2018 is an exciting year for art exhibitions in London. Here at PopUp Painting HQ we’ve compiled our top 5 exhibitions to catch over the coming months:
For Lovers and Roald Dahl Fans Alike!
What?: ’Quentin Blake: Arrows of Love’
Where?: House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, Kings Cross
When?: 14th Feb – 29 Apr 2018
This wonderful exhibition shows Quentin Blake’s never seen before drawings depicting the joy, folly and sorrow of love. True to Blake’s style there is a large dose of humour and tongue-in-cheek present in the drawings. Lively and fun art. The perfect way to impress a date!
The Re-opening of the Hayward Gallery.
What?: Andreas Gursky
Where?: The Hayward Gallery, The Southbank Centre, Waterloo
When?: 25 Jan – 22 Apr 2018
After being closed for just over 2 years, the newly refurbished Hayward Gallery has reopened its doors. The gallery is housing the first major retrospective of the acclaimed German photographer Andreas Gursky. Gursky is known for his large-format photos that portray emblematic sites and scenes of the global economy and contemporary life. The artist’s photographs are often taken from a high vantage point which allows Gursky to capture spectacular amounts of detail. If you enjoy national Geographic photography, you will love this exhibition, not to be missed!
Socially Engaged Art:
What?: Another Kind of Life: Photography on the Margins
Where?: The Barbican
When?: February 28 – May 27
After housing the sell out Basquait exhibition the Barbican are following on with another powerful show. This exhibition focuses on outsiders existing on the fringes of society in communities across the globe. The show features photographs by 20 photographers, from the 1950s to today and covers themes such as drugs, addiction, sexuality, minorities and youth culture – discussing the idea of social outsiders as agents for change.
For Painting Lovers
What?: All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life
Where?: Tate Britain, Pimlico
When?: February 28 – August 27
All Too Human celebrates the painters in Britain who strove to represent human figures, their relationships and surroundings in the most intimate of ways.It features artists including Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon alongside rarely seen work from their contemporaries including Frank Auerbach and Paula Rego. Many of them lived or live in London, drawn to the multicultural capital from around the world. Three important works by Francis Bacon will be shown in the UK for the first time in at least three decades. The exhibition also shows how this spirit in painting was fostered by the previous generation, from Walter Sickert to David Bomberg, and how contemporary artists continue to express the tangible reality of life through paint.
One for the Kids (Big and Small)!
What?: Ian Cheng
Where?: Serpentine Gallery, Hyde Park
When?: 6 March – 28 May 2018
Ian Cheng’s work draws on principles of video game design, improvisation and cognitive science, to develop live simulations – virtual ecosystems of infinite duration, populated with agents who are programmed with behavioural drives but left to self-evolve without authorial intent. In other words the Serpentine will house Cheng’s artificially intelligent robotic artworks that will become influenced by the behaviours, beliefs and emotions of the gallery visitors. These artworks will constantly evolve throughout the duration of the show and will transform the Serpentine Gallery into a space not unlike an animal sanctuary for new forms of 21st century life! This is certainly an exhibition not to be missed!