My Favourite Gallery (So Far!)

I've only been there a maximum of...three times. I've seen two different shows there- a collection of Alexander Rodchenko's work, and 'The Painting of Modern Life' exhibition which I went to see twice because I loved it so much! (By the way I will put some links to the exhibition sites at the end of this post).

It's quite a blank space, set out on three floors it has an interesting shape with some rooms full of natural light and others with no windows so it can give a different feel to the work depending on where you are. I think what I like about the gallery itself is how it's simplicity means you can focus on the art and access any information very easily. However it also means I want more from the work, which I love. I love when I get curious about art I see!

The best thing is how the work is exhibited. 'The Painting of Modern Life' was so brilliant for introducing me to a whole new world of art, and helped me better understand how painting and photography can work together. This exhibition also introduced me to Michelangelo Pistoletto who I think has some really interesting work- mainly with his mirror images. During his career he focussed mainly on performance art and these mirror images were no exception. The way the piece changed depending on what it was reflecting, and how the viewer would react to seeing themselves in the art was a very clever way of making the audience participate with the art.

The first two pictures are of the Rodchenko exhibition (thursday 7th Feb- Sunday 27th April 2008) 'Lili Brik' Portrait for the poster “Knigi”, and 'Stairs, 1930'. The third is the cover art for 'The Painting of Modern Life' exhibition' (4th October- 30th December 2007). The details about these exhibitions can be found at the Hayward website http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-and-visual-arts/hayward-gallery-exhibitions. The last two images are from Pistoletto's book 'Azioni Materiali' with one of his mirror images 'Adamo ed Eva, 1962-1987'   

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