Hirst tumbles down art power list

Damien Hirst has been concentrating on painting

Contemporary artist Damien Hirst has lost number one spot on the annual art power list, dropping to 48th place.

Hirst, who has opened an exhibition of new paintings in London, plummeted down the list after stepping away from the limelight, according to ArtReview.

Hans Ulrich Obrist, director of London's Serpentine Gallery, takes the artist's place at the top of the list.

The magazine says that the 2009 ratings reflect the "financial tumult" the art world has experienced in the past year.

German growth

Around a third of last year's entries have been replaced on the rundown, with other famous names including Charles Saatchi - who topped the power list in 2002 - suffering a downturn.

ArtReview says the collector and gallery owner's influence has diminished due to some poorly received shows in the past 12 months.

The highest-placed artist is Golden Lion winner Bruce Nauman at 10. The rest of the top 10 is dominated by gallery directors.

ART POWER LIST 2009 1 Hans Ulrich Obrist - Director, Serpentine Gallery 2 Glenn D Lowry - Director, Museum of Modern Art, New York 3 Sir Nicholas Serota - Director, Tate Gallery 4 Daniel Birmbaum - Director, Venice Biennale 5 Larry Gagosian - Owner, Gagosian Gallery Source: ArtReview magazine

Entrants from Germany have increased this year, reflecting the growing importance of Berlin as a centre of art.

Collectors have suffered considerably due to difficult economic conditions in the art market, says the magazine.

Hirst, who also topped the list in 2005, rocketed back to the number one spot last year after an auction of his artwork which fetched £111m and "outshone" the credit crunch.

Entrants are judged on criteria including influence over the production of art, relevance to the art market and contribution to the art world over the past year.