Freeze (art exhibition)

Freeze Exhibition Catalogue

Freezeis the title of anart exhibitionthat took place in July 1988 in an empty London Port Authority building (the old fire station) at Surrey Docks inLondon Docklands.Its main organiser wasDamien Hirst.It was significant in the subsequent development of theYoung British Artists.

Organisation

Damien Hirstwas the organizer of Freeze.

Freezewas orchestrated byDamien Hirst,who was then a student at Goldsmiths College of Art. He was assisted by Luigi Scalera, a young architecture graduate working for the London Docklands Development Corporation, who identified and made available the derelict building for the exhibition together with modest funding for painting the interior.Hirst and his collaborators intentionally imitated the look ofCharles Saatchi's first gallery in St John's Wood that had opened a few years earlier.Saatchi, an art collector, attendedFreezeand purchased a piece of art byMat Collishaw.Michael Craig-Martin,a tutor atGoldsmiths Art College,used his influence in the London art world to convinceNorman RosenthalandNicholas Serotato visit the exhibition.

A show of work byAngus Fairhurstin February 1988 was the precursor toFreeze. Fairhurst, along with other students from Goldsmiths College of Art, were instrumental in organizingFreeze.It was there that the work of the Young British Artists caught the attention of the collector Charles Saatchi.

The catalogue forFreezehad surprisingly high production values for a student exhibition.It was designed byTony Arefinand included an essay by art criticIan Jeffrey.The catalogue was funded by the property developers Olympia and York. The title of the show came from the catalogue's description of Mat Collishaw's macro photographBullet Holewhich showed a gunshot wound to a human head (taken from a pathology textbook).

In 2007,Michael Craig-Martinsaid in an interview withBrian Sherwin:

I had always tried to help my students in any way I could, particularly in those first years after art school. I knew from personal experience how difficult it was—I never had things come easy. I did the same with Damien and Freeze. I encouraged people to go and see the work. I would never have done this if I hadn't believed the show was of exceptional interest—why waste people's time? It amuses me that so many people think what happened was calculated and cleverly manipulated whereas in fact it was a combination of youthful bravado, innocence, fortunate timing, good luck, and, of course, good work.

The exhibition was sponsored by theLondon Docklands Development CorporationandOlympia and York.

Legacy

There was one contemporary review of the original exhibition written bySacha Craddock,which appeared inThe Guardian.

The success inspired a second exhibition several months later,Freeze 2,featuring some artists from the first exhibition and some new faces from other London art schools. The BBC filmed the exhibition and interviewed some contributors.

Freezeinfluenced a group of artists later to be identified as theYoung British Artists(YBAs—often written yBas). The actual list of members in this art group remained fluid from project to project.

Exhibitors

Two younger artists turned down the chance to be in the exhibition. Dominic Denis was listed in catalogue but did not show work. The 16 students who did exhibit atFreezewere:

• Steven Adamson
• Angela Bulloch
• Mat Collishaw
• Ian Davenport
• Angus Fairhurst
• Anya Gallaccio
• Damien Hirst
• Gary Hume
• Michael Landy
• Abigail Lane
• Sarah Lucas
• Lala Meredith-Vula
• Richard Patterson
• Simon Patterson
• Stephen Park
• Fiona Rae