“Astonish Me!” commanded Sergei Diaghilev, arbiter of taste and founder of the Ballet Russes in Paris in the early 20th Century, to his gathering of composers, dancers, writers, and artists — which included such luminaries as Nijinsky, Stravinsky, Cocteau, Apollinaire, and Picasso among many others. It became the defining dictum for art in the 20th Century, infusing Dadaism, Surrealism, Cubism and onward with a simple, clear directive to make art that stunned. For me, it’s the benchmark I always hold in mind when viewing new work. Does it stop me in my tracks and seize me – emotionally? aesthetically? Does it reach out and shake me from my bland existence? Unfortunately, in today’s oversaturated art market, where crude, rudimentary craft-making seems to rule the day, the answer more often than not is “No”. But not even a resounding no; I’ve become so resigned to bad art at this point it’s more like a wimper of a no as I leave the gallery or museum uninspired, and often despondent (this year’s Whitney Biennial). Wangechi Mutu, on the other hand… she is a resounding “Yes!” A breathtaking, entirely unexpected fusion of Klee, Klimt, and Schiele, Mutu’s art is polemical, lyrical, and disturbing at once. PLANET° first wrote about Mutu in 2004 in a long profile and was one of the earliest magazines to notice and champion her work.