Top 10 exhibitions in London

Seeing is believing: Top 10 exhibitions in London

 

There are some knock-out shows, both cultural and curious, in London this November. After months of lockdown and stop-start, London’s museums and galleries can’t wait to get out the door and strut their stuff, albeit in a tidy way. Even the free events have to be booked in advance, and are mostly masked.

Noguchi at The Barbican

The American–Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi once said: “With my double nationality and double upbringing, where was my home? Where are my affections? Where is my identity? Japan or America – either, both – or the world?” He used diverse materials – stone, ceramics, wood, metal, paper. He created iconic and instantly recognisable designs like his Akari light sculptures (they were endlessly copied). He made sculpture for grown-ups and children’s playgrounds. His aim was to create art that was “actually useful” and “part of people’s lives.” An artist who never felt wholly accepted for himself in either Japan or America, Noguchi concluded: “Art for me is something which teaches human beings how to become more human.” The Barbican. Until 9th January 2022

 

Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

South Kensington always rustles up a fine museum display or two, but probably the most unusual is still the V&A’s Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser. If you haven’t seen it yet, it closes on December 31st. It is both immersive and interactive (every venue’s aspiration these days), but there are lots of labels to read too. 

Whatever Lewis Carroll’s motive for inventing his story of Alice, those Adventures in Wonderland have become a global success, and show little sign of being eclipsed. The V&A has rooms filled with strange and delightful artwork, as well as displays of film, fashion, and theatre design. There are also bold, theatrical, interactive displays. Word is that the best is left till last. Book in advance. Tickets are released every Tuesday at midday for the following week. Until December 31st.

Curiouser and Curiouser. At the V&A. Tea party scene: copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

 

The Art of Banksy

Work from the hugely popular (and anonymous) artist comes to London. This show comprises 90 works by the Artist Still Known As Banksy. It’s an art display that proudly proclaims the fact that it’s unauthorised, which means the artist had nothing to do with its curation or display, and all work is on loan from private collectors until late November. Includes favourites like Balloon Girl, Flower Thrower, Gangsta Rat and Turf War (Churchill with a green Mohawk). Satirical, political, no requirement for a philosophy degree in order to appreciate the works on show. On view at 50 Earlham Street, near Seven Dials. Book tickets in advance, entry times vary due to social distancing. Hurry, closes late November

 

Superblue London

Superblue London, the new experiential art venue, has launched in London with work from A A Murakami: wholly immersive, multi-sensory installations. Superblue aims to present audiences with art that dissolves the boundaries of tech, art and nature. Murakami’s “Silent Fall” features stylised, futuristic trees that seem to stretch out to infinity. Visitors walk among the trees, and each one produces misty ‘bubbles’ that burst when caught in the hand, unlocking natural scents like pine. It’s an installation in the ephemeral tech mode, where transient states of matter are combined with unusual landscapes. Chemical automata uncanny senses. Superblue can be found at 6 Burlington Gardens, W1S 3ET. Until Summer 2022. Book all tickets online. Closed Mondays.

AA Murakami’s “Silent Fall” installation at Superblue. Photograph copyright of AA Murakami, courtesy of Superblue. Photographer: Alessandra Kila 

 

Lux: New Wave Contemporary Art

A new media art exhibition that calls on the talents of twelve artists and collectives working with audio–visual tech. The show includes new commissions that promise 3D projection mapping, neural networks, quantum computing and algorithmic visualisations. Artists include Random International, Hito Steyerl and Es Devlin. More tightly wound than AA Murakami at Superblue, more focused on the tech, but very “now” and very relevant to our brave new world. Lux can be found at 180 The Strand, and this show continues until 18 December 2021. Book tickets and times

Lux: New Wave of Contemporary Art. Es Devlin, BLUESKYWHITE. Photographer: Jack Hems

Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules

Dennis and Gnasher, Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids. The iconic and iconoclastic British comic and it’s cast of lovable renegades is on show at Somerset House. It’s all so very British, it has to qualify as one of the truly unique experiences of London. Original comic artwork from The Beano archives, plus enthusiastic testimonials from today’s artists, writers and cartoonists. David Walliams was guest editor for its 80th anniversary, Mark Hamill was once a member of the Dennis the Menace Beano Club, and Stella McCartney was a fan. The Beano became the longest running weekly comic of all time in 2018. Embankment Galleries, South Wing. Until 6 March 2022.

 

Noel Coward: Art & Style

The sharp–eyed sophistication and glamour of Noel Coward is on display in this collection of artefacts from the Coward Archive. The energy and creative drive of this 20th century celebrity is hard to top. He was entirely his own man. The clipped one–liners and straight–backed delivery were carefully cultivated, and his talent and image–building prowess meant that he carved out a niche in British society without seemingly putting a foot wrong. No mean feat. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Noel Coward’s West End debut as a 19 year-old playwright. You can pay tribute to the great man at the Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard, EC2 until 23 December 2021. Free, but book tickets and wear a mask.

Royal Academy of Arts: Helene Binet

As a title for a show, “Light Lines” barely does justice to the architectural photographs of Helen Binet at the RA. This is her first major retrospective, and, armed with an analogue camera and chemical wet printing techniques, she captures shafts of light, the subtlety and surprise of shadow and texture. She photographs surfaces where the light sometimes resembles charcoal or graphite on paper, and sometimes reflects back, even and hard. She has been looking at buildings, modern and old, for 35 years, often rendering them unrecognisable, almost alien. Until 23 January 2022.

 

Titanic: The Exhibition

Cabin reconstructions, life–size replicas of many of the ship’s areas, from third class cabins to a first class suite, plus displays of 200 objects from the passengers, and the retelling of personal stories about the sinking of the ‘unsinkable’. The exhibition promises stories of heroism and class divisions. (But sadly, no Leonardo Di Caprio.) The exhibition opens on February 4th, 2022, and the location has yet to be revealed, but bookings for tickets are being taken now.

 

Bowie 75

This is both a pop up exhibition and shop, very close to the spot were David Bowie once stood in a red phone box and posed for “that” photograph of Ziggy Stardust. There’s an “immersive” audio and HD video room featuring Bowie in previously unseen footage from his Golden Years period. Limited edition clothes and CDs, photographs AND the chance to don an iconic Bowie style costume and have your pic taken on a special set. 10 Heddon St W1 until late January 2022.

 

Well, well, well

As part of The Commuter Club's long reads, we've learned that The Leyden Gallery, run by Lindsay Moran and Adriana Cerne, is currently hosting a vibrant exhibition titled ‘Well, well, well’ (Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm to 6pm) in Aldgate House (EC3N 1AH), bringing a cohort of emerging artists to the space in a timely exploration of mental health, wellbeing and recovery.  

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