Episode 510 - Jerry Saltz

Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz joins the show to celebrate his new collection, ART IS LIFE: Icons and Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night (Riverhead Books). We get into the ways his book chronicles tumultuous transformations in the art world in the 21st century, his late start (almost 40) as an art critic and how his lack of art history training affects his writing, the works of art that inspired his writing, and the transcendent joy of Jeff Koons' 43-foot-tall topiary puppy. We also talk about how a critic can try to avoid the sclerosis they're all liable to suffer, why he's the least reliable critic of Matthew Barney, why he thinks some critics are holding back on negative reviews, what it's like to attend 25-30 gallery shows a week (with his wife, the great NYT art critic Roberta Smith) and what it meant when pandemic lockdown hit. And we discuss his 35-year friendship with the late Peter Schjeldahl, his attempt at getting up to speed on classic books, his disdain for cynics and 'knowers', the artists he missed the boat on, and how art saved his life. Follow Jerry on Twitter and Instagram • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal