Moco Museum London – A Very Impressive Art Collection

Last week, Ellie & I were invited by Moco to check out their new London venue. The museum opened next to London’s Marble Arch in August. As some of you might have guessed, the name of the museum is a portmanteau of Modern and Contemporary (Art).

(2) Jeff Koons: Balloon Venus Dolni Vestonice (Violet); (3) Dolphin Taz Trashcan

FIRST VENUE OPENED IN AMSTERDAM EIGHT YEARS AGO

It opened its first exhibition space in Amsterdam in 2016. The founders and owners, Kim & Lionel Logchies-Prins, had been longstanding local art dealers, who had exhibited the art in traditional, free-admission art galleries, for the main purpose of selling the artwork to big-pocketed customers. In October 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, the second venue was opened in Barcelona.

(1) Koons: Monkeys (Ladder); (2) Jean-Michel Basquiat: Untitled (Bicyclist); (3) Koons:

Untitled (Donkey)

THE MUSEUM IS AIMED AT THE INSTAGRAMMER GENERATION

From the beginning, reviewers either hated or loved Moco’s set-up. In essence, the museum is aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds with little or no proper knowledge of modern art, the instagrammer generation. Moco features some of the least known works of art of some of the most well-known, commercially successful artists of the last 60 years or so. Roughly 1965 and thereafter. With a focus on the last 30 years.

(1) Basquiat: Because it Hurts the Lungs; (2) Thermopolae; (3) To Repel Ghosts;

(4) Andy Warhol: Self-Portrait (Camouflage)

EVERYTHING IS OPTIMISED FOR THE GRAM

Everything is optimised for the target group: Instagram-friendly lighting, Tiktok-friendly art, enough space to pose in front of the artwork for pictures, some light shopping mall music background. The wall texts are held very simple and tacky, entirely free of insightful comment but with some catchy one-liner quotes. One commentator compared the three-storey space next to Marble Arch with a hedge fund manager’s penthouse: a random, un-curated collection of very expensive art of the biggest names around.

(1) Andy Warhol: Diamond Dust Shoes; (2) Queen Elizabeth II; (3) Pablo Picasso: The
Painter

A LOT OF SPACE (WHICH IS A GOOD THING)

The venue was almost empty, when we visited on a Thursday afternoon, off-season. We are guessing that apart from the timing of our visit, the half-empty rooms might also have had to do with the fact that there are so many free art venues in London, including state-owned museums as well as dozens of world-class private art galleries. I’ve always had (very little knowledge of, but) a keen interest in, and yes, a lot of love for modern and contemporary art, but at the same time, serious doubts about its artistic value.

Daniel Arsham: Blue Calcite Eroded Porsche 911-S

DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH MEANING IN MODERN ART

Some contemporary artists, such as Jeff Koons, openly declared that there is no underlying meaning involved in their art. Many of the remaining few, have banged on about underlying meanings that I do not really care much about, like Andy Warhol or Keith Haring. Then there are a handful of others, like Banksy, whom I truly adored in his early days, before he became a billionaire businessman who has lost all his edge and energy, his willingness to accept personal risks (such as incarceration for illegal graffiti or public dismay about his initially very left-wing political views), and his relevance.

(1) Damien Hirst: Ethylenechlorohydrin 1,2-C; (3) Lost Memories in a Fragmented

Paradise; (4) Keith Haring: Mickey Mouse USA

ORIGINALITY

With much of the art here, at least in my mind, a big problem is originality. Andy Warhol had a valid point, when he started creating series of duplicated prints, including of Queen Elizabeth II, in the early days. But what about Equanimity (Jubilee Edition) by Chris Levine, a wall of portraits of Queen Elizabeth II? It lacks any originality.

(1) Yayoi Kusama: Fire; (2) Keith Haring: Untitled (Burning Skull); (3) Untitled;

(4) Damien Hirst: The Human Voice

DAMIEN HIRST

Personally, I don’t think that there ever was a need for Damien Hirst. I simply despise his ‘art’, but I appreciate that I’m pretty much on my own on this one. Much of his work I actually do find visually interesting and invigorating, often decorative. What I dislike about him, is that in my mind he sold out art and put profits first, he never developed a cohesive, recognisable style. Yes, I hear you, you (and I) can recognise his artwork from a mile away. True. But not, because he developed a cohesive, recognisable style, but because he’s everywhere and because it is almost impossible to avoid his completely disharmonic array of artistic shambles that shows little to no artistic development.

(1) Tom Wesselmann: Smoker #3; (3) Smoker #22; (4) Jean-Michel Basquiat: Antar

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT MOCO

But enough of the rambling and criticism. Overall, Ellie & I both enjoyed Moco. While the collection might not contain any major highlights, you still get to see a fair few pretty decent works of very famous artists. Despite all the shortcomings, this is a very impressive art collection. I particularly enjoyed the NFTs in the basement. Non-Fungible Tokens are electronic, blockchain-based certificates of ownership for an asset, here: digital art, usually videos. The meaning has changed over time and now often refers to the actual artwork, no longer to the certificates. ‘Species’ by Six N. Five, which imposes geometric shapes onto footage of the natural world, as well as OMA/Shohei Shigematsu, Charlotte Taylor & Nicholas Preaud’s ‘Coral Arena’ were probably my favourites.

More ground floor views

(1) JR: Déplacé e.s, Procession, Triptyque; (2) Richard Prince: I’m Not Linda;

(3) & (4) video about the artist KAWS

(1) KAWS: WHAT PARTY; (2) Untitled; (3) & (4) Takashi Murakami: Our Outter Space

(1) to (4) Takashi Murakami: Untitled [240 x 1680cm]

(2) KAWS: Untitled (Calvin Klein); (3) Untitled (COMPANION CLOSE UP) Brown;

(3) Banksy: Bean Field

(1) & (2) video about Banksy printing Princess Di sterling bank notes; (3) Banksy: Girl and

Balloon; (4) This is not a Photo Opportunity

(1) Banksy: Picasso; (2) Kids on Guns; (3) Love is in the Air; (4) Heavy Weaponry

WHAT ELLIE LIKED ABOUT MOCO

Ellie enjoyed walking around the PULSE INTERACTIVE room “Endless Realities” and watching Lorenzo Quinn x BREAKFAST’s “Reflecting my Heart in You” mimic all her moves on the display inside the heart that is being held by a pair of hands. Anthony James’s “Portals” seem to be everywhere these days, and yes, we like them. We’ve seen them pop up on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, or feature inside the billionaire’s mansion in the movie “Glass Onion”. “Great Rhombicosidodecahedron” is very similar to the other works we have seen, but still fun to watch from all the different angles. Another thing we like about the museum is the fact that it includes so much street art.

(1) FriendsWithYou: Little Cloud; (2) Valley of the Gods; (3) Mungo Thomson: January

18 / January 25 2021 (Democracy Under Attack)

(1) Julian Opie: Leanne and Ed, Lift; (2) Caterina dancing in black trousers; (3) Robbie

Williams: How to remain socially uncomfortable; (4) Mix Tape Series; (5) Dont mean to

brag but i can panic attack just about anywhere

(1) Hebru Brantley: Marble Bay White; (2) Chris Levine: Lightness of Being;

(3) EQUANIMITY (Jubilee Edition); (4) Hayden Kays: Labour of Love

(1) Chris Levine: She’s Light (Pink); (2) Rocketman; (3) Tracey Emin: With You I Want

to Live; (4) The Closest I am to Love is You

A HUGE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

Moco appears to be a huge commercial success. While initially, almost all exhibited works had been free loans from the artists, Moco has acquired most of the artwork over the past four years, which can’t have been cheap. Many famous folks ranging from your usual celebrities to U.S. presidents have found kind words to say about the museum. More than five million people have visited so far. The plans for London are to bring in 600,000 visitors in the first year, rising to 1 million a year by 2026.

(1) & (2) Artist Plate Project

(1) & (2) Miranda Makaroff: Carnabal Mental; (3) Soraya Sharghi: Freedom Danc

Six N. Five (Ezequiel Pini): Species

(1) to (3) PULSE INTERACTIVE: Endless Realities

PULSE INTERACTIVE (Daan van Hasselt): Endless Realities

(1) Jake Chapman: Sacred Relics from the Neoliberalithic Era [tapestry]; (2) to (4) Jake &

Dinos Chapman: Bear Child; Lion Child; Chicken Child; Duck Child

THE MUSEUM’S FOUNDERS, KIM & LIONEL LOGCHIES-PRINS

The museum’s founders, Kim & Lionel Logchies-Prins, said in an interview, that many of the visitors to their museums “may be cinema fans or fashion devotees but for many the art world is an unknown quantity. We have many people who come in and they’ve never heard of a Basquiat or a Haring, and they leave feeling involved in the art world.” While it seems implausible, it is interesting that they also estimate that “about 65% of [their visitors] are first-time museum visitors.”

(1) to (5) works by Pilar Zeta

OMA/Shohei Shigematsu, Charlotte Taylor & Nicholas Preaud: Coral Arena

EVERYTHING IS MOVING

Despite only having been open for just over three months, some artworks have already been moved, such as Robbie Williams’ (yes, that Robbie Williams’) ‘I didn’t lose my mind, it was mine to give away’ (replaced with ‘Dont mean to brag but I can Panic Attack Just about anywhere’), and ‘Freedom Dance’ by Soraya Sharghi, which was moved from the 1^st floor to the basement. ‘Untitled (Faces, 2012)’ by Os Gemeos as well as Monica Bonvicini’s ‘I Cannot Hide My Anger’, at least one work by Yayoi Kusama, and a large number of Banksys are no longer on display.

(1) PAK: Extrusion; (2) WhIsBe: Vandal Gummy (Gold); (3) Beeple: Everydays – Raw

Lorenzo Quinn x BREAKFAST: Reflecting my Heart in You

DISMALAND?

An acerbic Harriet Lloyd-Smith in Plaster Magazine compared Moco London with the dubious sweet shops one can find a stone’s throw away lining Oxford Street and asked if perhaps the whole museum was a reiteration of Banksy’s Dismaland. According to her, the catalogue reads like a global poll for ‘most commercialised artist.’ To that I would say, I wish Moco would be a reiteration of Dismaland, because Dismaland was one of the best art exhibitions Ellie & I have ever visited. In many ways, it was the complete opposite of Moco: very political, angry, raw, street, and funny.