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
-
Eight designers to know from Rossana Orlandi Gallery’s Milan Design Week 2025 exhibitionWallpaper’s highlights from the mega-exhibition at Rossana Orlandi Gallery include some of the most compelling names in design today
-
Nikos Koulis brings a cool wearability to high jewelleryNikos Koulis experiments with unusual diamond cuts and modern materials in a new collection, ‘Wish’
-
A Xingfa cement factory’s reimagining breathes new life into an abandoned industrial siteWe tour the Xingfa cement factory in China, where a redesign by landscape specialist SWA Group completely transforms an old industrial site into a lush park
-
‘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
-
Inside Joan Didion’s unseen diary of personal relationships and post-therapy notesA newly discovered diary by Joan Didion is soon to be published. Titled 'Notes to John', the journal documents her relationship with her daughter, husband, alcoholism, and depression
-
Carsten Höller’s new Book of Games: 336 playful pastimes for the bold and the boredArtist Carsten Höller invites readers to step out of their comfort zone with a series of subversive games
-
Distracting decadence: how Silvio Berlusconi’s legacy shaped Italian TVStefano De Luigi's monograph Televisiva examines how Berlusconi’s empire reshaped Italian TV, and subsequently infiltrated the premiership
-
How a sprawling new book honours the legacy of cult photographer Larry Fink‘Larry Fink: Hands On / A Passionate Life of Looking’ pays homage to an American master. ‘He had this ability to connect,’ says publisher Daniel Power
-
New Jay-Z coffee-table book dives into the Brooklyn rapper's archives'Book of HOV: A Tribute to Jay-Z' is a hefty tome for a hefty talent
