Steve Cohen’s Fish Tale, For Art’s Sake

Two years ago, hedge fund biggie Steve Cohen fell for a piece of art, hook, line and sinker. The object of his artistic desire was DamienHirst’s The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living, basically a dead shark suspended in a tank of formaldehyde. Cohen reportedly bought the piece from advertising magnate Charles Saatchi last year for $8 million, but after 15 years, something not-so-fishy has occurred: The main attraction is rotting. According to The Art Newspaper, the fluid is murky, “the skin of the animal is showing considerable signs of wear and tear, and the shark itself has changed shape.” That’s all Cohen had to hear, according to the paper, which says he is “very happy with the piece and is not troubled at all with having to substitute [the shark].” The artist currently is in discussion with the hedge fund manager about refurbishing the work, “though nothing has been decided yet.” In this case, “refurbishing” likely means replacing the rotting shark with another one in better shape. Now, the question is, who’s going fishing?