To mark the Whitechapel Gallery's reopening, the Guardian asked photographer Juergen Teller to capture some of the artists and curators who helped shape the gallery and make it a world class institution. Here are some of his photographs.
Gilbert & George, photographed in London. The pair's first major British show was held at the Whitechapel in 1970, and their studio is located just around the corner, up Brick Lane.
David Hockney at home in Bridlington - another artist to receive his first solo exhibition at the Whitechapel, just before G&G.
The third major artist associated with the gallery in these years was Richard Hamilton, who has a good claim to have brought pop art to Britain: he made a collaged poster featuring the word POP for the landmark 1956 exhibition This Is Tomorrow.
Nicholas Serota, photographed inside his current office. Serota led the gallery from 1976 to 1988, bringing artists such as Frida Kahlo and Cy Twombly to Britain, before taking up the reins at Tate. 'I love the Whitechapel, and I miss it', he says.
Goshka Macuga, who was shortlisted for 2008's Turner prize, is the first artist to be commissioned for the new space. Well-known for working with other artists' materials, she has borrowed the UN's copy of Picasso's Guernica, which was shown at the Whitechapel in 1939.
