The art community scoffs at Sotheby’s names Curator Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson doesn’t seem to be any more credible as a curator than he is as a vampire.

 

The “Twilight” star is the most recent celebrity to curate an exhibition for the auctioneer as part of the “Contemporary Curated” programme, according to Sotheby’s.

 

And it’s gone down like a bachelor party attended by Marina Abramovic.

Art industry professionals from all over the country flooded Artnet’s Instagram account with critical comments after the insider art website announced that Pattinson, or “Art Patz” as we now like to refer to him, had been hired by the auction house. One such comment read, “That’s gotta make actual curators feel valued.”

 

One wag even referenced the infamous “locker room comments” of former President Donald Trump. “They let you do anything when you’re a star. Anything is possible for you, they wrote.

 

One more responded, “Hmm… how about asking art teachers? or professional artists?

According to a Page Six report, it’s unlikely that even Sotheby’s will purchase its own act.

 

“[Pattinson] might have selected a few [pieces], but that’s about it. No significant auction house will trust a non-art professional to organise an auction, they claimed.

 

“They’ve already done this. They compared it to bold-faced names sitting on “a host committee for an event — they don’t really accomplish anything,” saying, “It basically means they put a celebrity name on something that a specialist there puts together!”

 

According to Artnet, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Aoki, and Margherita Missoni have all collaborated on shows using the programme in the past.

 

The week-long exhibition of the “Batman” actor is on display at Sotheby’s New York from September 23 to September 29. On the 30th, there will be a live auction. Pattinson selected six pieces, which included creations by Lynette Yadom-Boakye, Richard Serra, and Willem de Kooning.

 

In a news announcement, Pattinson remarked, “Curating this series of paintings has been a truly thrilling process and an honour for me.”

 

Acting has taught me that all art forms are interconnected, and that made organising the sale an interesting and enjoyable experience for me, he continued.

 

What he remarked about his curatorial approach was that “I seek for when a piece has its own language.”

 

It has a presence that hums with a little life, and it doesn’t necessarily feel like it just exists for its own sake, he continued. It is capable of having a primal-level conversation with you.

 

A representative from Sotheby’s responded to our inquiry regarding the lack of enthusiasm by saying, “Encouraging new viewpoints by working with guest curators is nothing new, and we look forward to welcoming you to our show, which opens this weekend at 1334 York avenue.”

 

The auction company picked Pattinson, in part, because he is an enthusiastic art collector rather than an experienced curator, according to a source familiar with the show.

 

“The entire series is intended to be curated by an outsider… The specialist consults with the cultural icon to learn about their favourite pieces of art before going out to get them for sale, they claimed.

 

In fact, the whole point, they said, “is that they’re non-art world people or cultural figures, [Sotheby’s staff] think are interesting and are collectors.”

 

They continued, “They’re not pretending.

Despite the snarky comments from the art community, we did notice that Katie Holmes was one of nearly 10,000 people who actually liked the post.