contemporary art galleries of London
Serpentine Gallery
This unassuming former tea pavilion, considered an institution by contemporary art lovers, is situated in Kensington Gardens and a stone’s throw from Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace. The journey to the Serpentine itself is an enchanting roam through Hyde Park and past the Serpentine river. Run by the relentlessly energetic and enigmatic Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Serpentine has evolved into more than just a showcase for artists such as Bridget Riley, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Prince and Cindy Sherman. The gallery runs diverse education programmes, seminars, exhibitions, architecture and public programmes attracting over 750,000 visitors yearly and is staging the next instalment of an innovative exhibition of Chinese artists in collaboration with the Battersea Power Station.
Summer time is when the Serpentine Gallery comes alive. Aside from being a home for the arts, every summer, the gallery holds court to a summer pavilion and its annual summer party frequented by the likes of Kate Moss, Pierce Brosnan, Elle McPherson and Kiera Knightley. The pavilion is commissioned yearly by the gallery and created by a different architect each year, including Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhas and Olafur Eliasson & Cecil Balmond’s latest collaboration. Each pavilion plays summer host to gallery talks, black-tie functions and Hans Ulrich’s 24-hour experimental marathon events. This very unique gallery thrives in building the connection between the art and its public, creating projects and events that help bridge the understanding and relationship between the two.
Kensington Gardens
London
W1 3XA
Tel: +44 207 402 6075
http://www.serpentinegallery.org
Saatchi Gallery
Exhibiting works by mostly new and unknown artists, the Saatchi gallery is seen by many as a launching pad for fresh faces entering the scene. Opened by Charles Saatchi, a former advertising executive, the gallery was originally established to showcase his extensive art collection. When Saatchi first launched his gallery in 1985, contemporary art only attracted a select audience. Twenty years later, the Saatchi gallery welcomes over 600,000 visitors a year and is perhaps the largest private gallery of contemporary art in the world.
Moving from the grandiose South Bank location to Chelsea’s equally expansive Duke of York’s HQ which opens this summer, the gallery presents both British and international artists, both the established as well as the unseen, introducing novel and revolutionary art that has influenced the way contemporary art is viewed in Britain. Saatchi cemented his reputation in the contemporary scene as a patron to Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and other Young British Artists. The diverse range of artists shown at the gallery, which also include Julian Schnabel, Chris Ofili on its list of luminaries, have never failed to bring forth media controversy due to the rebellious nature and content of the pieces and Saatchi’s unbowing stance to protect the freedom of expression for the artists he represents.
The Saatchi gallery thrives on the unfamiliar, the unidentified, the unseen and unheard of – of the new forms of art being born every day. It is a gallery that understands how the power of debate can raise the public’s consciousness of what contemporary art means to them as individuals.
True to character, this year Saatchi is taking yet another huge risk and leap of faith by opening his new Chelsea gallery with The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art, an exhibition of works by contemporary Chinese artists whose names would not be recognized by the public. This year, Saatchi aims to reach a wider audience through the elimination of entry fees that was previously implemented in his South Bank gallery.
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s Headquarters
Kings Road
London
SW3 4SD
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk
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