Saatchi Yates present a monumental summer exhibition, ‘Once Upon a Time in London’. The exhibition is a celebration of London, its artists and institutions, featuring commissioned works from contemporary artists as well as major loans drawing from the rich history, diversity and cultural scene of London. For decades, London has been a major artistic crossroad where artists have challenged conventions and redefined the artistic landscape.
The exhibition will survey how the city has evolved but remains a constant beating heart of groundbreaking art. Beginning after WWII, featuring violent, psychologically twisted paintings from modern British masters Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach and Lucian Freud to the golden years of the RCA where America’s influence grows internationally, David Hockney paints a vision of Arizona as pop culture arrives on British shores. In more recent times, the exhibition explores London in the 90s. A generation of graduate artists who didn’t ask for permission, hosting exhibitions of cutting edge conceptual art in abandoned shops and London buildings, embodying the punk spirit of the city.
Damien Hirst’s medicine cabinets transform art into a science experiment, with painkillers and antidepressants creating artificial emotional responses, or a portrait from Jenny Saville’s graduation show that explores the female figure from entirely new perspectives. More recently, works by Lynette Yiadom Boakye bring a new perspective to the figurative painting tradition, and Jade Fadoujitimi brings a new energy to abstract painting.
Finally, the exhibition will explore the current community of London artists within this historic context. Artists such as Oli Epp and Benjamin Spiers create masterfully painted surreal portraits that delve deep into the human psyche in a post-digital world. Slawn brings post-Brexit Nigerian chutzpah to the London scene, rejecting the status quo; his dynamism and force of nature are undeniable. These are just a few of the artists who make up today’s thrilling London scene. Once again, we see a new generation of artists challenging the established order. It is this iconoclastic spirit that links our great cities’ artists over generations.
The full list of artists included here: George Ruoy, Benjamin Spiers, Lucian Freud, Tracey Emin, R.B Kitaj, Frank Auerbach, Gilbert & George, Grayson Perry, Jade Fadojutimi, Peter Doig, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Jenny Saville, Chris Ofili, Leon Kossoff, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Neil Stokoe, Paula Rego, Cecily Brown, Olaolu Slawn, Danny Fox, Michael Andrews, Oli Epp, Alvaro Barrington, Somaya Harrington, Bridget Riley, Joanna Van Son, Cato, Martin Maloney, Samuel Ross and Yinka Shonibare.
Beyond the artists, Saatchi Yates honours the unique ecosystem that allows our creatives to thrive, a fantastic programme around the exhibition will highlight our great artistic institutions, big and small from the grand to the grassroots. St John will pour the wine, and offer an evening of wine tasting with Hannah Crosbie, Norman Foster, whose great buildings literally are the fabric of the city, lends his eye to the exhibition catalogue, Nicky Haslam collaborates on an art world tea towel, amongst many
other special moments to commemorate the exhibition and London’s inexhaustible creative force. This calendar of events will mark the launch of the Saatchi Yates Membership, the first art gallery membership programme, with the aim of making art more accessible to the general public, enriching the dialogue between contemporary art and common culture.
London Rules the World, 12th June – 17th August 2025 Saatchi Yates
“Since opening the gallery, all we have heard is how London as an art destination is being surpassed by cities like Paris, Milan and Dubai. We wanted to put on an exhibition that celebrated London history from the Modern British giants to the established superstars to art graduates breaking new ground. We were particularly excited about exhibiting younger artists within a grand historic context, how through wars, cultural movements, recessions, a pandemic, brexit, London’s artists continue to triumph. Beyond the exhibition, we are collaborating with institutions, from grand to grassroots that play a part in the success of London’s creativity and Art. As a gallery we want to build a dialogue between the art world and the public.”
– Phoebe Saatchi Yates and Arthur Yates
Categories
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- Alvaro Barrington
- Benjamin Spiers
- Bridget Riley
- Cato
- Cecily Brown
- Chris Ofili
- Danny Fox
- David Hockney
- Francis Bacon
- Frank Auerbach
- George Ruoy
- Gilbert & George
- Grayson Perry
- Jadé Fadojutimi
- Jenny Saville
- Joanna Van Son
- Leon Kossoff
- Lucian Freud
- Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
- Martin Maloney
- Michael Andrews
- Neil Stokoe
- Olaolu Slawn
- Oli Epp
- Paula Rego
- Peter Doig
- R.B.Kitaj
- Saatchi Yates
- Samuel Ross
- Somaya Harrington
- Tracey Emin
- Yinka Shonibare
