Women’s Wear Daily does a mini-profile of dealer, adviser and reality-TV judge Jeanne Greenberg Rohayton:
“I think everybody should be talking about art all the time,” says the 43-year-old, whose fellow judges are auctioneer Simon de Pury and art critic Jerry Saltz. “So the idea of a television show that reaches a broad-base audience and gives people the tools with which to talk about art was just irresistible.”
Bravo hopes viewers will agree. Helping matters along is the fact that the show has a built-in celebrity endorsement in Sarah Jessica Parker — whose production company, Pretty Matches, coproduced the series — as well as the opportune time slot following “Top Chef,” one of the network’s highest-rated shows. Still, many are skeptical. While the creative-competition formula has generated hits like “Top Chef” and “Project Runway,” it has also produced flops like the interiors-based “Top Design.”What’s more, critics wonder if audiences will view a show about fine art as too stuffy. Although, at a recent “Work of Art” press conference, Parker said the show’s objective is to “change the idea that art is for the rarefied and elite.”
But is a Rodarte-wearing gallerist such as Rohatyn the best person to get that message across? Yes, says Cohen. “It’s not like we’re putting her on a morning chat show,” he says. “We don’t cast people because they’re TV stars. We cast them because they are credible experts in their field.”
Jeanne Greenberg Rohayton Dips Her Toe Into Reality TV (WWD)
