On 15 April, 2003 Charles Saatchi will open the new Saatchi Gallery in a spectacular renovated County Hall across the river from Westminster. The enterprise will be the focus for Saatchi's vision of radical, ground-breaking British art in a venue that is accessible to the widest public. 100 is the book that will mark the occasion with one hundred works that Saatchi believes made a difference to the perception of British art.

The work of twenty-seven artists has been chosen from Saatchi's collection and of course the selection includes the shark and the sheep in formaldehyde, the head made of blood and Tracey's bed. It will be a landmark publication for a landmark occasion. After the provocation of the famous Sensation show at the Royal Academy in 1997, a generation of young artists have become household names. What was once so provocative has now entered the visual vocabulary of a wider public. What was once so daring is now demonstrated to be more than ephemeral. Saatchi's vision is defined in 100.