Review: Azam

Nasser AZAM County Hall, London

Corporate art:  Is there a place for this sort of nonsense after the crunch?

Azam is not a bad painter ... His work is like Francis Bacon meets Matta with some of the second generation colour-field painters thrown in for good measure.
Where exactly is he coming from? Why is he here? And why does he think he can command the sort of 5/6 figure sums he is asking for his work. Azam has come from no-where. He has no actual training or connection with the art world as we know it, nor does he possess any historical context. He has arrived on the Southbank with  avengeance renting three rooms in county hall and appointing himself as 'artist in residence'. He must have a serious backer.... There are a number of catalogues devoted to him, a Monograph on his work (void of background information) and most importantly a record price achieved in New York at Phillips de Pury to the tune of....$350 000. Where did this come from? and where is it going? Nowhere!!! Can you sustain an artist on one auction record? These are all questions that need to be addressed. This guy was a banker before returning to his first love painting! I think this says it all...Ok I know Jeff Koons came from a stockbroker background but at least he was a man of his time breaking new ground and occasionally surprising us with some interesting pieces of ...Art???.. Nasser seems a lovely guy but I left the exhibition empty and suspicious. Is this relevant in the new century??? Only time will tell. Actually I wont hold my breath…The ArtBitch