Michael Hue-Williams (born 26 July 1965) is a British art dealer and gallery director. He currently lives and works in London, and owns Albion Barn gallery in Oxfordshire.
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Life and career
Michael Hue-Williams was born in Oxford on 26 July 1965 to Giles Peter and Margaret Hue-Williams. He studied at Eton College and then later graduated with a master's degree in History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1986. He opened his first gallery, with an exhibition of Max Ernst, in partnership with Claus Runkel in 1988, designed by the future architectural stars John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin. John went on to design two more galleries for Michael until Albion was built for Michael by Foster + Partners in 2004.
Albion Gallery
Michael Hue-Williams was owner and CEO of Albion since 2004. Albion, designed by Foster + Partners, was the largest single commercial gallery space in London. The gallery interior was designed by India Mahdavi, nominated in France as Designer of the Year in 2003. Situated on the banks of the river Thames in London opposite Cheyne Walk, Albion featured three exhibition spaces representing artists such as David Adjaye, Campana Brothers, Xu Bing, Cai Guo-Qiang, Zhan Wang, Shilpa Gupta, Jitish Kallat, Mariko Mori, Jaume Plensa, Mark di Suvero, Vito Acconci, Andy Goldsworthy, Ilya Kabakov, James Turrell, and Ai Weiwei among others.
Albion was the only gallery in London to incorporate a major global program that represented leading international artists including those from emerging markets. Dealing in the primary market, their exhibitions provided a worldwide view of social and cultural issues. Their roster featured artists from Africa, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, UK and USA.
Michael Hue-Williams gave Ai Weiwei his first major UK exhibition and developed the careers of James Turrell, Jaume Plensa, Andy Goldsworthy, Xu Bing, The Campana Brothers, Joana Vasconcelos while producing international productions for Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Richard Woods, Vito Acconci, David Adjaye, Vik Muniz, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Ai Weiwei at the Venice Biennale in 2008.
Michael has worked to help produce exhibitions in the Guggenheim New York, Tate Gallery London, the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the Martin Gropius Bau, MAK in Vienna, Fondation Beyeler Basel, the Serpentine in London, Waddesdon Manor. Michael was a keynote speaker at the Intelligence Squared debate in morals and ethics in the art-world in 2010.
In 2012 Michael Hue-Williams curated for Lord Rothschild and Christie's the monumental outdoor sculpture exhibition House of Cards including masterpiece works by Richard Serra, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Joana Vasconcelos, Wim Delvoye, and Anish Kapoor among others.
In 2013 he curated the Masterpiece Sculpture Walk including monumental works by Eduardo Chillida, Joana Vasconcelos, Xu Bing, and Zhan Wang among others.
Albion Barn
Michael Hue-Williams opened this exhibition space in October 2013. Albion Barn is situated in Oxfordshire and was designed by Christina Seilern of Studio Seilern Architects, winners of the 2013 RIBA Awards. The space opened with a major exhibition of James Turrell’s works including Skyspace. It is the first time a commercial show has ever included one of the monumental iconic works by Turrell.
Press
Interior Design Magazine
Albion Publishing
Michael Hue-Williams owns his own publishing company, Albion Publishing. He has published more than 50 books including major monographs on Cai Guo-Qiang, Ai Weiwei, James Turrell, Joana Vasconcelos, Xu Bing, the Campana Brothers, and Andy Goldsworthy ‘Sheepfolds’. Other publications include: John Virtue, Richard Woods, Scott Burton, Wang Qing Song, Jitish Kallatt and more.
In 2013 he founded the Seven Sins Press, working on the first of 7 major publishing projects with Douglas Gordon.