In Koons’ hands, Joannou’s collection is heavy on ostentatiousness. In that sense, it does the collector somewhat of an injustice. Thankfully, this is somewhat remedied by the accompanying catalogue. As the New Museum director, Lisa Philips, notes in the forward, Joannou made many of these art purchases before the artists hit it big. His support has helped shaped a number of careers, and the showing of his collection in Europe has been invaluable, allowing these works to receive international exposure.
     Joannou’s DESTE Foundation, which was established in Geneva in 1983, and moved to Athens in 1998, has also become an important venue for contemporary art. It has held several seminal thematic exhibitions and has published brainy catalogues along with its shows. Joannou, writes Philips, “is among a small group of private collectors who are dedicated to serious, scholarly activities and who are genuinely contributing to the dialogue in the contemporary field.” (The museum had the good sense to include an anthology of these essays in its catalogue; the piece by Deitch, who has curated several shows at DESTE, was written in accompaniment to the “After Nature” show he mounted in 1990 at the foundation).