page.
