Charles Saatchi founded the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency in 1970, which grew to become the largest agency in the world. At the same time, Saatchi started collecting art and later opened his first gallery, a 30,000 square foot ex-paint factory in Boundary Road, London.
His exhibitions have always focused on contemporary artists, and Saatchi's 'Sensation' exhibition of Young British Artists in 1997 at the Royal Academy, London and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York sparked an explosion of controversy about new British art.
The 70, 000 square foot Saatchi Gallery in the Duke of York's HQ, King's Road is one of the largest showcases for contemporary art in the world.