Saatchi Gallery facts for kids

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Saatchi Gallery

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Established	1985; 40 years ago (1985)
Location	Duke of York's Headquarters, King's Road London, SW3 United Kingdom
Visitors	1,003,376 (2016)
Public transit access	Sloane Square

The Saatchi Gallery is a famous art gallery in London, England. It was started by Charles Saatchi in 1985. His goal was to show his collection of contemporary art (art made in our time) to everyone.

The gallery has been in a few different places. It started in North London, then moved to the South Bank by the River Thames. Now, it is in Chelsea. Charles Saatchi's art collection, and the shows at the gallery, have changed over time. They started with American artists and a style called minimalism. Then, they focused on the Damien Hirst-led Young British Artists. After that, they showed only paintings, and later, new art from America.

The Saatchi Gallery has greatly influenced art in Britain since it opened. Many artists who showed their work there were not well-known before. Being featured at the gallery helped launch their careers. In 2019, the Saatchi Gallery became a charity. This means it now relies on donations to keep running.

History of the Gallery
Timeline of Key Events
Saatchi Online
Artists Shown at the Saatchi Gallery
Images for kids
See also

History of the Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery has moved locations several times. Each move brought new types of art and exhibitions.

Boundary Road Years (1985-2003)

The first home of the Saatchi Gallery was in Boundary Road, St John's Wood, London. It opened in 1985 in an old paint factory. This space was very large, about 30,000 square feet.

Early Shows: American Art

The first exhibition in March 1985 showed works by American artists. These included Donald Judd (known for minimalism), Brice Marden and Cy Twombly (abstract painters), and Andy Warhol (pop artist). This was the first time many people in the UK saw art by Twombly and Marden.

Later shows featured other American artists like John Chamberlain, Dan Flavin, Sol LeWitt, and Robert Ryman. In 1987, the gallery showed German artist Anselm Kiefer and American sculptor Richard Serra. Serra's sculptures were so big that part of the building had to be taken down to fit them!

The gallery also held "New York Art Now" shows. These introduced artists like Jeff Koons and Peter Halley to the UK. This mix of minimalism and pop art inspired many young artists. These artists later became known as the Young British Artists.

Rise of the Young British Artists

Charles Saatchi made a big change in the early 1990s. He sold much of his American art collection. Instead, he bought art from a new group of British artists. He showed their work in exhibitions called "Young British Artists" (YBAs).

Many of these artists first came together in a show called "Freeze" in 1988, organized by Damien Hirst. Saatchi added to this group by finding new artists from art schools. His first YBA show was in 1992. The most famous piece was a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. It was called The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Saatchi paid for this artwork. It became a very famous symbol of British art from the 1990s.

Saatchi's support helped these artists become famous around the world. Artists like Jenny Saville, Sarah Lucas, Gavin Turk, and Rachel Whiteread were part of these shows.

In 1997, a big exhibition called Sensation opened at the Royal Academy. It showed 110 artworks by 42 artists from Saatchi's collection. This show caused a lot of discussion and later traveled to Berlin and New York.

New Art and Giving Back

After the YBA shows, the gallery held other exhibitions. In 1998, "Neurotic Realism" featured artists like Cecily Brown and Ron Mueck. In 2000, "Ant Noises" (an anagram of "sensation") showed more works by famous YBAs like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

During this time, the Saatchi Collection also made large donations. In 1999, it gave 100 artworks to the Arts Council of Great Britain. In 2000, it gave 40 works to eight museums across Britain. In 2002, 50 artworks went to the Paintings in Hospitals program. This program lends art to hospitals and health centers.

County Hall Years (2003-2008)

The Saatchi Gallery was based at County Hall from 2003 to 2005.

In April 2003, the gallery moved to County Hall. This building used to be the headquarters for the Greater London Council. The gallery took up 40,000 square feet on the ground floor.

The first exhibition there included a look back at Damien Hirst's work. It also featured art by other YBAs like Jake and Dinos Chapman and Tracey Emin. Some older artists like Paula Rego were also shown.

A famous artist, Damien Hirst.

In 2004, a fire at a storage warehouse destroyed many artworks from the collection. Saatchi was very upset by this loss.

Later, Saatchi started to sell off some of his YBA collection. For example, he sold Hirst's famous shark for nearly £7 million. He had bought it for £50,000 in 1991. He also sold works by Ron Mueck and Mark Quinn.

In 2005, Saatchi changed direction again. He announced a series of shows called "The Triumph of Painting." These shows focused on important European painters like Marlene Dumas and Peter Doig. They also introduced new, young painters from America and Germany. The gallery welcomed 800,000 visitors a year. Many schools brought groups of students to see the art.

Duke of York's HQ (2008-Present)

The Blessing Hand by Stepan Ryabchenko in Saatchi Gallery.

On October 9, 2008, the gallery opened its new home. This new space is at the Duke of York's Headquarters on Kings Road in London. It is a very large and beautiful art space, about 70,000 square feet. It has 15 exhibition rooms that are bright and well-proportioned.

A great thing about this gallery is that it is completely free to enter. This makes contemporary art available to everyone. The gallery works with an auction house, Phillips de Pury & Company, to help make this possible.

The first exhibition in the new building was "The Revolution Continues: New Art From China." It showed works by 24 young Chinese artists. The show included paintings, sculptures, and installations. It focused on political topics related to China's Cultural Revolution and current events. This exhibition was chosen because of the global interest in China after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Gallery's Goal

The main goal of the Saatchi Gallery is to show new and interesting contemporary art. This is art that might not be seen in other big London art places like Tate Modern. The gallery wants to bring attention to artists who could become famous in the future. Their aim is to make art more open to everyone, not just a small group of art experts.

Timeline of Key Events

1985 – The Saatchi Gallery opens at Boundary Road, London. It shows works by American artists like Donald Judd and Andy Warhol.
1987 – The "New York Art Now" show introduces American artists like Jeff Koons to the UK.
1992 – The first "Young British Artists" show takes place. It features Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, and others.
1997 – Sensation: Young British Art from the Saatchi Gallery opens at the Royal Academy. It attracts over 300,000 visitors.
1999 – Sensation travels to Berlin and New York. The gallery donates 100 artworks to the Arts Council of Great Britain.
2000 – The gallery donates 40 works to eight museums across Britain.
2002 – 50 artworks are donated to the Paintings in Hospitals program.
2003 – The gallery moves to County Hall on the South Bank. The opening show includes a look back at Damien Hirst's work.
2004 – A fire at a storage warehouse destroys many artworks from the collection.
2005 – The gallery starts "The Triumph of Painting" exhibition series.
2006 – The Saatchi Online website begins, allowing artists to upload their work.
2008 – The gallery reopens in its new, larger home at the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London. The first show is "The Revolution Continues: New Art from China."
2014 – Saatchi Online is sold and becomes SaatchiArt.com.
2019 – Saatchi Gallery becomes a charitable organization.

Saatchi Online

Portrait of Tracey Emin by Irish artist Reginald Gray.

In 2006, the gallery's website launched a special section called "Your Gallery." This allowed artists to create their own pages and upload up to 20 artworks and a short biography. By 2010, over 100,000 artists had done this. The site became very popular, getting millions of visits each day. "Your Gallery" was later renamed Saatchi Online.

In 2008, Saatchi Online added a "saleroom" section. Here, artists could sell their work directly to buyers. For original art, Saatchi Online took a 30% fee from the sale.

The website also had other cool features:

Reader-Curated Exhibitions: In 2006, the Saatchi Gallery worked with The Guardian newspaper. They held the first exhibition chosen by readers, showing work by 10 Saatchi Online artists.
Stuart: A special section for art students to create their own pages and share their art. It also hosted a competition called "4 New Sensations."
Community Features: The site included a forum, live chat, blogs, videos, and sections for photography and illustration.
Art News: A daily magazine with art news, articles, and reviews from art critics.
Online TV Channel: Videos of art openings, artist studios, and interviews.
Interactive Tools: A weekly "Showdown" competition where users could win an exhibition spot. An "Online Studio" for creating digital art. A "Crits" section for artists to give feedback on each other's work. A "Street Art" section for graffiti and performance art.

The website also featured "Museums around the World." This section had profiles for over 3,300 museums, big and small. It also listed over 2,800 universities and colleges, helping students find art programs. Even schools could upload their students' artwork.

Saatchi Online was sold in 2014 and became SaatchiArt.com. This new site is an online marketplace where artists can sell their original art and prints. The website handles the sales and takes a fee.

Artists Shown at the Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery has shown many important artists over the years. Here are some of them:

Boundary Road

1985
- Donald Judd
- Brice Marden
- Cy Twombly
- Andy Warhol
1986
1987
- Anselm Kiefer
- Richard Serra
- Jeff Koons
- Robert Gober
- Philip Taaffe
- Carroll Dunham
1988
1989
- Robert Mangold
- Bruce Nauman
1990
- Leon Kossoff
- Frank Auerbach
- Lucian Freud
1991
- Richard Artschwager
- Andres Serrano
- Cindy Sherman
1992
- Damien Hirst
- Rachel Whiteread
1993
- Sarah Lucas
- Marc Quinn
1994
- Jenny Saville
- Paula Rego
1995
- Gavin Turk
- Glenn Brown
- Gary Hume
1996
- Janine Antoni
- Tony Oursler
- Richard Prince
- Charles Ray
- Kiki Smith
1997
- Duane Hanson
- Andreas Gursky
- Martin Honert
- Thomas Ruff
- Thomas Schütte
1998
- David Salle
- Jessica Stockholder
- Terry Winters
- John Currin
- Tom Friedman
- Josiah McElheny
- Laura Owens
- Elizabeth Peyton
- Lisa Yuskavage
1999
- Alex Katz
- Martin Maloney
- Dexter Dalwood
- Ron Mueck
- Cecily Brown
- Noble and Webster
- Michael Raedecker
2000
- Boris Mikhailov
2012
- Igor Kalinauskas
2013
- Karen Heagle