Sartorial Contemporary Art

Sartorial Contemporary Art was an artist-run gallery founded in 2005 by Gretta Sarfaty Marchant. It began in an 18th-century Georgian house on Kensington Church Street before moving to King’s Cross in October 2008. The gallery built a reputation for supporting newly emerging artists and became a recognised space within London’s artistic circuit. Its in-house magazine, *The Rebel*, launched in 2005 and was released four times a year, often tied to exhibition themes. Collaborations with artists like Harry Pye shaped its early identity and curatorial direction. The gallery hosted notable exhibitions such as *Water* in 2006, a multimedia show curated by Jasper Joffe with contributions from over twenty artists. Another standout was *Obsession* in late 2006, a group exhibition curated by Robin Mason featuring works by thirty artists including Gretta Sarfaty and Amikam Toren. Solo shows like Gavin Nolan’s *Unnatural Selection* and Jasper Joffe’s *Does the Royal Family Like Pornography?* further defined its bold programming. Exhibitions like *Mothers*, featuring tributes from artists including Grayson Perry and David Shrigley, highlighted its willingness to explore unconventional themes. Visitors found a compact but dynamic space where new ideas took shape. The gallery’s exhibitions often included live performances, book launches, and interactive installations, such as Gretta Sarfaty’s *Through A Glass Darkly* in 2010. Its walls displayed works by both emerging talents and established names like Stella Vine and the Chapman brothers. The atmosphere reflected the energy of London’s contemporary art scene in the late 2000s, with collaborations spanning painting, sculpture, and street art. Though the gallery closed in 2011, its legacy endures in the careers it helped launch and the conversations it provoked.