Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA
Another amazing selection of items from the Royal Collection has been compiled and presented to the public at The Queen’s Gallery – this beautiful space really is one of my favourite places to visit: whatever the theme of the exhibition, there is always lots of interest to be seen and learned from. For this exhibition the four or five rooms/spaces contain a fascinating selection of photographs from the Royal Collection taken over the past century, since photography was first used to depict the Royals. Many famous photographers’ work is on view here, including that of Cecil Beaton (always the Queen Mother’s favourite), Baron (Prince Philip’s favourite), David Bailey, Lord Snowdon, Patrick Lichfield, Rankin, Annie Leibovitz, Dorothy Wilding (who famously stuck to her principle of only photographing children, even when Princess Elizabeth married, had children and became Queen and wanted her to continue photographing her), as well as other, lesser known photographers. There are many photographs which have never previously been seen by the public, and also various examples showing the process whereby contact sheets etc would be submitted to the Palace, sometimes with suggestions for editing/cropping, for selections to be made – whether for specific purposes (such as official photographs, Christmas cards etc) or as family favourites.
No photography is allowed in this exhibition and, sadly, there is no catalogue/accompanying book, for copyright reasons, so the visitor has to try to take in all the details of each photograph – whether it is an often-seen ‘classic’ or captures a unique moment – and then remember its sheer beauty!
On until Sunday 6 October 2024 – Gallery is open daily from 10.00am to 5.30pm (until 31 August – thereafter closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Tickets cost £19 for adults, but, by getting the ticket stamped and dated, it becomes a ‘pass’, allowing you to return free of charge for all future exhibitions for a year from that date. There is also an informative audioguide included in the price. As mentioned in previous reviews, there is also a shop next to the gallery selling a range of comestibles (biscuits, teas, chocolates, preserves, alcohol etc), household/bathroom goodies (such as teatowels, soaps), porcelain items, music, books, and replica jewellery etc – all excellent suggestions for birthday or Christmas presents!
British Sculpture: 20th and 21st Century Art at Portland Gallery, 3 Bennet Street, London SW1A 1RP
This beautiful exhibition is well worth a visit if you are in St. James’s and have 15-20 minutes to spare! There are nearly 30 small – only one or two are approaching lifesize – sculptures available to purchase and it is a lovely collection of some of the best of recent British sculptors’ works, including one each by Henry Moore, Elisabeth Frink and Lyn Chadwick, three each by Philip Jackson, Peter Randall-Page, David Williams-Ellis and Marzia Colonna, and four by Jess Wallace. Each exhibit is simply presented on a white plinth and the two rooms (one downstairs) are a nice size to navigate.
Also on show in the gallery are works by Bill Jacklin, with beautiful monotypes available to purchase.
On until Sunday 4 August 2024 – free to visit. Portland Gallery are artists’ agents who handle many established and up-and-coming artists and late artists’ estates (including that of Mary Fedden). Their website is www.portlandgallery.com and forthcoming exhibitions are listed.
Yinka Shonibare cbe: Suspended States
Minsuk Cho: Mass Studies – Serpentine Pavilion 2024
Yayoi Kusama: Pumpkin all at/near Serpentine Gallery South, Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA
Yinka Shonibare’s first London solo exhibition for over 20 years is largely a collection of fibreglass sculptures of historical people (such as Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill, King Henry VIII, Lord Kitchener) from Britain’s imperial past being reproduced and then covered/decorated with the colourful patterned wax print cotton typical of the artist, whose Nigerian roots form such a major part of his work. There are also several abstract shapes and pictures that are fascinating with beautiful colour combinations. In the final room Shonibare has created ‘The War Library’, an installation of over 5,000 books bound in Dutch wax print cotton, with gold lettering highlighting the titles – this piece covers the history of war and peace and is certainly thought-provoking. Shonibare clearly has strong feelings about many topics, such as imperialism, slavery and racism, and these feelings are very evident in his work; but the pieces can still be viewed and taken at face value as clever designs with beautiful colours.
On until Sunday 1 September 2024 – Gallery is generally open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00am to 6.00pm – free to visit (but donations very welcome). Website: www.serpentinegalleries.org for booking timed entry and general information
Next to Serpentine South is the Summer Pavilion 2024, this year designed by the South Korean architect Minsuk Cho. A series of five ‘islands’ – predominantly constructed in timber that has been stained to give the black appearance that is so in vogue at the moment – are connected to a circular central area to form a star, with an oculus to enable light to enter but still protect visitors from the (so far dreadful) weather; and there is a café, a library (of unread books!), a sound gallery, an auditorium and a play area – the architect has used these designs to refer back to previous Summer Pavilions over the past 20+ years, in a sign of his sense of history (?and humour?).
The Summer Pavilion is not particularly large, and with the space divided up effectively into six smaller areas, it does not really seem to hang together, despite the central ‘hub’. But it is always worth a visit, just to see what imaginative construction has been built, from scratch, over a period of a few weeks … only to be dismantled at the end of summer, when it will be taken away to be rebuilt somewhere (sorry! – I did not make a note where its final home will be!). One of the stipulations of recent and future Summer Pavilion commissions is that they are to be ‘green’ and sustainable.
Open until Sunday 27 October 2024, generally open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00am to 6.00pm – free to all (and permissible to bring your own food even into the café area)
Also in Kensington Gardens, but this time situated to the north-east of the Round Pond (although it is so huge that you can’t miss it from anywhere near the Broad Walk and going towards GF Watts’s Physical Energy!) is Pumpkin, 2024, the latest – and largest (so far, at six metres high and five-and-a-half metres diameter) – bronze sculpture by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, (she of the Infinity Mirror Rooms, which was at Tate Modern until April 2024). Pumpkins have been a constant feature through her long life (she is now 95!), and she has frequently returned to the yellow pumpkins with black polka dots; this example is a classic! It is well worth walking around – the shiny finish seems to make it irresistible for people wanting to take selfies in the reflection of the larger black dots!
On show until Sunday 3 November 2024
Various exhibitions, including Bridget Drakeford (ceramics), Irene Sanderson (paintings), Stephanie Legard / Studio Legard(silk fabrics, and paintings) atIce House Gallery, Holland Park, Kensington, London W8
This is a lovely small space in the middle of Holland Park (between the café, the opera stage and the Orangery), and over the summer months (or ideally from spring to autumn) it is let out to artists to present their work in congenial surroundings. Most exhibitions run over nine days – two weekends (opening on the first Saturday and closing on the second Sunday). I always like to visit every exhibition – usually featuring the work of very small enterprises – and, depending on the prices, I have bought pieces from some of them! On until Sunday 20 July is a collection of Stephanie Legard’s flower paintings on paper and fabrics, particularly silk scarves – after 40 years as a commercial fabric designer she has changed direction to produce unique works, which are beautiful!
Previously this summer Bridget and Irene shared the space for their ceramics and paintings exhibition, which I also much enjoyed: and I can’t wait to see what else will be coming up in the next few months. If you are near Holland Park, do try to see what is on in the Ice House – it is usually open daily from 10.00am to 6.00pm, although these times do vary, depending on the artist being featured.
Contact details: Bridget Drakeford (www.bdporcelain.co.uk) – Irene Sanderson (www.irenesanderson.co.uk) – Stephanie Legard (www.studiolegard.com)
Over the past few weeks I have also returned to a number of venues previously reviewed, including:
- Marc Quinn: Light into Life at Kew Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AE – for the series of 17 large art installations in and around the grounds of Kew, but mainly around the Temperate House: and an exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art of some smaller works (paintings and sculptures) by this very prolific artist
On until Sunday 29 September 2024 – included in entry price (£20-24, depending on day and age, and includes a donation) – Members go free (and can take a guest)
- Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior King at Wallace Collection, Manchester Square, London W1 – for a talk given by Davinder Toor (the founder of the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, a major contributor to the exhibition) and Dr Xavier Bray, the director of the Wallace Collection
On until Sunday 20 October 2024 – tickets cost £14-16
- Regents Park – for another visit to the beautiful Queen Mary Rose Garden (on one of the very few dry and sunny days of the summer!)
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