White Cube

White Cube is a prominent contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. Taking its name from the modernist convention of displaying art in pristine, white-walled spaces, the gallery became instrumental in launching the careers of the Young British Artists (YBAs), including Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Gavin Turk. Initially a small room in the West End, the gallery has expanded into a global network of spaces. It currently operates two London locations, Mason's Yard and Bermondsey, alongside international branches in Hong Kong, Paris, Seoul, and New York City. The gallery also manages several prominent artist estates and maintains an active role in the secondary art market.

Jay Jopling opened the first White Cube in May 1993 in a small, square room on Duke Street in the St James's district of London. The gallery's founding rule stipulated that an artist could only be exhibited once, creating an intimate environment where creators presented a single, significant work. This focused approach established the gallery's reputation as the first to give solo shows to many YBAs. In April 2000, the gallery relocated to a 1920s building on Hoxton Square in the East End, an area then popular with artists, adding two stories in 2002. The Hoxton Square space closed at the end of 2012. White Cube expanded to St James's with Mason's Yard in 2006, and to Bermondsey in 2011. International expansion began with Hong Kong in 2012 and São Paulo later that year, though the Brazilian outpost closed in 2015. A Manhattan office opened in 2018, followed by a Paris presence in 2019. In 2023, the gallery opened a 300 square meter space in Seoul's Gangnam-gu neighborhood and launched its first full New York gallery on Madison Avenue.

The gallery's primary focus is contemporary art, representing a roster of living international artists across diverse media such as painting, sculpture, photography, and video art. Beyond its primary representation, White Cube manages several notable artist estates, including those of Isamu Noguchi, Bram Bogart, Al Held, and Takis. The gallery also runs a Salon program for the secondary market, dealing historically significant works by artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Carmen Herrera, and Andy Warhol. Additionally, White Cube produces artists' editions and organizes offsite exhibitions, such as a 2015 collaboration with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and a 2024 exhibition at Claydon in partnership with the National Trust.

White Cube's historical significance is closely tied to its early promotion of the Young British Artists, having hosted foundational solo shows for Tracey Emin and Gavin Turk, and presenting early and controversial works by Damien Hirst. The gallery's current roster of represented artists includes Georg Baselitz, Theaster Gates, Antony Gormley, Anselm Kiefer, Julie Mehretu, Doris Salcedo, and Gilbert & George. Its secondary market Salon program has featured signature works such as Doris Salcedo's Atrabiliarios (1993), Peter Doig's Hill Houses (Green Version) (1991), Frank Stella's monumental Saskatchewan series paintings, and Shiraga Kazuo's visceral early canvases. During its Hoxton Square era, the gallery also exhibited Hirst's large outdoor sculpture Charity in the square itself.

The original Duke Street space was a minimal, square room designed for concentrated viewing. The Hoxton Square building, a former publisher's office, featured a 250 square meter subterranean exhibition area and a smaller upstairs gallery. In 2006, the gallery opened Mason's Yard on the site of a former electricity substation. Designed by MRJ Rundell & Associates, it was the first free-standing building constructed in the St James's area for over 30 years, providing 1,000 square meters of space. The Bermondsey location opened in 2011 within a converted 1970s warehouse, offering 5,400 square meters of interior space, making it Europe's largest commercial gallery at launch. The Hong Kong space, designed by Maybank and Matthews, provides 560 square meters over two floors with ceilings exceeding 4.5 meters. The Seoul gallery is situated in the same building as the Horim Art Centre to align with Korean cultural heritage, while the New York gallery occupies a three-floor building at 1002 Madison Avenue.

White Cube is a commercial gallery owned and operated by Jay Jopling. Its two active London venues are White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London. The Bermondsey location is situated on Bermondsey Street, a short walk from the London Bridge tube station, and offers free public admission, an on-site cafe, and two floors of exhibition space. The gallery's international public spaces include White Cube Hong Kong at 50 Connaught Road, White Cube Paris at 10 avenue Matignon, White Cube Seoul at 6 Dosan-daero, and the New York gallery at 1002 Madison Avenue. A previous seasonal space in West Palm Beach, Florida, closed at the end of 2023.