Art Scene
Pop Life: Art in a Material World
1 October 2009
to 17 January 2010
Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Pop Life: Art in a Material World looks at the various ways that artists since the 1980s have engaged with mass media and cultivated artistic personas by creating their own signature brands. Artists represented include Tracey Emin, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince. A gallery dedicated to the so-called Young British Artists (YBA) focuses on their early performative exploits, and includes ephemera from Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas’s shop in Bethnal Green alongside renowned pieces such as Gavin Turk’s Pop (1993).
For information visit www.tate.org.uk/modern.
ANISH KAPOOR
26 September to 11 December 2009
Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
The Royal Academy of Arts is holding a major solo exhibition of internationally acclaimed artist (and 1991 Turner Prize winner)Anish Kapoor. This exhibition surveys the career of one of the most influential and pioneering sculptors of this generation, and also showcases new and previously unseen works. Highlights include Shooting into the Corner (2009), in which a cannon shoots projectiles of red wax into a corner at regular intervals. The work will evolve over the duration of the exhibition as the build-up of wax takes on its own form against the walls and the floor of the galleries. For information visit www.royalacademy.org.uk.
No Love Lost
by Damien Hirst
14 October 2009
to 24 January 2010
The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
The Wallace Collection is hosting an exhibition of 25 new paintings by Damien Hirst. Created between 2006 and 2008, the ‘No Love Lost’ series marks the artist’s return to the solitary practice of painting. That the exhibition takes place at the Wallace Collection, arguably the most intimate national museum in the world, is significant. In contrast to the white walls of a contemporary gallery, Hirst has opted to present these works in a classical environment, thus evoking Old Master paintings in the great European tradition. For information visit
www.wallacecollection.org.
BLACK ON PAPER: Modern and Contemporary Drawings
7 October to 8 November 2009
Olyvia Fine Art, 17 Ryder Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6PY
An exhibition of exquisite drawings by modern and contemporary masters including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Christo, Alexander Calder and Keith Haring is on show at Olyvia Fine Art. While less expensive than oil paintings, drawings can take the viewer closer to the mind and working methods of the artist, providing a stepping stone to collecting modern art. For information visit
www.olyviafineart.com.
Art London 2009
8 to 12 October 2009
The Royal Hospital,
The Royal Hospital Road,
Chelsea, London SW3 4SR
This autumn the UK’s longest established international fair for contemporary and modern art, Art London, returns to Chelsea for a long weekend. Art London showcases some of the world’s leading galleries – encompassing painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper, ceramics and glass – in a 75,000 square foot marquee set in the grounds of The Royal Hospital, in Chelsea. Highlights include the Thirteen Langton Street Gallery exhibiting the ‘live’ works of Raphael Thierry. Thierry creates 'sand performances' in front of audiences who are then invited to destroy the works so that he can start again. For information visit
www.artlondon.net.
Iran Unbowed
10 to 24 October 2009
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, 30 Portman Square, London W1H 7BH
As the official Hotel Partner of Frieze Art Fair, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill is delighted to celebrate its association with this contemporary art event by staging an exhibition of artwork by Iranian artists in the hotel lobby. At a time when the country is constantly in the news, Iran Unbowed will be a unique opportunity to view the work of three generations of artists, including Abbas Kiarostami and Farideh Lashai.
Just a 15-minute walk away from Frieze in Regent’s Park, the hotel has created a Frieze Art Fair package that includes two entry tickets to the Fair, an overnight stay, a full English breakfast and a complimentary drink in The Montagu or The Churchill Bar. This offer is valid from 12 to 19 October 2009, with prices starting at £235 subject to availability. For information on Iran Unbowed, visit www.candlestar.co.uk or
www.london.churchill.hyatt.com.
Paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851)
23 September 2009 to 31 January 2010
Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
Tate Britain will present a selection of magnificent paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851) alongside related works by the old masters and contemporaries he strove to imitate, rival and surpass. Bringing together over 100 pictures of supreme historical significance from collections around the world, this exhibition will provide an unprecedented opportunity to view Turner’s works alongside a stunning array of masterpieces by more than thirty other artists, including Canaletto, Claude, Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens and Constable. For information visit www.tate.org.uk/britain.