A racy account of the London contemporary art scene: a snapshot of the new Bohemia of the 90s, interwoven with episodes from the author's own life in London. Blimey! is an incredibly readable book about the London art world. You can start wherever you like, it's good all the way through! It's a journey from the anguished screaming canvases of Francis Bacon to the witty ironic sliced farmyard animals of Damien Hirst. Its specially-commissioned photos by documentary filmmaker Ian MacMillan bring you face to face with London's artists, dealers and critics. Its entertaining and accessible text gently guides you through art's Yellow Pages.
'So which artist used to paint naked at his easel with pins stuck through his penis? Is it possible to walk out from a warehouse art-show and plunge to your death? Matthew's wired and rushy art history, alternately irritating and insightful, gives late 20th century Britart what it needs -a confusing, loony relevance.'
David Bowie
'Hilarious and horrible, intelligent and frightening, Blimey! is the book the art world deserves.'
Adrian Searle, The Guardian
'In its laconic way, this has the moral weight of great criticism'.
David Sylvester, The Independent on Sunday
'So which artist used to paint naked at his easel with pins stuck through his penis? Is it possible to walk out from a warehouse art-show and plunge to your death? Matthew's wired and rushy art history, alternately irritating and insightful, gives late 20th century Britart what it needs -a confusing, loony relevance.'
David Bowie
'Hilarious and horrible, intelligent and frightening, Blimey! is the book the art world deserves.'
Adrian Searle, The Guardian
'In its laconic way, this has the moral weight of great criticism'.
David Sylvester, The Independent on Sunday