If you want to find great art galleries to visit in London this winter, Condé Nast Traveller’s latest ‘the best exhibitions in London for 2021’ online feature, highlights some of the finest to enjoy. Whether you are a lover of fine or contemporary art, photography or computer generated installations, London has it all this season.
As the Condé Nast Traveller article explains; “London is home to some of the world’s best art galleries, with collections that span centuries housed in buildings that are often masterpieces in their own right. From classical to contemporary works by era-defining artists and movement-making revolutionaries to high-tech immersive experiences with visual effects and virtual realities, these are the shows inspiring the next generation and helping the city’s creative scene to flourish.”
Their top picks include:
LUX: New Wave of Contemporary Art, 180 The Strand
Curated by SUUM in collaboration with Fact and 180 Studios, LUX brings together 12 of the World’s most celebrated artists to expand the boundaries of immersive art and blur the lines between the physical and virtual worlds.
Website: 180thestrand.com
Dates: Wednesday 13 October–Saturday 18 December 2021
Helen Levitt’s Landmark Retrospective, The Photographers’ Gallery
One of the most influential street photographers of the 20th Century, Helen Levitt spent decades documenting local communities in her native New York, capturing everyday city life in neighbourhoods such as the Lower East Side, Bronx, and Spanish Harlem. Working from the 1930s through the 1990s,
Taking place over two floors, this retrospective of more than 130 works surveys the full breadth of Levitt’s rich photographic practice, charting her journey from street reportage to documentary filmmaker and pioneer of colour photography.
Website: https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/helen-levitt-retrospective
Dates: Friday 15 October 2021-Sunday 13 February 2022
Yoko Ono: MEND PIECE for London, Whitechapel Gallery
Mend carefully.
Think of mending the world
at the same time.
y.o.
Whitechapel Gallery visitors are invited to respond to this instruction from artist, musician and activist Yoko Ono.
On entering Galleries 5 and 6, visitors are invited to take a seat at a table on which are placed broken fragments of ceramic cups and saucers and some simple materials for repair – scissors, glue, twine and tape. When they have finished ‘mending’, the results of their efforts can be displayed along the shelves on the walls.
Ono first presented this work as Mending Piece I at her 1966 solo exhibition at Indica Gallery, London, a renowned centre for countercultural art. Titled Yoko at Indica: Unfinished Paintings and Objects, almost every work in the exhibition was designed to be completed through the actions of visitors.
Website: whitechapelgallery.org
Dates: Until Sunday 2 January 2022
BEANO: The Art of Breaking the Rules, Somerset House
This exhibition offers “a nostalgic look at Britain’s favourite comic”, says Condé Nast Traveller.
It celebrates the 4,000-issue strong comic and allows visitors to take a trip into Beanotown to explore how this beloved icon of British comics has fired up successive generations to break the rules, while discovering artists who push boundaries in their own original and wonderful ways.
Website: somersethouse.org.uk.
Dates: Thursday 21 October 2021 – Sunday 6 March 2022
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms, Tate Modern
This exhibition invites you to step inside the Japanese artist’s most famous installations. It presents a rare chance to experience two of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms. These immersive installations will transport you into Kusama’s unique vision of endless reflections.
Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life is one of Kusama’s largest installations to date and was made for her 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern. It is shown alongside Chandelier of Grief, a room which creates the illusion of a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers.
Website: tate.org.uk
Dates: until Sunday 22 June 2022
For a full list of galleries and exhibitions visit, Condé Nast Traveller’ ‘the best exhibitions in London for 2021’.
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Photo: Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules at Somerset House (Somerset House Press Office)