Sarah Kent (born 1947) is a British art critic, formerly art editor of the weekly London "what's on" guide '' Time Out''. She was an early supporter of the

Young British Artists The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Golds ...

in general, and

Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...

in particular, helping Emin to get exposure. This has led to polarised reactions of praise and opposition for Kent. She adopts a feminist stance and has stated her position to be that of "a spokesperson, especially for women artists, in a country that is essentially hostile to contemporary art."Buck, Louisa (2000). ''Moving Targets 2: A User's Guide to British Art Now''. Tate Gallery Publishing.

Career

Kent studied painting at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

and worked as an artist until 1977. She then became Exhibitions Director at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

(ICA) for two years, and also started writing for ''Time Out''. At the ICA she staged exhibitions by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

, Allen Jones and

Christo Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks a ...

, as well as feminist artist

Alexis Hunter Alexis Jan Atthill Hunter (4 November 1948 – 24 February 2014) was a New Zealand painter and photographer, who used feminist theory in her work.Gifford, Adam"Feminist art buys a fight" ''The New Zealand Herald'', 4 April 2007. Retrieved 26 Febr ...

. Another show was of satirical art, ''Berlin a Critical View: Ugly Realism''. Her own work changed from painting to photography, primarily of male nudes. She became art editor of ''Time Out'', for which she wrote reviews. She is now a well-known figure in the arts in London, and has appeared on radio and TV shows. She also works in a freelance capacity as an editor and critic, and has provided essays, catalogues and books for the

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the ...

and

White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centra ...

gallery. She is the editor of ''Shark-Infested Waters: The Saatchi Collection of British Art in the 90s'' (Zwemmer, 1994). She was an early advocate for the

(YBAs), also known as Britart, and a strong supporter of

, helping to get her early exposure. Kent and

Matthew Collings Matthew Collings (born 1955) is a British art critic, writer, broadcaster, and artist. He is married to Emma Biggs, with whom he collaborates on art works. Education Born in London in 1955, Collings studied at Byam Shaw School of Art, and Golds ...

have been described as "the parents of the popularization process having audiences approaching half a million each" of "the explosion of art into mainstream culture in nineties London.""Media Guy" by Merlin Carpenter
Retrieved 28 March 2006 The connection with the YBAs has inevitably attracted criticism similar to that which is directed at the artists: :Many writers involved in the post-modern world deal in a flip and ironic way with both theory and criticism, for example, Jean Baudrillard or the London-based critic and reviewer, Sarah Kent, so that the line between serious theory and the entertainment industry are blurred. I would define the ironic as a refusal to state a sincere political or ethical stance, or if in stating a stance, to continually undermine this, or to change it as suits. It is the opposite of what used to be called 'engaged' or 'committed' or 'sincere'.
Retrieved 28 March 2006 Another criticism is that Kent's freelance working for institutions, such as White Cube and the Saatchi Gallery, whose shows she also reviews in ''Time Out'', is a conflict of interest. Advocating Britart, she is on the opposite side of the fence from the traditionally oriented critic,

Brian Sewell Brian Alfred Christopher Bushell Sewell (; 15 July 1931 – 19 September 2015) was an English art critic. He wrote for the ''Evening Standard'' and had an acerbic view of conceptual art and the Turner Prize. ''The Guardian'' described him as ...

. This had led to personal comments in the media. In 1995, when asked about a suitable Christmas present for him (he keeps dogs), she replied: :I'd like to give him a large tank of formaldehyde in which he can pickle his bitches Eight years later Sewell commented in one of his articles, referring to a heart operation: :I have made several wills, the first as a young soldier, all of them the precautionary wills of those who do not think of death as immediately relevant. Even on the night before my rib-cage was sawn open and my heart re-plumbed I was prepared to make a joke and bequeathed my eyes to Sarah Kent, the gushing art critic of ''Time Out'', who is not blind but cannot see. She is also mentioned in the lyrics to ''The Turner Prize Song Art or Arse? – You be the judge'', written and performed by

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...

, on a Stuckists CD: :Damien Hirst got his fish in a tank :some say it's art others think it's wank :Sarah Kent says he's doing quite well :you gotta make your art and you gotta sell The reactions to her mirror the divisions in contemporary art in Britain, and she is praised as a pioneer by

Louisa Buck Louisa Buck is a British art critic and contemporary art correspondent for ''The Art Newspaper''. She is also an author or co-author of books on contemporary art market. Early life and family background Louisa Buck is the only daughter of the l ...

: In 1992, she was a jurist on the Turner Prize panel chaired by Sir

Nicholas Serota Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota (born 27 April 1946) is a British art historian and curator. He has been chairman of Arts Council England since February 2017. Serota was director of the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, then director of the Whitechap ...

. The other members were Marie-Claude Beaud, Director, Foundation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, Robert Hopper, Director, Henry Moore Sculpture Trust, and Howard Karshan. The winner was

Grenville Davey Grenville Davey (28 April 1961 – 28 February 2022) was a British sculptor and winner of the 1992 Turner Prize. Davey was a visiting professor of the University of the Arts London and programme leader, MA Fine Art at the University of East ...

, and the other nominees

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

David Tremlett David Tremlett (born 13 February 1945 in St Austell, Cornwall) is an English/Swiss sculptor, installation artist and photographer. He lives and works in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England. He is married to Laure Genillard who runs an art space in Lo ...

and Alison Wilding."Turner Prize History", Tate website
Retrieved 28 March 2006 Since November 2010 she contributes regularly to the arts desk
Sarah Kent author page on the arts desk website

Judgements

*''On Gary Wragg (1983):'' :Gary Wragg’s huge terra cotta canvases stand out. Sketchy areas of black, white and grey create ambiguously transparent readings of space while chalk and paint lines suggest diagrammatic representations- perhaps of Tai Chi movementsSarah Kent, ‘’Time Out’’, 1983
Retrieved 2 April 2006 from garywragg.co.uk *''On

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged in 1988. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, sculpture, collage and found object ...

(1994):'' :an aesthetic terrorist, pillaging mainstream culture. In doing so she acts as a mirror, monitoring the sexism and misogyny routinely found there. *''On Simon Patterson (1996):'' :His work is like the physical embodiment of ruminative thought-conceptual art made concrete.Time Out, London, Lisson Gallery, London, April 3, 1996
Retrieved 28 March 2006 from bu.edu *''On Jim Shaw's "thrift store" show (2000):'' :Critics professing to be gobsmacked by these efforts can never have seen an amateur art show or walked along the railings of the Bayswater road. They should get out more."What the Critics Say – Jim Shaw at the ICA"
, newsletter 2, artrumour.com, 23 October 2000. Retrieved 28 March 2006

Literature

*Author: Sarah Kent. ''Hayward Annual Arts Council of Great Britain 1978''. *Author: Floris M Neusüs. ''Fotografie als Kunst, Kunst als Fotografie''. DuMont, 1979, Sarah Kent: Photography Social and Sensual. *Editor: Claus Honnef. ''Lichtbildnisse: das Porträt in der Fotografie''. Rheinland-Verlag, 1982, Sarah Kent: Photography Revelation of Transformation *Author: Sarah Kent. '' Jacqueline Morreau: Drawings and Graphics''. Scarecrow Press, 1986, *Author:

Gerry Badger Gerald David "Gerry" Badger (born 1946) is an English writer and curator of photography, and a photographer. In 2018, he received the J Dudley Johnston Award from the Royal Photographic Society. Life and career Badger was born in 1946 in North ...

John Benton-Harris John Benton-Harris (September 28, 1939 – August 26, 2023) was an American photographer and educator who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. Life and work John Benton-Harris was born in The Bronx, New York City on September 28, 1939. He work ...

. ''Through the Looking Glass''. Barbican, London, 1989, Sarah Kent: Taking Issue: Artists as Photographers *Author: Sarah Kent, Jacqueline Morreau. ''Women's Images of Men''. Pandora Press, 1990, *Author: Sarah Kent, Jean Fisher, John Roberts, Brandon Taylor. ''Lifelines/Lebenslinien''.

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Liverpool/BASF Ludwigshafen, 1990, *Author: Sarah Kent. '' James Cotier: Nudes in Budapest'', Aktok, 1992, *Author: Sarah Kent. ''Shark-Infested Waters: The Saatchi Collection of British Art in the 90s ''. Zwemmer, London, 1994 and Philip Wilson Publishers, London, 2003, *Author: Sarah Kent. ''Eyewitness Art: Composition''. DK ADULT, 1995, *Author: Sarah Kent, Stephan Balkenhol. '' Stephan Balkenhol: Sculptures 1988-1996 in the Saatchi Collection''. Saatchi Gallery, 1996, *Author: Sarah Kent, John McEwen. ''

Paula Rego Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego (: 26 January 1935 – 8 June 2022) was a Portuguese visual artist, widely considered the pre-eminent woman artist of the late 20th and early 21st century, known particularly for her paintings and prints based o ...

: The Dancing Ostriches from Disney's "Fantasia"''. Saatchi Gallery, 1996, *Author: Sarah Kent. ''

Fiona Rae Fiona Rae (born 10 October 1963) is a Hong Kong-born British artist. She is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who rose to prominence in the 1990s. Throughout her career, she has been known for having a portfolio of work that includes ele ...

Gary Hume Gary Stewart Hume (born 9 May 1962) is an English artist. Hume's work is strongly identified with the YBA who came to prominence in the early 1990s. Hume lives and works in London and Accord, New York.

''. Saatchi Gallery, 1997, *Author: Brian Robertson, Sarah Kent, Peter Schaffer. ''

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

: Sculpture''. Harpvale Books, 1985, / 094642506X / 0946425078 *Editor Frank Broughton. ''Time Out Interviews 1968-98''. Penguin Books, 1998, Sarah Kent interviews with

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( ; ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and Aesthetics, art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism and sociology. With Heinrich Böll, , Caroline Tisdall, Rober ...

Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

*Author: Sarah Kent, Richard Cork, Dick Price. ''Young British Art: The Saatchi Decade''. Boothe-Clibborn Editions, 1999, . *Author: Sarah Kent, Neal Brown. ''

''. Galgiani, Phillip, 1998, *Editor Hilary Robinson. ''Feminism-Art-Theory''. Blackwell, 2001, Sarah Kent:

Susan Hiller Susan Hiller (March 7, 1940–January 28, 2019) was a US-born, British conceptual artist who lived in London, United Kingdom. Her practice spanned a broad range of media, including installation, video, photography, painting, sculpture, per ...

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

into Art *Author: Sarah Kent. '' Darren Lago & Co: Objects of Desire''. The New Art Gallery, Walsall, 2001, *Author: Sarah Kent, Will Self, Cathy Courtney, Jo Self. ''Flowers: Jo Self''. Frances Lincoln, 2003, *Editor Joe Kerr, Andrew Gibson. ''London from Punk to Blair''. Reaktion Books, 2003, Sarah Kent: Groundswell *Author: Sarah Kent, David Batchelor. '' Pedro Cabrito Reis: Border Crossings''. Haunch of Venison, London/Zurich, 2005, *Author: Sarah Kent. ''

Uwe Wittwer Uwe Wittwer (born 1954) is a Swiss artist. He lives and works in Zürich, Switzerland. The media he uses include watercolor, oil painting, inkjet prints and video. Life and work Uwe Wittwer is an autodidact. Born 1954 in Zurich where he went ...

– Hail and Snow''. Haunch of Venison, Zurich / London, 2007, *Author: Sarah Kent. ''

Jessica Rankin Jessica Rankin (born 1971, Sydney) is an Australian artist who lives and works in New York. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions in the US, Europe and Australia, including White Cube, London (2007), MoMA PS1, New York (2006) and ...

: So Many Echoes of Echoes''. White Cube, 2007, / 978-1-906072-03-2 *Editor Jessica Cargill Thompson, Jonathan Derbyshire. ''London Calling''. Time Out Guides Ltd, 2008, Sarah Kent: the Merry Go Round *Author: Sarah Kent (Introduction). ''Demons, Yarns and Tales: Tapestries by Contemporary Artists''. Damiani, 2009,

References

External links

''Time Out'' London, art pageSarah Kent author page on The Arts Desk website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Sarah 1947 births Living people British art critics British journalists British women art critics British women journalists

Career

Judgements

Literature

See also

References

External links