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A frequently mediocre artist, Hirst seems like a thoroughly agreeable person. About 10 years ago, he curated shows that helped put many of the artists included here on the map. Still, getting rid of a few of Hirst's less successful pieces, such as the static and literalist "No Feelings" -- merely a cabinet full of pharmaceutical bottles -- would have opened more space for some of the better artists. Among the innovators, Sam Taylor-Wood is represented by only one, albeit really big, photograph (she had several pieces in the London version of the show). Almost 4 yards long, Taylor-Wood's "Wrecked" depicts a ravishing last supper of present-day partiers, with a bare-chested woman standing in for Jesus. Interestingly, one of the most compelling and original artists in the show is an abstract painter, who's also one of the show's youngest contributors. Jason Martin, born in 1970, executes his oil-on-aluminum abstractions with a single "brush" stroke. The resulting monochrome paintings combine deep textures with beguiling wave-like optical effects.

For those, like Giuliani, who got hold of a catalog before "Sensation" opened on Saturday, attending the show in person will bring its share of surprises. Representations of Gary Hume's neo-pop paintings look far better than the enormous, overly glossy originals. On the other hand, Jenny Saville's equally large nude-scapes -- landscape-like figurative paintings of fleshy females -- appear in the catalog as rip-offs of Lucien Freud's recent nudes. An injustice, really, because you have to experience first-hand Saville's magnificent paint-handling, her muted tones and spectator-dwarfing scale to appreciate that there is more than mimicry in these canvases. Indeed, Saville gives the extenders a good name.

Rachel Whiteread's chunky sculptures of negative space certainly require in-person viewing. "Ghost" gives form and weight to the space inside a bedroom. "Untitled (One-Hundred Spaces)" fills in the area underneath a hundred chairs with sweet-smelling (ah, the sensations) resin in a variety of colors.

I was also delighted by the wit in Sarah Lucas' conceptual sculptures. Instead of the staid installations of ready-mades that dominate American conceptualism, Lucas turns objects into metaphors. "Au Naturel," her portrait of a man and woman, uses only fruit, a vegetable and a bucket propped on an old mattress to evoke her couple reclining in bed. Definitely check out "Two Fried Eggs and a Kebab" too, though the explanation would be too offensive to publish here.

The best things the young Brits bring to America are wit and humor. You'll find them in Lucas' works, in Hirst's wry titles, in Richard Billingham's quietly disturbing photographs, and certainly in Chris Ofili's excellent paintings. You will not find much lightness or humor in the mayor, who clings to his ignorance like a drowning man to a broomstick.
salon.com | Oct. 2, 1999

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