Nicholas Serota Quotes

Much modern art is, at first sight, unnerving... in the contemporary world, we have come to expect instant response and immediate understanding.

We care too much about what happens to be there as a result of history. I worry even more that we care too much for the past and not enough for the present and the near present.

Damien Hirst's Mother and Child Divided (1993) is a work which can at first glance be read as nothing more than two brutally severed carcasses. "A freak show" was how the art critic of the Sunday Telegraph responded to its presentation in the Turner Prize in 1995. For me, the undoubted shock, even disgust provoked by the work is part of its appeal. Art should be transgressive. Life is not all sweet.

UBS have been important supporters of Tate Modern since 2000 and we are delighted to announce this exciting and unique partnership