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The Saatchi Gallery is a London Gallery for Contemporary Art , opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to show his sizeable (and changing) collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and Chelsea (opening to the public in 2007). Saatchi's collection, and hence the gallery's shows, have had distinct phases, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving on to the Damien Hirst -led Young British Artists and more recently promoting shows purely of painting. The gallery has been a major – if not the major – influence on art in Britain since its opening. It has also had a history of media controversy, which it has courted, and has had extremes of critical reaction. Many artists shown at the gallery are unknown not only to the general public but also to the commercial art world: showing at the gallery has provided a springboard to launch careers. ST JOHN'S WOOD The Saatchi gallery opened in 1985 in a disused paint factory in Boundary Road, St John's Wood , London, and ran a series of exhibitions, showing many American artists such as Jeff Koons , Philip Guston , Andy Warhol , Cy Twombly , Richard Serra , Brice Marden , Bruce Nauman , Donald Judd , Carl Andre , Sol LeWitt and Alex Katz , many of whom were a great influence on the subsequent generation of Young British Artists who followed in the 1990's. The Saatchi Gallery in Boundary Road was also unusual in London for its large, open space, filled with light reflected by high white walls and its 30,000 sq feet of gallery space devoted to recent art. In an abrupt move, Saatchi sold much of his collection of US art, and invested in a new generation of British artists, exhibiting them in shows with his own title ''Young British Artists'' (YBAs). The core of the artists had been brought together by Damien Hirst in 1988 in a seminal show called '' Freeze ''. Saatchi augmented this with his own choice of purchases from art colleges and "alternative" artist-run spaces in London. His first showing of the YBAs was in 1992, where the star exhibit was a vitrine by Hirst containing a shark in formaldehyde and entitled ''The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living''. This was funded by Saatchi. More recently Saatchi has been dismissive of the importance of ''Freeze'': Saatchi's promotion of these artists dominated UK art throughout the nineties and brought them to worldwide notice. Among the artists in the groundbreaking series of shows were Jenny Saville , Sarah Lucas , Gavin Turk , Jake And Dinos Chapman and Rachel Whiteread . ( Tracey Emin was initially hostile to Saatchi and was only finally included in the 1997 '' Sensation '' show.) ''Sensation'' opened in September 1997 at the Royal Academy in London to much controversy and showed 110 works by 42 artists from the Saatchi collection. The show moved to Berlin and then in 1999 to New York. Meanwhile other shows with different themes were held in the gallery itself. In 1998 Saatchi launched a new movement of artists led by Martin Maloney in a show entitled ''New Neurotic Realism'' (in two parts). This did not achieve the success of the YBA s and was not repeated. In 2000 ''Ant Noises'' (an anagram of "sensation"), also in two parts, tried surer ground with work by Hirst, Lucas, Saville, Whiteread, the Chapmans, Turk, Emin and Chris Ofili . COUNTY HALL 2003-2005]] In April 2003 the gallery moved to County Hall , the Greater London Council 's former headquarters on the South Bank , occupying 40,000 ft² (3,700 m²) of the ground floor. There were 1,000 guests at the launch, which included a "nude happening" of 200 naked people staged by artist Spencer Tunick . The opening exhibition included a retrospective by Damien Hirst, who was, however, not involved with it, having previously fallen out with Saatchi. As well as work by other YBAs, such as Jake and Dinos Chapman and Tracey Emin, there was the inclusion of some longer established artists including John Bratby , Paula Rego and Patrick Caulfield . In 2004, Saatchi's recent acquisitions (including Stella Vine ) were featured in ''New Blood'', a show of mostly little-known artists working in a variety of media, including installation and machinery. It received a hostile critical reception, which caused Saatchi to speak out angrily and uncharacteristically against the critics. {Link without Title} On 24 May , 2004 , a Fire In The Momart Storage Warehouse destroyed many works from the collection, including the major Tracey Emin work ''Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–95'' ("the tent"), and Jake And Dinos Chapman 's tableau ''Hell''. Saatchi was reported to be distraught at the loss. One art insurance specialist valued the lost work at £50m. In 2005 Saatchi showed a major change of direction with the announcement of a year-long, three-part series (subsequently extended to two years and seven-part), ''The Triumph of Painting''. The opening exhibition focused on a number of already established European painters, including Marlene Dumas , Martin Kippenberger , Luc Tuymans and Peter Doig , who had not previously received such significant exposure in the UK. Future shows in the series are scheduled to introduce Britain to young painters from America like Dana Schutz and Germans such as Matthias Weischer , as well as Saatchi's choice of up and coming British talent. At the same time, Saatchi sold works from his YBA collection, beginning in December 2004 with Hirst's iconic shark for nearly £7 million (he had bought it for £50,000 in 1991), and was dismissive of the historic longevity of the YBAs (apart from Hirst). The gallery's tenancy of County Hall had ongoing difficulties with Makoto Okamoto, London branch manager of the owners, who Saatchi complained had kicked artworks and sealed off the disabled toilets {Link without Title} .On September 27 , 2005 the gallery announced they would be moving to new premises. On October 7 , 2005 a court case began against the gallery, brought by County Hall landlords, Cadogan Leisure Investments, and owners Shirayama Shokusan Co Ltd, for alleged breach of conditions, including a two-for-one ticket offer in Time Out magazine and exhibition of work in unauthorised areas. The judgement went against the gallery, who were forced to relinquish the premises immediately. There is currently a halt to London shows while new premises are being prepared. A selection from ''The Triumph of Painting'' is on exhibition in Leeds. CHELSEA The gallery is currently refurbishing a 50,000 square foot space in the Duke of York's HQ building on Kings Road, London, near to Sloane Square. A virtual tour is available on the gallery web site and shows spacious rooms in classic "white wall" gallery style. STATISTICS
CONTROVERSY
SHOWS AT THE SAATCHI GALLERY (this list is not complete) St John's Wood
County Hall
Chelsea ''forthcoming'':
SEE ALSO The Sensation Exhibition REFERENCES Tierney Gearon show EXTERNAL LINKS
BOOKS
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