Sanatorium was originally founded by eight artists, as an art initiative, in 2009 and established itself in a small space which was once a chapel belonging to the Santa Maria Draperis Church. In 2010 when only three of these artists remained, the collective was joined by Feza Velicangil who had ambitions to start a gallery. Late the following year this was made possible when the collective dissolved and Velicangil opened a space in Tünel in partnership with Adnan Yerebakan. In 2017, Sanatorium relocated to Karaköy.

Sanatorium stages around eight shows per year and actively participates on the art fair circuit. As it came out of an artists collective, the gallery is concerned not only with the resulting artwork but the production process itself and seeks to engage in collaborations that help develop this.

Like many of its contemporaries, Sanatorium aims to establish its presence both in the local and international contemporary art scene through its portfolio of artists, which includes local and international, young and emerging, as well as established and internationally renowned artists. These include the Chinese artist Liu Bolin; the French artist Ludovic Bernhardt; the German photo artist and author Stephan Kaluza; the veteran Turkish photographer Orhan Cem Çetin; the popular Turkish artist Ahmet Doğu İpek; the emerging Turkish artist Erol Eskici, who besides painting and sculpting also creates interesting wall installations; the promising Turkish artist Yağız Özgen; and the emerging Turkish talent Zeyno Pekünlü.