Damien Hirst is the Elvis of the English art world, its ayatollah, deliverer, and big-thinking entrepreneurial potty-mouthed prophet and front man. Hirst synthesizes punk, Pop Art, Jeff Koons, Marcel Duchamp, Francis Bacon, and Catholicism. – Jerry Saltz

The last time money left the art world, intrepid types maxed out their credit cards and opened galleries, and a few of them have become the best in the world. – Jerry Saltz

Ive always said that an art critic can put aside politics around art. – Jerry Saltz