Guy Brett was one of the sole reasons why London became a hub for the art world. He just passed away.
Guy Brett was an extremely important curator and art critic who helped pioneer the London based Signals gallery in the 1960s. He does on 2/3/2021 at the age of 78.
The cause of his death was not specified.
His death as announced by Thomas Dane, who, in connection with the Kurimanzutto gallery's Instagram page, confirmed the passing of his long-time friend and colleague who was not connected to social media.
Brett was born in 1942, and he devoted his career to widening the idea of art history from its current Eurocentric form to include important figures from Latin America and Asia who had been overlooked due to racism in the industry.
He worked as a critic for the Time of London and several other outlets including Art in America. In 1998, Brett focused on the art of Rasheed Araeen, a character who would never have been noticed by one of the world's largest art critics if the industry was not shifting to include a different worldview.
Brett focused the back half of his career on highlighting individuals' work that might not have otherwise fit the chronologies and narratives that had been historically centered in the discipline past.