Category: Collector
Nationality: Greek
Last Year: 31
What Greek industrialist Dakis Joannou has done for contemporary art in Greece cannot be underestimated. Not just another big-game hunter who collects Koons, Hirst, Cattelan and Gupta, Joannou established the nonprofit Deste foundation in Athens in 1983, which hosts exhibitions of high international calibre, and inaugurated the Deste prize in 1999 – awarded biennially to a Greek artist living in Greece or abroad. After the 2008 unveiling of his headline-grabbing 35-metre yacht, Guilty, whose exterior was designed by Koons, 2009 seems to have been a comparatively quiet year for the billionaire. Still, his ongoing commitment to contemporary art should continue to be applauded.