6 April 2019
Newport Street Gallery is the realisation of Hirst’s long-term ambition to share his art collection with the public. Designed by architects Caruso St John, the gallery spans 37,000 square feet and includes six exhibition spaces.
The Murderme collection, which Hirst has been acquiring since the late 1980s, contains over 3,000 works. Featured artists include Francis Bacon, Banksy, Tracey Emin, Richard Hamilton, Jeff Koons, Sarah Lucas, Pablo Picasso, Richard Prince, Haim Steinbach and Gavin Turk, as well as a number of young and emerging artists and a significant collection of indigenous artists from the Pacific Northwest Coast. Also featured are natural history specimens, taxidermy, anatomical models and historical artefacts.
The construction of Newport Street Gallery involved the conversion of three listed buildings, which were purpose-built in 1913 to serve as scenery painting studios for the booming Victorian theatre industry in London’s West End. With the addition of two new buildings, the gallery now spans half the length of the street.
Rose of Sharon - John Bellany 1973
Installation
Alan Davie
Today, we enjoyed Cradle of magic. A superb show that brings together two giants of twentieth-century British painting: John Bellany (1942–2013) and Alan Davie (1920–2014). Always great to be introduced to the work of artists that we have not connected with before. Big, bold, mysterious and full of colour and energy... we left the Gallery with big smiles. Great collection of work, hung beautifully, in stunning space!
9 out of 10
