Saatchi's 'Triumph of Painting' Criticized for Historical Incoherence

Charles Saatchi's exhibition 'The Triumph of Painting' at the Saatchi Gallery in London (July 5 – October 30, 2005) is criticized by Philippe Dagen in Artpress for lacking historical and analytical rigor. The show, part of a three-exhibition cycle in 2005, is seen as a promotional and speculative venture rather than a serious survey. The first episode includes six artists: Hermann Nitsch (b. 1936), Peter Doig (b. 1959), Jörg Immendorff, Martin Kippenberger, Marlene Dumas, and Luc Tuymans. Dagen argues that Nitsch and Doig are not central to the return to painting, while Immendorff and Kippenberger are major figures. The exhibition fails to consider generations (e.g., those born around 1945 vs. a decade later) or national contexts, notably ignoring the decisive role of German painting since the early 1980s. The second episode features thirteen artists, mostly younger Germans like Albert Oehlen, Franz Ackermann, Thomas Scheibitz, Jonathan Meese, and Daniel Richter, represented by recent works (post-2000), suggesting Saatchi discovered them a decade late. It also includes Dana Schutz, Wilhelm Sasnal, Cecily Brown, and Dexter Dalwood, whose inclusion lacks aesthetic logic. No French, Italian, Spanish, Scandinavian, or African painters are included. The third episode (Nov 4, 2005 – Feb 5, 2006) lists Matthias Weischer, Eberhard Havekost, Dexter Dalwood, Dana Schutz, Michael Raedecker, and Inka Essenhigh.