It’s time once again to look at a particular metric of art-world success — Art Review‘s Power 100, which gets published annually to tell us just how many people place above us in the supposed pecking order. There still aren’t any bloggers on the list (though, to be fair, writers and editors aren’t allowed), but there are a handful of interesting facts from the 2012 list, which was posted this morning.

1. LA MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch doesn’t even place this year — ouch. Maybe it’s all the James Franco? He has slid from #12 in 2010 to #48 in 2011, and now off the list entirely.

2. Documenta curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev comes in #1 for her provocative, object-oriented exhibition. The last time a curator was #1 was in 2009, when Hans Ulrich Obrist won the prize. This year, he sneaks in at #10.

3. The embattled Russian art-punk band Pussy Riot comes in at #57 — right above Jeff Koons at #58. What kind of world are we living in!?

4. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, South African curator RoseLee Goldberg, and Qatari collector Sheikha Al-Mayassa are the only three non-European or Americans in the top 25.

5. Curator Massimiliano Gioni is up a staggering 61 places from #80 last year to #19 in 2012, thanks in large part to his recent work at the New Museum including the excellent Ghosts in the Machine.

6. Eli and Edythe Broad seem to be in a slow slide from grace — following their Los Angeles MOCA antics, they’ve fallen to #26 in 2012, from #17 in 2011, #8 in 2010, and #7 in 2009.

7. Three artists, Ai Weiwei, Gerhard Richter, and Cindy Sherman, are in the top 25, as opposed to 5 last year, with the addition of Mike Kelley and Marina Abramović.

8. Pro-Occupy (though judging by what he said at the 2012 Creative Time Summit we’re not sure) philosopher Slavoj Zizek comes in at a respectable #65.

9. The publishing artist collective e-flux is down to #12 from #5, but they receive heaps of praise for applying to own the .art web suffix. They’re a “hugely entrepreneurial collective,” which could loosely be translated as “making a lot of money online.”

10. Damien Hirst hasn’t been in the top 10 since he placed #1 in 2008. This year, he nets #41. 🙁

Stay tuned for Hyperallergic’s annual Powerless 20.

Kyle Chayka was senior editor at Hyperallergic. He is a cultural critic based in Brooklyn and has contributed to publications including ARTINFO, ARTnews, Modern Painters, LA Weekly, Kill Screen, Creators...

2 replies on “10 Surprising Facts from Art Review’s 2012 Power 100”

  2. Gioni jumped this high because he’s curating the next Venice biennal, not because he’s done good show at the New Museum.

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