As a city packed full of wondrous art, culture,
architecture and design, London is bursting with some of the greatest art
galleries, museums and exhibitions in the world. So art lovers are spoiled for choice with a
full range inspirational art exhibitions and displays to visit this summer.
To help you along in deciding
just where you may want to visit, here are is a selection of some of the must-see
exhibitions:
Sculpture in the City
Square Mile
August 2015 – June
2016
The magnificent outdoor
exhibition of artwork by some of the world’s most renowned artists returns this
August with a free display that puts a series of contemporary art pieces in the
heart of London’s Square Mile.
It includes the striking “Charity”,
by world famous artist Damien Hirst, which features a giant sculpture of a girl
holding a teddy, stood atop a charity collection box, located outside one of
London’s most iconic architectural landmarks, The Gherkin.
Other artists to feature
their work in Sculpture in the City this year include Adam Chodzko, Bruce Beasley, Laura Ford and Kris Martin.
Duane Hanson
Serpentine Sackler
Gallery
2 June 2015 – 13
September 2015
The intriguing and eerily realistic
work by late US sculptor, Duane Hanson, is brought to life by his exceptional ability
to turn the completely mundane into works of art.
Highlights of his 40-year
career include the portrayal of working class Americans going about their daily
business, showing members of society who are often overlooked or who ‘didn’t
stand out’, immortalised in fibreglass and bronze fabrications. The exhibition
is the first survey show in London since 1997, the year after Hanson’s death in
1996.
The exhibition has been
hailed as “the one that will stop visitors in their tracks” and is certainly
worth a look over the summer months.
Carsten Holler:
Decision
Hayward Gallery –
Southbank Centre
10 June – 6 September
2015
Enjoy the chance to really
become part of the art you are seeing. As
the name of this interactive exhibition suggests, ‘Decision’ immerses visitors
in a series of experimental environments from the very start.
It’s an intriguing look at
human perception and decision making which begins with a choice of entrances to
the exhibition and then includes darkened corridors, spiral slides and the
chance to fly over Waterloo Bridge.
Carsten Holler is a Belgian
artist, born to German parents, who began his early career as a scientist. This
is evident in his vision of museums and galleries as a place of experimentation,
which continues with the playful ‘Decision’ – the artist’s largest survey show
in the UK to date.
Ravilious
Dulwich Picture
Gallery
28 July – 30 August
2015
Dulwich Picture Gallery’s fantastic
selection of more than 80 paintings by Eric Ravilious includes famous works
such as ‘Train Landscape’ and ‘Westbury Horse’ as well as works from private collections
which give an inspiring insight into his oeuvre from the mid-1920s up to his
death in 1942.
Separated into six subject
areas which were of particular interest to the artist throughout his career, the
exhibition offers a view into the enchanted world of Ravilious’ mystical and
magical mind, while giving visitors the chance to look deeper into the message
they portray.
Agnes Martin
Tate Modern
3 June – 11 October
The evocative and mesmerising
paintings by the American abstract painter Agnes Martin are beautifully
presented in this exhibition at the Tate Modern, which is the first
retrospective of her work to be shown since 1994.
The subtle pencil lines and
pale colour washes show the artist’s conviction in the emotive and expressive
power of art which spanned the several decades of her career.
The exhibitions continue a summer of bringing the
arts as far into the public domain as possible, with organisations such as UAL
working hard to keep London at the forefront of world art with the support of patrons
and collectors such as Michael Goedhuis, Deirdre Hopkins JP, Nigel Hurst and
Sasan Ghandehari and Yassmin Ghandehari.
