No one has influenced the changing face of contemporary art quite like Charles Saatchi. Now, in this first-ever chronicle of the Saatchi Gallery since its opening in 1985, the full effect of his pioneering curatorial eye is felt. The weighty leather- and cloth-bound volume reads like a Who's Who of the art world over the last 25 years.
Publisher Edward Booth-Clibborn and designers Value and Service have kept the look of the book as clean as possible to ensure the 900 or so images do the talking. To this end, the text on each page is kept to a minimum.
Divided into 28 sections such as 'Young British Artists', 'The Revolution Continues: New Art from China' and 'Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture', each charts an exhibition period in the gallery's history from 1985 to 2010. Featuring every single artwork that has ever been in Saatchi's gargantuan art collection would have been virtually impossible, so the book offers a digestible (yet still impressive) selection of 732.
Between pages are cloth-bound inserts of commissioned essays by art critics Richard Cork and Brian Sewell, Sir Norman Rosenthal (former secretary of exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Art) and an amusing bit of prose by actor Steve Martin.
‘The man who made us look at contemporary art’ insert on Charles Saatchi by Norman Rosenthal
’Red Painting’ by Cy Twombly, 1961
’Olson’ by Richard Serra, 1985-86
Spread introducing the chapter entitled ‘Art of our time’, featuring the work of Julian Schnabel, Eva Hesse and Malcolm Morley (pictured)
‘Joe’ by Chuck Close, 1969
‘Welcome Shaking Hands’ by Bruce Nauman, 1985
An installation view of the Robert Mangold and Bruce Nauman exhibition that took place at the Saatchi Gallery from April to October 1989. From left: ’Untitled’ by Bruce Nauman, 1978; ’4 Colour Frame Painting No.3’ by Robert Mangold, 1983; ’Untitled’ by Bruce Nauman, 1978
‘A Thousand Years’ by Damien Hirst 1990, from the chapter on the Young British Artists, which features works seen at the gallery from March 1992 to August 2001
From left: ‘Vicious’ by Gary Hume, 1994; ‘Memento Mori: the YBA Generation’ insert by art critic Richard Cork
Installation view of ’Tourists II’ by Duane Hanson, 1988
‘Grosse Geister’ (Big Ghosts) by Thomas Schütte, 1996
‘Engadin’ by Andreas Gursky, 1995
From left: ‘Odessa, Ukrain, August 4, 1993’ and ‘Dubrovnik, Croatia, July 13, 1996’ by Rineke Dijkstra
‘Cold War’ by Aleksandra Mir, 2005
Installation view of ‘Kurtoplac Kurve’ by Kristin Baker, 2004
Installation view of ‘Ghost’ by Kader Attia, 2007
-
In Brazil’s Minas Gerais, Casa Koba is an ‘unserious’ house full of freedom and comfortA relaxed, high-altitude home is Estudio Haa's latest residential project; welcome to Casa Koba, a house designed for comfort and fun
-
‘In memory there is defiance’: inside the V&A exhibition exploring Palestinian textile and embroidery as an act of resistanceAmid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, a new exhibition at V&A Dundee explores Palestinian textiles, embroidery and garments as a means to tell personal and communal histories
-
Jeweller Ara Vartanian and rapper Swizz Beatz team up on a fusion of spiky silhouettes, sculptural forms and seductive gemsA pairing that's been in the works since 2019 – and finally we get to see the results
-
How to be butch: Clark Henley’s sharp, satirical and playful manual is back in printThe 1982 classic, ‘The Butch Manual: The Current Drag and How to Do It’, full of tongue-in-cheek advice, is available once again
-
We are all fetishists, says Anastasiia Fedorova in her new book, which takes a deep dive into kinkIn ‘Second Skin’, writer and curator Fedorova takes a tour through the materials, objects and power dynamics we have fetishised
-
The gayest love story ever told: Jeremy Atherton Lin's memoir is a tribute to homeIn 'Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told', Jeremy Atherton Lin mixes memoir with a historical deep-dive into marriage equlaity
-
The glory years of the Cannes Film Festival are captured in a new photo book‘Cannes’ by Derek Ridgers looks back on the photographer's time at the Cannes Film Festival between 1984 and 1996
-
Taschen’s sexy record covers are hitting all the right notesTaschen has been through 50 years of album art for its latest tome, ‘Sexy Record Covers’
-
‘Dressed to Impress’ captures the vivid world of everyday fashion in the 1950s and 1960sA new photography book from The Anonymous Project showcases its subjects when they’re dressed for best, posing for events and celebrations unknown
-
Daniel Arsham’s new monograph collates the works of the auto-obsessed American artist‘Arsham Motorsport’ is two volumes of inspiration, process and work, charting artist Daniel Arsham’s oeuvre inspired by the icons and forms of the automotive industry
-
Era-defining photographer David Bailey guides us through the 1980s in a new tome not short of shoulder pads and lycraFrom Yves Saint Laurent to Princess Diana, London photographer David Bailey dives into his 1980s archive in a new book by Taschen
