4/3/03

Closing in — comme ça, comme çi…

Not Charles Saatchi but Frank Cohen - Who?
Frank Cohen is, in fact, the major North of England collector who may yet rival Saatchi. Cohen owns works by Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and the painter Gary Hume, mostly lodged in a vast Wolverhampton warehouse. Since the sale of his successful DIY company, Glyn Webb Home Improvement Stores, he now travels Europe building his collection. He has a particular penchant for Berlin and artists working there. This has been a relatively quiet, press-free process, but Cohen is now seeking a higher profile for his foundation. And in the South? Is there another former County Hall 'wing' available? There is always the space 'Underneath the Arches' in the interim. Currently, works from Frank Cohen's collection are on show at the Comme Ça Gallery, Castlefield, Manchester through 9 May 2003.