Sadly none of my pictures this time round; both these galleries don't like photographers. Shame really, some of the stuff I saw was pretty cool.
WHITE CUBE, BERMONDSEY - ANSELM KIEFER.
I almost got horrifically lost on the way to this particular gallery; Google Maps claimed that it was still a building site and most of the businesses I had noted down as landmarks had closed down and moved on.
Eventually, after standing in the middle of London Bridge station looking utterly bemused for about 10 minutes, I got my bearings and found the White Cube. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, a very impressive project space; particularly the south gallery which housed some of Kiefer's colossal canvas pieces. The staff however did make me feel a little uneasy; the minute I took out my camera I was set upon by some smug hipster who seemed to take great pleasure in informing me of the various copyrights I'd be breaching if I took a photo of the exhibition. This same guy then watched me like a hawk for the rest of my visit; I had to go into the bookshop to escape the piercing gaze from behind those ridiculous fake glasses and sculpted quiff.
Anyway - when I wasn't incurring the wrath of the gallery staff, I did actually find time to admire Kiefer's work. A lot of it seems to be halfway between sculpture and painting; incorporating 3D elements with thick, impasto style painting. These elements and the pieces that were pure sculpture were essentially found objects, mainly stone and scrap metal, but with an interesting sense of decay about them - the surface of the works are almost always covered in rust, or have layers of paint crumbling and peeling away. In this sense I got the feeling that Kiefer worked from a theme of preservation - or perhaps a lack thereof - particularly in the way that some of the works are caked in great big wodges of salt, the same way that salt was rubbed into meat to preserve it before the invention of fridges.
I really liked this exhibition; a short show that can be viewed in less than an hour, and a ten minute walk from London Bridge (except if you're me and have a sense of direction similar to that of a gnat). Definitely worth going to if you're in the area.
HAUNCH OF VENISON - THE MYSTERY OF APPEARANCE.
Probably the most awesomely named gallery I have ever visited. However, there was no venison to be found on any of this establishment's three floors. Needless to say, I was disappointed about this. I also wasn't particularly enamoured by the work on show; must admit considering that there were some classics by Bacon and Auerbach on show, I felt a tiny bit guilty about this. I was actually more attracted to the photographic portraits of the artists themselves, displayed on the bottom floor of the gallery.
In this respect, the Mystery of Appearance was slightly underwhelming, but still worth a quick visit if you're a fan of any of the artists on show.
Plan for tomorrow - Whitechapel. Should be good, I actually kinda like Rothko.
- Padfoot
No comments:
Post a Comment