Last month we had the pleasure of inaugurating YARD, a large room within The Long Now. Saatchi Gallery at 40, the institution’s 40th anniversary exhibition.
YARD is curated by Philippa Adams and Piero Tomassoni around the eponymous installation by American artist Allan Kaprow, placed in dialogue with monumental works by major British artists Conrad Shawcross and Christopher Le Brun.
Originally conceived in 1961 in New York, Kaprow’s Yard is a seminal moment in the history of contemporary art and a turning point in the field of spatial and participatory practices. Since then, the work has been exhibited and reinvented numerous times in major institutions globally.
Hovering above Yard, Conrad Shawcross’s Golden Lotus (Inverted), initially presented at Saatchi Gallery in 2019, serves as a vertical counterpoint to the horizontal installation below, while Christopher Le Brun’s vast canvas from 1988, Tristan, extends the dialogue into the realm of painting with its dark, immersive surface.
Adams and Tomassoni originally discussed exhibiting Yard at the Saatchi gallery back in 2018 during her tenure as Senior Director, and have been thrilled to see it realised on this landmark anniversary.
The Long Now. Saatchi Gallery at 40
5 November 2025 – 1 March 2026
Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Rd, London SW3 4RY