damien hirst's newport street gallery opens in london

located in vauxhall, south london, damien hirst’s newport street gallery has opened its doors to the public after three years of construction. designed by caruso st john architects, the project is the realization of hirst’s long-term ambition to share his diverse collection with a wider audience.

measuring a total of 37,000 square feet (3,437 square meters), the gallery spans five buildings, and includes the conversion of three listed victorian structures. two additional volumes have been constructed at either end of the existing three, creating a gallery that spans half the length of the street. one of the central spaces has a height of 11 meters, while the roof of the tallest building has been specifically designed to allow for the installation of large sculptures.

the gallery is situated close to the river thames and a short walk from tate britain
image © kioyar ltd / photo by yuki shima (main image © kioyar ltd / image by prudence cuming)

inaugurating the institution is a major exhibition of work by john hoyland (1934–2011), one of britain’s most significant abstract painters. ‘power stations’ presents 33 of hoyland’s large-scale works, dating from 1964 to 1982, drawn from hirst’s personal collection. spanning a pivotal period in the artist’s career, the pieces will remain on display throughout all six of the gallery’s exhibition spaces until april 3rd, 2016. future exhibitions at newport street will vary between solo and group shows. an onsite restaurant, named ‘pharmacy2’, will open in 2016 and cater for visitors during exhibition hours, as well as for evening diners once the gallery closes. entry to newport street gallery is free.

inaugurating the institution is a major exhibition of work by john hoyland
image © kioyar ltd / image by prudence cuming

‘I believe art should be experienced by as many people as possible and I’ve felt guilty owning work that is stored away in boxes where no one can see it,’ commented damien hirst. ‘having a space where I can put on shows from the collection is a dream come true. newport street is an incredible space with an amazing sense of history, and it’s a fantastic opportunity for me to wear a curatorial hat for a change, I couldn’t be happier.’

‘power stations’ presents 33 of hoyland’s large-scale works
image © kioyar ltd / image by prudence cuming

hirst’s interest in curating dates back to the beginning of his artistic career and his organization of the groundbreaking ‘freeze’ exhibition in south london in 1988. at newport street gallery, hirst will present exhibitions from the murderme collection, which he has been building since the late 1980s and which has previously been the subject of major group exhibitions at the serpentine gallery, london (2006) and the pinacoteca agnelli, turin (2013).

john hoyland 17.5.64
image © the john hoyland estate / image by prudence cuming