Jeremy Michael "Jay" Jopling (born June 1963) is an English art dealer and gallerist. He is the founder of International contemporary art gallery White Cube.
Contents
Early life
Jeremy Michael Jopling is the son of Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling, a Conservative politician who served for some time as Minister for Agriculture in the Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher. Jopling was brought up in Yorkshire and educated at Eton and the University of Edinburgh, where he studied English literature and history of art, and his first job was selling fire extinguishers door-to-door.
Career
As a university student, Jopling visited Manhattan, where he forged links with post-war American artists, encouraging them to donate works for the charity auction "New Art: New World." In the late 1980s, he formed a friendship with the artist Damien Hirst. After completing his M.A. in 1984, he moved to London and began working with artists of his generation.
In May 1993, he opened the original White Cube on the first floor of 44 Duke Street, St James, in West End. Its exhibition policy was to provide a one-off showcase for both British and international artists. White Cube exhibited some of the leading contemporary artists, including Lucian Freud, Gilbert & George, Antony Gormley, Sarah Morris, Mona Hatoum, Marc Quinn, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Runa Islam, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin, Harland Miller, Sam Taylor-Wood, Gavin Turk and Cerith Wyn Evans.