LONDON—Having expanded successfully from Paris to New York in 2003, Yvon Lambert gallery is hoping to make a similar splash in London. The gallery is setting up shop in a 7,000-square-foot industrial building opposite White Cube in the heart of the trendy Shoreditch district, an area where real estate is neither cheap (a nearby 1,200-square-foot commercial property is currently on the rental market for £2,500 [$5,000] a week) nor readily available. To help run the new space, the gallery is turning to an old hand of the London scene, Suzanne Egeran, who was poached from a directorship role at White Cube.

Two weeks ago, ARTINFO toured the not-quite-completed, expansive, two-story building, and spoke with the gallery's director general Olivier Belot, who, though based in Paris, plans to split his time between all three cities. Belot said he had no second thoughts about expanding in light of the economic crisis and explained why having a London base is vital for his artists’ continuing success.

Yvon Lambert has had tremendous success in Paris and New York. Why are you coming to London?

First of all, London has some of the most important museums in the world — the Tate, for example — and also some of the most important curators: Hans Obrist Ulrich, Ralph Rugoff, Jessica Morgan. Being here will enable us to establish closer relations with them.

And the space will allow our younger artists to be seen in a proper way. It’s important that the gallery can operate locally.

How would you compare the London market to Paris’s and New York’s?

I think it’s different. Paris is perhaps quieter at present, yet there are some very important collectors there. Everyone is still going to New York, except for a few distinct groups of collectors, including Russians and Indians, plus one or two foreign collectors who will not visit New York, only London, for whatever reason.

We came to the conclusion that this space should offer a great balance for us.

When did you decide to expand to London?

About a year and a half ago. The process of finding a space was quite a long one. We needed a gallery that was around 7,000 square feet and had flexibility in order to offer a lot of potential for the artists.

It must have been difficult to find the space, especially one on Hoxton Square.

We are very close to the owner of the building, Alex Dellal, whom we know through a friend we had in common. That helped a lot.

Did you consider either the East or West Ends?

We would not have gone somewhere where we were isolated. Here it is easy. Jay [Jopling of White Cube] is just across from us. Hoxton is not Mayfair [in the West End], but there are plenty of people coming this way, and we wouldn’t have found a space this size in Mayfair.

Are you concerned about the timing of your move, given the likelihood of a global recession?

There is no doubt that [the art market] is going to slow down; it would be absurd to suggest that it is not. But I’ve always felt that the moment of recession is when you can create new opportunities. It helps, of course, that Yvon Lambert is a well-established gallery and has been in the market for over 40 years. It’s not like we’ve just decided to open a gallery on a whim.

We went through the financial crisis of the ’80s. Things will have to change — there will be different sorts of projects — but the change will come from the artists.

Can you explain what you mean?

There won’t be as many projects with diamonds and the like. That is not to say that the art will be less interesting, but we will have to think twice before going into something.

You or the artists?

Both. We’re in the same boat. It will be an experience for the artists. The great thing about artists, when they’re brilliant, is that they know how to react to constraints. If you tell them we only have a certain amount to spend, then they will find a project that doesn’t require millions of dollars. It has only been in the past few years that such figures have been normal. The rules of the game have just changed.

So you have no regrets about opening the new space?

Not at all. It’s very exciting.

Can I ask how much it cost?

No. Good try though!

But it must be quite an investment. Will you have a bigger roster to accommodate that?