Greek Cypriot industrialist Dakis Joannou is arguably better known for his illustrious contemporary art collection than he is for his billion-dollar business dealings. Among his holdings are works by Urs Fischer, KAWS and Maurizio Cattelan, and he caused a stir with his 115-foot luxury mega yacht designed by Ivana Porfiri and painted by Jeff Koons, which was christened with a rather tongue-in-cheek name: Guilty.

In 1982 he founded Athens’s Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, which exhibits his collection, commissions new works and supports a €10,000 (about $10,600) art prize, which is awarded biannually to a young Greek artist. More recently, the Hydra Slaughterhouse Project has mounted an annual exhibition on the picturesque Greek island, where the great and good of the art world happily descend. To date, Koons, Kiki Smith, Kara Walker and George Condo have all presented work in this industrial space.

Here, Joannou looks back at the successes of 2024, and considers what the coming year might bring.

Installation view, “George Condo: The Mad and the Lonely,” DESTE Foundation Project Space, Slaughterhouse, Hydra. ​© George Condo. Photo: Giorgos Sfakianakis.

What moment or project stands out as a personal highlight of 2024?

“George Condo: The Mad and the Lonely” at the Hydra Slaughterhouse.

Tell us about the best show you saw abroad in 2024.

“Edges of Ailey,” the first large-scale exhibition of artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey, at the Whitney Museum in New York.

What are you looking forward to most in 2025?

The end of “fashionable” art.

If you could see one change in the art world next year, what would it be?

The discourse to be about the value of the art, rather than the price.

What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself at this time last year?

To ignore the fog of “fashionable” art and look harder to identify real art.

Who is the art professional you have your eye on for 2025, and why?

Whoever will stop being politically correct and focus on art!