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Owned by businessman and art collector Charles Saatchi and located at the Duke of York’s HQ in the very fashionable Chelsea borough in London.
It started off as Saatchi’s own personal collection of very serious artworks dominated by the likes of Donald Judd and Andy Warhol. He opened it up to the public in 1985, and after shifting around from venue to venue Saatchi finally found the big fancy building it's in now. (Fun and fairly useless fact: “Saatchi” means watchmaker in Iraqi Arabic and Persian.)
The Saatchi Gallery went through several phases in terms of its artistic temperament. From days of Minimalist purity it moved on to become a launch pad for the careers of the YBA (Young British Artists) around 1988. The Saatchi collection was once defined by its ownership of Damien Hirst’s iconic pickled shark aka "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living". Hip British peeps like Gavin Turk, Tracey Emin, Jenny Saville, and Sarah Lucas, to namedrop a few, rose to serious fame through the Saatchi platform. But in a fit of PMS, Saatchi decided to sell off his seminal YBA works in 2004, including Hirst’s shark and Mark Quinn’s "Self", thus proving himself not a collector but a DEALER. No better than the pusher man. For shame!
Also in 2004, a fire in the gallery’s storage warehouse burnt down some significant works, including Tracey Emin’s campsite of confessions, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-95, a tent with the names of all her lovers embroidered inside. One can’t be sure if Emin was looking for quite such a Dante-esque level of catharsis, but here’s to wiping the slate totally clean.
Among other shocking and deliciously disorienting works, the gallery is still the proud owner of one of the most kick-ass installations known to art – Richard Wilson’s 20:50, which is liable to knock your socks off. And then you'll be underdressed.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the Damien Hirst-led Young British Artists, followed by shows purely of painting, led to Saatchi Gallery becoming a recognised authority in contemporary art globally. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames, and finally in Chelsea, Duke of York's HQ, its current location. In 2019 Saatchi Gallery became a registered charity and began a new chapter in its history. Recent exhibitions include the major solo exhibition of the artist JR, JR: Chronicles, and London Grads Now in September 2019 lending the gallery spaces to graduates from leading fine art schools who experienced the cancellation of physical degree shows due to the pandemic.
The gallery's mission is to support artists and render contemporary art accessible to all by presenting projects in physical and digital spaces that are engaging, enlightening and educational for diverse audiences. The Gallery presents curated exhibitions on themes relevant and exciting in the context of contemporary creative culture. Its educational programmes aim to reveal the possibilities of artistic expression to young minds, encourage fresh thought and stimulate innovation.
In 2019, Saatchi Gallery transitioned to becoming a charitable organisation, relying upon private donations to reinvest its revenue into its core learning activities and to support access to contemporary art for all.
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