MY NAME IS CHARLES SAATCHI AND I AM AN ARTOHOLIC

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ART, ADS, LIFE, GOD AND OTHER MYSTERIES -  
AND WEREN'T AFRAID TO ASK

September 2009, £5.95

Phaidon Press is delighted to announce MY NAME IS CHARLES SAATCHI AND I AM AN ARTOHOLIC to be published in September 2009 (£5.95). Though Saatchi - famously - refuses to be interviewed, in this new book you will be able to read his brutally frank responses to a battery of questions put to him by leading journalists and critics, as well as members of the public.

New light will be shone on the life and mind of one of the moving forces of the modern age. Often provocative and surprising, most of the questions and their answers will be published for the first time. Leading international advertisers, artists, dealers, media, galleries, directors and politicians as well as musicians, film makers and coffee are all discussed; everything you need to know about art, ads, life, god and other mysteries - and weren't afraid to ask. Questions include:

What is the most honest thing you can say about yourself?
How do you rate political advertising today?
Do you think you have messed up anyone's life by flogging off all of their work?

Whether related to the art world, his career in advertising or his personal life, Saatchi's unflinching responses have enabled Phaidon to create an extraordinary first-hand account of the founder of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and one of the most influential art collectors of our time. 

For further press information, please contact Jenny Lea, Head of Publicity, Phaidon Press 
Email: jlea@phaidon.com
Tel: 020 7843 1205

Notes to Editors

Author Biography

Charles Saatchi founded the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency in 1970, which grew to become the largest agency in the world. At the same time, Saatchi started collecting art and later opened his first gallery, a 30,000 square foot ex-paint factory in Boundary Road, London.

In the 1980s and 90s, Saatchi discovered many artists who went on to become international stars, selling works for millions. These include for example, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Chapman Brothers, Sarah Lucas and Marc Quinn. 

Introducing Britain to many of the world's most exciting artists, Saatchi also gave first shows in the UK to Philip Guston, Cy Twombly, Brice Marden, Sigmar Polke, Bruce Nauman, Anselm Kiefer, Richard Serra, Andreas Gursky, Robert Gober, Richard Prince, John Currin and Elizabeth Peyton. 

His exhibitions have always focused on contemporary artists and Saatchi's Sensation exhibition of Young British Artists in 1997 at the Royal Academy, London and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York sparked an explosion of controversy about new British art.

The new 70,000 square foot Saatchi Gallery the Duke of York's headquarters, Kings Road is one of the largest showcases for contemporary art in the world.

If you have questions on any subject you would like Charles Saatchi to answer,
send them to pkapublishing@googlemail.com