08.10.2008 - Saatchi Gallery Opens At Duke of York HQ, Chelsea

The inaugural exhibition entitled The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art will bring together the work of 30 of China’s leading artists in a cutting edge survey of recent painting, sculpture and installation. Free admission to all shows - including temporary, curated exhibitions, as part of the Saatchi Gallery’s aim to bring contemporary art to the widest audience possible - has been enabled through the Gallery’s corporate partnership with the leading contemporary art auction house Phillips de Pury & Company.

The new Gallery will also include a dedicated space for Saatchi Online artists to exhibit and sell their work commission free. The space will feature a rotating selection of artists chosen from Saatchi Online Magazine’s weekly critics’ picks.

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. 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, followed by shows purely of painting and more recently promoting once again art from America in an exhibition entitled USA Today at the Royal Academy in London.

The gallery has been a 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.

Artdaily.com