Jay jopling white cube ottoman

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Conceived as a space that offered visitors an intimate encounter with a single artwork or focused body of work, the gallery’s reputation and impact soon far exceeded the limits of this now iconic, small white room. It evolved from a rule-bound white box to a shape-shifting force rejecting art world conventionality. Bermondsey’s transformation of a gritty 1970s warehouse into Europe’s largest commercial art space - spanning over 5,400 square metres - was akin to a maestro expanding his orchestra.

This gallery has also staged historical exhibitions by Günther Förg, Jannis Kounellis and Wayne Thiebaud.

White Cube Bermondsey opened in 2011 and is Europe’s largest commercial gallery space; it counts many hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and has staged museum-scale exhibitions by Michael Armitage, Theaster Gates, Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum, Anselm Kiefer, Ibrahim Mahama and Doris Salcedo.

The gallery’s pioneering spirit has propelled it to look beyond London and, in 2012, it opened a space in Hong Kong - one of the very first Western galleries to commit to Asia - and, in that same year, it also took up a three-year residency in São Paulo, Brazil.

By championing bold, marketable works during the 1990s and 2000s, White Cube helped shift the epicenter of the art world from New York to London, attracting collectors and institutions with high-profile sales that underscored the commercial viability of conceptual art.^[12] The gallery's active participation in international fairs, such as Frieze London—where White Cube has been a flagship exhibitor since 2003, presenting works by artists like Emin and Gormley—has further amplified this impact, driving multimillion-pound transactions and elevating the event's prestige.^[11] Notable examples include Hirst's spot paintings, which have consistently achieved seven-figure sums at auction, demonstrating Jopling's role in sustaining a robust secondary market for YBA output.^[39]In a tangential development, White Cube was among the victims affected by the 2023-2024 fraud scheme orchestrated by former dealer Inigo Philbrick, who misrepresented ownership of artworks consigned through the gallery, leading to financial losses but no wrongdoing on White Cube's part.^[40] This incident highlighted vulnerabilities in the opaque art market while underscoring Jopling's commitment to ethical practices amid his enduring market-shaping legacy.

Other ventures

Involvement with Paddle8

In 2011, Paddle8 was launched as an innovative online marketplace for contemporary art auctions, initially emphasizing charity benefits to attract high-profile consignments and build momentum in the digital space.^[41] The platform partnered with notable figures such as auctioneer Simon de Pury to host exclusive online sales, focusing on post-war and contemporary works, street art, and collectibles that appealed to a younger, tech-savvy audience.^[42]Jay Jopling played a key role as an early investor in Paddle8.^[43] Alongside prominent backers including artist Damien Hirst and gallerist David Zwirner—both connected to Jopling's White Cube network—the company secured substantial funding, culminating in a total of $44 million raised by 2016 across multiple rounds.^[44] This capital supported platform expansion and operational scaling, positioning Paddle8 as a challenger to traditional auction houses.In May 2016, Paddle8 merged with its German rival Auctionata to create Paddle8 Auctionata, a combined entity aimed at dominating the global online auction market for art, collectibles, and luxury goods.^[45] The merger sought to leverage complementary strengths, including Auctionata's European footprint and Paddle8's U.S.-centric expertise, with ambitions for broader international reach.

Subsequent developments included integration of cryptocurrency payments like Bitcoin in 2018 following a further merger with Swiss tech firm The Native, reflecting efforts to innovate in digital transactions.^[46]Despite these initiatives, Paddle8 Auctionata faced mounting operational challenges, including leadership changes, market competition, and financial strains exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Built on the belief that art has the power to enrich people’s lives, White Cube presents exhibitions in galleries located across three continents - in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Seoul. Whether a repurposed warehouse or a bespoke concrete-and-glass marvel, these spaces embody Jopling’s belief that art deserves to be seen undistracted - yet with undeniable presence.

It was a platform unapologetically sleek, austere, and hungry, catapulting the now-legendary Young British Artists (YBAs) - Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Gavin Turk - onto the global stage. These developments transformed White Cube into a multinational powerhouse, representing over 60 artists and staging blockbuster shows that have drawn millions of visitors and generated significant revenue, while Jopling himself has been repeatedly ranked among the art world's most powerful figures.^[5]In his personal life, Jopling was married to artist Sam Taylor-Johnson from 1997 to 2009, with whom he has two daughters; he later married Hikari Yokoyama, with whom he has a third daughter.^[6][7] His approach to the gallery business emphasizes artist relationships and innovation, often blending high-stakes commerce with cultural provocation, as seen in ambitious projects like the 2011 Bermondsey opening, which featured works addressing themes of power and identity.^[3]

Early life

Family background

Jay Jopling, born Jeremy Michael Jopling in June 1963 in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England, was the son of Thomas Michael Jopling, a prominent Conservative politician who later became Baron Jopling of Ainderby Quernhow, and his wife Gail Jopling.^[8][9] His father served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1983 to 1987 and as Chief Whip from 1979 to 1983 under Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher, establishing the family as part of the British political elite.^[9][3]Jopling grew up in an upper-class, politically connected household on his family's Yorkshire estate, where his father was a notable landowner.^[9] He had an older brother, Nicholas Jopling.^[10] This privileged environment provided socioeconomic stability and early access to cultural influences, particularly through his mother's encouragement of artistic pursuits.^[10]From a young age, Jopling's mother took him on visits to museums, including the Tate Gallery in London, and to historic churches in Venice, instilling a foundational appreciation for art and architecture that shaped his worldview.^[11][2] These family outings in the culturally rich yet rural Yorkshire setting contributed to his early exposure to the arts within a context of traditional British upper-class values.^[12]

Education

Jay Jopling attended Eton College, one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious boarding schools, during the late 1970s and early 1980s.^[10] His time there provided a rigorous academic foundation amid an elite environment that emphasized classical education and extracurricular pursuits, though specific details of his involvement remain limited in public records.^[3]Following Eton, Jopling enrolled at the University of Edinburgh, where he studied the history of art, graduating around 1985.^[13] His studies deepened his engagement with artistic narratives and cultural contexts, fostering a particular interest in contemporary practices that bridged literature and visual expression.

Think of it as the Zen dojo of contemporary art: sparing in detail, yet infinitely intense, a place where artistic combatants engaged without distraction or pretense.