Friends reunited—Damien and Charles buddy up
We all know Damien Hirst and Charles Saatchi are thick as, so it was heartening to see the legendary collector drop in on his old protégé earlier this week at Newport Street Gallery. “I invited [Charles] to see my new show of older works called End of a Century,” Hirst writes on Instagram. “We go back a long way.” Indeed they do, with numerous peaks and troughs along the way. On the up side, Saatchi invested heavily in the YBAs in the 1990s. But in 2003, Hirst bought back a dozen of his works from Saatchi after the pair apparently fell out over a show of the artist’s works at the former Saatchi Gallery in County Hall. In his latest social media post, Hirst is fulsome in his praise for the media-shy collector, recalling Saatchi’s groundbreaking 1980s Boundary Road gallery. “I had never experienced anything like it. The art and the space blew me away, and from that moment on I only wanted to make art for that space,” writes the maverick Brit artist. Perhaps the pair reminisced over the good times (and all the art they’ve lovingly exchanged).
Mind-blowing crochet at Sarabande space
The façade of the new Sarabande Foundation space, nestled in an annex of Burberry’s London store, might well make heads spin. The foundation—the non-profit organisation established from the estate of the late fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen—has given artists and designers a prime West End platform. And they have not disappointed, filling the temporary Mayfair space (The House of Bandits, until 19 December) with desirable objects and installations. Artist and designer Joshua Beaty has packed the front window with colourful detritus (imagine a sea of mind-blowing crochet and marvellous materials). Beaty highlights how we think rubbish is…. rubbish really, saying: “The duration of throw away items is extended in finding a new purpose.” Or to put it more eloquently: “Why is tin foil less valued than a diamond?” Since 2012, Sarabande has supported creatives with studio space, as well as scholarships to attend Central Saint Martins and UCL’s Slade School of Fine Art (Beaty is a Sarabande alumni—top marks).