Hayward Gallery, London
If you’re dating in London you’re surrounded by modern art, so spend some time wandering around a gallery together before finding somewhere for a bite to eat.
If you both enjoy art, a wander around a gallery is a great way to spend some time together and it’s bound to give you plenty to talk about! If you’re dating in London or visiting the capital, you’re spoilt for choice with many galleries staying open late into the evening or putting on music performances in their cafes and bars.
Here’s a run-down of some of London’s must-see modern art galleries.
Last year’s big news was the opening of the Saatchi Gallery in new premises in Chelsea. Housed in a magnificent new home at the Duke of York’s HQ on the King’s Road, it is now one of the largest contemporary galleries anywhere in the world, and admission to all shows is completely free. The current exhibition (on until January 2010) is Abstract America containing work from Kristin Baker, John Bauer, Tom Burr, Mark Bradford and Joe Bradley among others.
Whitechapel Gallery in the East End of London has recently exapanded its premises so there’s now a cafe and bar where music and film events take place into the evening. There’s a saxophone jazz quartet in October, film nights and workshops for the public at this contemporary gallery.
The ever controversial Turner Prize is on at the Tate Britain until January 2010, and whilst you are there, you can also see the Turner & The Masters exhibition.
Of course no one even vaguely interested in contemporary art should miss it’s sister gallery, the Tate Modern on Bankside. The building itself is splendid enough to justify a visit, and its riverside setting gives wonderful views. All permanent exhibits are free, but temporary shows charge admission and even the restaurant is pretty good! On until January 2010 is Pop Life; Art In A Material World, looking at art from the 1980s onwards which includes work from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami.
Another mainstream modern art venue on the South Bank is the Hayward Gallery, renowned and reviled in equal measure for its brutalist post-war architecture. The current exhibition looks at 50 years of the influential American artist Ed Ruscha.
Other galleries worth a visit include the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), the Barbican, and the Camden Arts Centre who put on innovative multi-media exhibitions throughout the year. Smaller public galleries dedicated to modern art include the delightful Serpentine in Kensington Gardens, while in a stylish marriage of form and function, the Design Museum casts new light on everyday objects and inventions that shape our lives.
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