21 of the most exciting art exhibitions opening this new year in London
-
Loading... - lylanew bella
- 14 Feb 2023
- 68 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
2023 gets off to promising cultural start with a series of ground-breaking shows, installations and retrospectives across the capital
What better way to start the new year than with a visit to London’s world-class museums and galleries? This January and February sees a packed programme of exhibitions across the capital, from a Donatello blockbuster at the V&A and a deep dive into Spanish and Hispanic art at the Royal Academy to a unique perspective on David Hockney at the futuristic Lightroom in King’s Cross. Here’s our edit of the must-see new new London art exhibitions 2023.
Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle
Barbican Art Gallery
16 February - 21 May
“One of the reasons I painted was to catch life as it goes by, right hot off the griddle… the vitality is taken out of real living,” the American artist Alice Neel (1900-1984) once said. This retrospective is a wonderful display of Neel’s vibrant portraits and archival material. Based mainly in New York, she persisted with her figurative, expressionistic style when it was unfashionable to do so, her subjects not what were expected at the time – pregnant women, labour leaders, Black and Puerto Rican children, Greenwich Village eccentrics, civil rights activists and Queer performers. This exhibition not only highlights the depth and breadth of a radical, creative artist during a six-decade career, but also sets her work in a shifting cultural context.
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer
(not smaller & further away)
Lightroom
22 February - 23 April
He’s the artist forever pushing boundaries, fascinated by the intersection of new media and art. So, it seems only right that David Hockney’s Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) should be the inaugural exhibition at Lightroom, a brand-new creative space in King’s Cross. Hockney uses the venue and its cutting-edge digital technology to invite the audience into his creative world, taking them on a personal journey through his oeuvre. Expect his iconic paintings, but also rarely seen work and newly created pieces, all presented in a totally unique, unexpected way. In the accompanying soundtrack, the artist says: “The world is very very beautiful if you look at it, but most people don’t look very much. They scan the ground in front of them so they can walk, they don’t really look at things incredibly well, with an intensity. I do.” Read More…
