Lisson Gallery

About

Lisson Gallery is one of the most influential and longest-running international contemporary art galleries in the world. Today the gallery supports and promotes the work of more than 60 international artists across spaces in London, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Beijing. Established in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, Lisson Gallery pioneered the early careers of important Minimal and Conceptual artists, such as Art & Language, Carl Andre, Daniel Buren, Donald Judd, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long and Robert Ryman among many others. It still works with many of these artists as well as others of that generation from Carmen Herrera to the renowned estate of Leon Polk Smith.

In its second decade the gallery introduced significant British sculptors to the public for the first time, including Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Anish Kapoor, Shirazeh Houshiary and Julian Opie. Since 2000,the gallery has gone on to represent many more leading international artists such as Marina Abramović, Ai Weiwei, John Akomfrah, Susan Hiller, Tatsuo Miyajima and Sean Scully. It is also responsible for raising the international profile of a younger generation of artists led by Cory Arcangel, Ryan Gander, Van Hanos, Hugh Hayden, Haroon Mirza, Laure Prouvost, Pedro Reyes, Wael Shawky and Cheyney Thompson.

History

  1. 1967
    Nicholas Logsdail establishes Lisson Gallery

    Aged 21, Nicholas Logsdail renovates three floors of a derelict space in Bell Street with friends from the Slade School of Art, establishes Lisson Gallery

  2. 1967
    Lisson Gallery's first exhibition

    Lisson Gallery opens its first exhibition of ‘paintings, graphics and sculpture’ on 4 April at 68 Bell Street in London, featuring work by Terence Ibbott, Derek Jarman, Paul Martin, Keith Milow and Paul Riley

  3. 1967
    Li Yuan-Chia at Lisson Gallery

    Within the gallery’s first year, Logsdail asks numerous international artists to exhibit, including Li Yuan-Chia, Mira Schendel, David Medalla and Dom Sylvester Houédard

  4. 1967
    Yoko Ono presents ‘Half-A-Wind Show’

    Yoko Ono invites Logsdail to visit her at home (via an instructional piece printed in later editions of Grapefruit) and presents her ‘Half-A-Wind Show’ at Lisson Gallery, from 11 October – 14 November

  5. 1970
    Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt at Lisson Gallery

    After travelling to New York in 1968, Logsdail stages a joint London show of Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt (2 – 24 October), the first of many UK debuts for major American Minimal and Conceptual artists

  6. 1970
    John Latham’s first solo show

    John Latham’s first solo show, ‘The Gallery Does Not Exist for 100 Years’ (4 November – 6 December), temporarily displaces the gallery to London Zoo and Hyde Park’s boating lake, among other venues

  7. 1970
    Wall Show

    Group exhibition ‘Wall Show’ gives 20 artists – including Sue Arrowsmith, Barry Flanagan, Roelof Louw, Blinky Palermo, John Stezaker, Lawrence Weiner and Richard Wentworth – one blank wall each to realise site-specific works

  8. 1972
    Lisson Gallery continues to introduce British audiences to American artists

    Lisson Gallery continues to introduce British audiences to American artists such as Carl Andre, Dan Graham, Mel Bochner, Michael Asher and Robert Ryman

  9. 1973
    Richard Long at Lisson Gallery

    Americans Robert Mangold and Dan Flavin are given inaugural London shows; Richard Long also has first exhibition with the gallery and shows at the British Pavilion of Venice Biennale three years later

  10. 1977
    British artists at the Fine Arts Building on Hudson Street

    Logsdail takes British artists such as Art & Language, Peter Joseph, Bob Law, Richard Long and Stephen Willats to New York to show at the Fine Arts Building on Hudson Street (5 February – 1 March)

  11. 1982
    Anish Kapoor’s first show

    Gallery stages Anish Kapoor’s first show. He is dubbed a ‘New British Sculptor’ alongside Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Shirazeh Houshiary and Julian Opie. A total of 12 Lisson artists appear in Documenta 7

  12. 1987
    20 year anniversary

    During its 20th anniversary year, the gallery begins the first phase of opening a second space on Bell Street, while also holding first exhibitions for sculptors Grenville Davey and Juan Muñoz

  13. 1988
    Cragg represents Britain at the Venice Biennale

    Cragg represents Britain at the Venice Biennale and wins the Turner Prize in the same year, a feat repeated by Kapoor in 1990-91 (the award was not offered in 1990)

  14. 1991
    Bell Street Gallery

    A new permanent home at 52 Bell Street doubles the gallery’s footprint to 4,000 square feet. The space, designed with London-based architect Tony Fretton, opens on 9 November and marks 25 years of the gallery

  15. 1993
    Wonderful Life poster

    This year sees two major group shows featuring 100 artists. ‘Out of Sight Out of Mind’ highlights historical figures such as Bas Jan Ader and Gerhard Richter, while ‘Wonderful Life’ represents a younger generation, including Jason Martin, Damien Hirst and Martin Creed

  16. 1996
    Lisson Gallery represents Lee Ufan

    The gallery announces representation of Lee Ufan, continuing its support of artists across the world. Over five decades, global practitioners continue to join, from Tatsuo Miyajima, Christian Jankowski and Rashid Rana to Spencer Finch, Pedro Reyes, Liu Xiaodong and Wael Shawky

  17. 2000
    Off-site exhibition in Covent Garden

    An ambitious off-site exhibition takes place in Covent Garden from 28 April – 26 May, to coincide with the opening of Tate Modern. Videos by Francis Alÿs, Douglas Gordon, Rodney Graham, Jonathan Monk, Tony Oursler and others receive rave reviews

  18. 2000
    A Shot in the Head

    ‘A Shot in the Head’ continues Lisson Gallery’s commitment to curated summer shows, with live chickens, stripteases and tatooed prostitutes on display. Future summer shows curated by David Thorp, Stefan Kalmar, Emily Pethick and Raimundas Malašauskas

  19. 2002
    Space closed by corrugated metal

    The inaugural exhibition at Lisson’s new gallery, 29 Bell Street, is an installation by Santiago Sierra, entitled Space closed by corrugated metal, which denies visitors any access to the space during its private view and for the first month

  20. 2009
    Lisson Presents

    Lisson Presents, a programme of on- and off-site exhibitions aiming to extend the legacy of curatorial innovation beyond the gallery walls, launches with a year-long schedule of exhibitions and performances introducing new artists

  21. 2010
    Marina Abramović: Rhythm

    Marina Abramović holds her inaugural show across both gallery spaces in London, revisiting some of her key historical 1970s performances, including all of the seminal Rhythm series, one of which is purchased by Tate

  22. 2011
    Lisson Gallery Milan

    Lisson Gallery opens its first international location in Milan with a group exhibition ‘I Know About Creative Block And I Know Not To Call It By Name’, curated by a new artist to the gallery, Ryan Gander

  23. 2011
    Free Ai Weiwei campaign

    The first London exhibition of artist and social activist Ai Weiwei coincides with the artist’s arrest and incarceration by Chinese authorities. The gallery supports the ‘Free Ai Weiwei’ campaign through posters featuring Ai and his writing

  24. 2013
    Ai Weiwei’s works Straight and S.A.C.R.E.D

    The gallery stages two collateral events at the 55th Venice Biennale, debuting Ai Weiwei’s works Straight and S.A.C.R.E.D as well as Shirazeh Houshiary’s monumental installation and suite of paintings, Breath

  25. 2014
    Genius Loci – Spirit of Place

    On the occasion of the 14th International Architecture Biennale in Venice, the Lisson Gallery and Berengo Studio present ‘Genius Loci – Spirit of Place’, considering public commissions and outdoor sculpture

  26. 2016
    Lisson Gallery New York

    Under the direction of Alex Logsdail, Lisson Gallery New York, designed by Studio MDA and Studio Christian Wassmann, opens in Chelsea under the High Line. Lisson’s second New York space, located at 138 Tenth Avenue, opens the following year on 2 March 2017

  27. 2017
    Lisson Gallery's 50th anniversary

    Lisson Gallery celebrates its 50th anniversary with the launch of a major publication, surveying all of its 500 exhibitions, while other events and exhibitions continue throughout the year

  28. 2019
    Lisson Gallery Shanghai

    The gallery announces expansion into Asia, opening a permanent space in Shanghai. Housed within the former warehouse known as the ‘Amber Building’ on Huqiu Road, this new space sits alongside some of the city's major museums and cultural institutions

  29. 2019
    International exhibitions

    The gallery continues to support artists' exhibitions internationally, from Anish Kapoor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing to Richard Long in relation to a Luis Barragán house near Mexico City

  30. 2020
    Lisson Gallery Online

    After launching online initiatives – an exhibition platform and an alternate reality app – the gallery opens three physical spaces: a temporary showcase in East Hampton, a new gallery next door to its flagship in Chelsea and a Mayfair location

  31. 2021
    Beijing opens

    Lisson Gallery opens its first permanent space in Beijing, housed within the Blanc International Contemporary Art Space, located with-in the Tianzhu Free Trade Zone. Renovated by Studio HVN, it spans 780 square meters, occupying the fourth floor of the building.

  32. 2023
    Los Angeles opens

    Lisson Gallery Los Angeles opens within the cultural hub of Hollywood's Sycamore District. The standalone two-story building spans over 8000 square feet indoors and out, on Sycamore Avenue. The inaugural presentation features Carmen Herrera's seminal Days of the Week series.

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