The lead-up to Frieze London art fair always brings with it a flurry of new gallery openings. Of note this October is a large, handsome Mayfair space for Gagosian – its third London site – and a museum-sized gallery in Lambeth opened by Damien Hirst to show exhibitions drawn from his sizable collection of art and artefacts. Both are the handiwork of architecture firm Caruso St John.
It is a tribute to the growing influence of collectable design fair PAD London that this year’s openings also include a trio of new design galleries clustered around its Berkeley Square site.
Here, we take you on a tour of the five London newcomers.
Newport Street Gallery
In walking distance from both Tate Britain and Gasworks on London’s south bank, Damien Hirst’s new public gallery takes over a cluster of former theatre warehouses. Caruso St John masterminded their transformation, which took 12 years planning and three years to build. The gallery extends over 3,500 sqm through a suite of rooms on two floors of the building, linked by elegant, white brick and concrete-lined stairwells.
Windows in the steepled roof sections allow indirect daylight into the upper galleries, while a balcony on the upper level gives vertiginous views onto the rooms below. Architect Peter St John and partner Adam Caruso – whose practice has designed seven Gagosian galleries and numerous others around the world – are passionate museum-goers and experienced exhibition designers. ‘You have to make spaces that are good in themselves and very flexible,’ he explains. ‘What Newport Street and Gagosian Grosvenor Hill have in common is that the spaces are very room-like, albeit on a large scale – they work well as a sequence, and you can have shows that are just on the walls, or all sculpture: they work well for both.’ The gallery opens with a solo show of the work of abstract painter John Hoyland.
Opening 8 October. Newport Street Gallery, Newport Street, London, SE11 6AJ
Photography: Prudence CumingNewport Street Gallery
Photography: Yuki ShimaNewport Street GalleryGagosian Grosvenor Hill
Gagosian director Gary Waterston is particularly excited by the state of the art lighting in the new Mayfair gallery. A terrace from a local housing block prevented the inclusion of skylights in the building, so instead ceiling panels conceal two different shades of LED lights. Sensors in the gallery roof allow them to echo the quality of natural light outside and replicate the conditions of an artist’s studio.
The building – owned by Grosvenor Estate – has classic Caruso St John refinement, including details like etched endgrain oak flooring, which also reflect the personality of the neighbourhood. Architects TateHindle clad the double-height exterior of the gallery – owned by the Grosvenor Estate – in 35,000 handmade Petersen bricks
Opening 10 October. Gagosian Gallery, 20 Grosvenor Hill, London, W1K 3QD
Pictured: A rendering of the exteriorGagosian Grosvenor Hill
The inaugural Cy Twombly exhibition. Photography: Mike Bruce, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.Galerie Patrick Seguin
Parisian gallerist Patrick Seguin – who specialises in mid-century French design – has cornered the market for prefabricated and modular architecture, exhibiting it in design fairs across the world. His new Mayfair space is dedicated to these structures. Sited so close to Claridge’s that staff could probably order room service, the modest white box gallery will show ‘Jean Prouvé Petites Machines d’Architecture’, an exhibition featuring the designer’s 1956 Temporary School of Villejuif (pictured) and his 6×6 Demountable House, recently adapted by Richard Rogers.
Opening 11 October. Galerie Patrick Seguin, 47 Brook St, London W1K
Photography: Courtesy of Galerie Patrick SeguinGalerie Dutko
Gallerist Jean-Jacques Dutko was lured to Mayfair by his experience exhibiting at PAD London. Working out of Paris – where he has two spaces – since the 1980s, Dutko offers a complete vision for the interior, bringing together Art Deco pieces with furniture commissioned from contemporary artists such as Benoit Lemercier, as well as modern art and elegant artefacts. The London gallery was designed by Chantal Jaïs, and is opening with an exhibition including works by Eugène Printz, Marcel Coard and Eric Schmitt.
Opening 8 October. Galerie Dutko, 18 Davies St, Mayfair, London W1K 3DSGalerie DutkoGalerie DutkoAchille Salvagni Atelier
Opening a stone’s throw from Bond Street, Achille Salvagni’s new London space reflects the Roman architect-turned designer’s burgeoning reputation for high-end yacht design. The diminutive gallery maximises its space with a ‘total look’ interior, featuring unsealed white marble flooring, and wall panels of oak and Alpacca (a silver alloy), dressed with Salvagni’s mid-century-inspired furnishings in oak, bronze and onyx.
Opened 1 October. Achille Salvagni Atelier, 12 Grafton Street, London W1S 4ER
Photography: James McDonald, courtesy of Achille Salvagni AtelierAchille Salvagni Atelier
Photography: James McDonald, courtesy of Achille Salvagni Atelier1 of 11
