The Haunch of Venison gallery was founded in 2002 by Harry Blain and Graham Southern, former heads of contemporary art at Christie’s auction house. In a stroke of irony, the gallery was then acquired by the auction house five years later, causing more than a few shock waves in the art world. As such, the Haunch of Venison is one of the best illustrations of the homogenisation of the traditionally separate commercial activities of galleries and auction houses.

The gallery—with international satellite sites in Zürich, New York and Berlin—represents big names only; hugely successful artists such as Keith Tyson, Bill Viola, Dan Flavin, and Jane and Louise Wilson are to be found behind the gallery’s facade.