Whitechapel Gallery
 The original Whitechapel Gallery to the left; and the former Passmore Edwards library building, now incorporated into the gallery, to the right | |
  Location within Central London | |
| Established | 1901 |
|---|---|
| Location | 77–82Whitechapel High Street,London,England, United Kingdom[1] |
| Coordinates | 51°30′58″N0°04′14″W/ 51.515984°N 0.070485°W |
| Visitors | 490,000 (April 2009 – April 2010) |
| Director | Gilane Tawadros |
| Public transit access |  Aldgate East |
| Website | www |
TheWhitechapel Galleryis a public art gallery inWhitechapelon the north side ofWhitechapel High Street,in theLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets.The original building, designed byCharles Harrison Townsend,opened in 1901 as one of the first publicly funded galleries for temporary exhibitions in London. The building is a notable example of the BritishModern Style.[2]In 2009 the gallery approximately doubled in size by incorporating the adjacent formerPassmore Edwardslibrary building. It exhibits the work of contemporary artists and organizes retrospective exhibitions and other art shows.[3]
History[edit]
The gallery exhibitedPablo Picasso'sGuernicain 1938 as part of a touring exhibition organised byRoland Penroseto protest against theSpanish Civil War.[4]
The gallery played a major role in the history of post-warBritish artby promoting the work of emerging artists. Several significant exhibitions were held at the Whitechapel Gallery includingThis is Tomorrowin 1956, the first UK exhibition byMark Rothkoin 1961, and in 1964,The New Generationshow which featuredJohn Hoyland,Bridget Riley,David HockneyandPatrick Caulfieldamong others.[5][6][7][8][9]
Initiated by members of theIndependent Group,the exhibition broughtPop Artto the general public as well as introducing some of the artists, concepts, designers and photographers that would define theSwinging Sixties.
Throughout its history, the gallery had a series of open exhibitions that provided a platform for the area's artist community, but by the early 1990s these open shows became less relevant as emerging artists moved to other areas.
In the late 1970s, the critical importance of the Whitechapel Gallery was displaced by newer venues such as theHayward Gallery,then in the 1980s it enjoyed a resurgence under the Directorship ofNicholas Serota.The gallery had a major refurbishment in 1986; and in 2009 expanded into the formerPassmore EdwardsLibrary building next door. The expansion, which doubled the gallery's physical size and nearly tripled its available exhibition space, now allows the Whitechapel Gallery to remain open to the public all year round.[5]
Notable exhibitions[edit]
- 1908 – Muhammadan Art and Life in Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Morocco and India. Autumn Exhibition 23 October to 6 December. The opening day to the public was on 27th Ramadan. An advisory member wasSyed Ameer Ali,who in 1910 was one of the main instigators of the London Mosque Fund, which went on to establish the nearbyEast London Mosque.
- 1956 –This is Tomorrowexhibit[10]
- 1958 – American abstract expressionistJackson Pollock
- 1961 –Mark Rothko.The installation of his work at the Whitechapel becomes his template for all subsequent shows[citation needed]
- 1961 - Recent Australian painting, Whitechapel Gallery, London (includingJohn Olsen)
- 1964 – The New Generation – Painting – showcasing the work ofJohn Hoyland,[11]Patrick Caulfield,David Hockney,Paul Huxley,Alan Jones andBridget Riley[12][6][7]
- 1965 – The New Generation – Sculpture – showcasing the work ofPhilip King,David Annesley, Michael Bolus, Tim Scott,William Tucker,Isaac Witkin[13][9]
- 1970 and 1971 –David Hockneyretrospective, first major shows ofGilbert & GeorgeandRichard Long
- 1982 –Frida Kahlo[5]
- 1986 Victor Willing, a retrospective exhibition
- 1993 – The Whitechapel Gallery showcasesLucian Freud
- 2001 and 2002 –Liam GillickandNan Goldinstage their first major solo shows in the UK
- 2008 –Cornelia Parker's filmChomskian Abstract,featuringNoam Chomsky
- 2009 – Retrospective ofIsa Genzken's work and solo shows forSophie CalleandElizabeth Peyton
- 2010 – Survey ofAlice Neel's portraits in Britain
- 19–20 January 2011 the gallery hosted the inauguralNorthern Future Forumgathering of prime ministers.[14]
- 2011 – First UK survey of German artistThomas Struth,one of the photographers of the late 20th century
- 2012 – A comprehensive survey ofTurner Prizewinning British artistGillian Wearing
- 2013 – The first major solo exhibition in London forYBAartistSarah Lucas
- 2014 – Five decade survey of North AmericanRichard Tuttle,which was presented in conjunction with a major installation inTate Modern's Turbine Hall and a solo show forDadapioneerHannah Höch
- 2015 – The first show in Britain on Arab Modernism "Imperfect Chronology: Arab Art from the Modern to the Contemporary", from theBarjeel Art Foundationcollection[15]
- 2016 – A new commission by feminist activism art groupGuerrilla Girlsand a major retrospective of British artistEduardo Paolozzi
- 2017 – A major retrospective of German artistThomas Ruffand solo show for British artist Benedict Drew
- 2018 – A solo show forMark Dionand the first major UK survey of artist duoElmgreen & Dragset
Publications[edit]
In 2006, Whitechapel Gallery and MIT Press formed an editorial alliance to produce a new series of books entitled Documents of Contemporary Art.[16]
Expansion[edit]
The Whitechapel reopened in April 2009 after a two-year project, which approximately doubled the size of the Gallery by incorporating the adjacent formerPassmore Edwardslibrary building (vacated whenWhitechapel Idea Storeopened). The work cost approximately £13.5 million and was partly funded by theHeritage Lottery Fund.A full-size tapestry based on Pablo Picasso'sGuernica,byJacqueline de la Baume Dürrbachand loaned from theUnited Nations Art Collection,was included in the inaugural exhibition byGoshka Macuga.[17][18]andIsa Genzken.[19]
As part of the expansion, a new Archive Gallery, a reading room and an archive repository (where the Whitechapel's historic records are held) have been created to support the Whitechapel's standing as an educational charity. The archives catalogue the very conception of the gallery, as well as the complete directors' files of correspondence which reveal the reasons behind key decisions in the Gallery's history.[20]
Directors[edit]
- Charles Aitken(1901–1911)
- Hugh Scrutton (1945–1952)[21]
- Bryan Robertson(1952–1968)[21][9]
- Mark Glazebrook (1969–1971)[22]
- Jenny Stein (1972–1974)[21]
- Jasia Reichardt(1974–1976)
- Nicholas Serota(1976–1988)[5]
- Catherine Lampert (1988–2002)
- Iwona Blazwick(2002–2022)[23]
- Gilane Tawadros (2022–Present)
References[edit]
- ^"Visit".Whitechapel Gallery.Retrieved25 April2020.
- ^"WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY, non Civil Parish - 1065820 | Historic England".
- ^"History 1".Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.
- ^Gijs van Hensbergen (2004).Guernica: The biography of a twentieth-century icon.Bloomsbury. pp. 82–96.ISBN1582341249.
- ^abcd"Whitechapel Gallery reopens: Guernica returns to its first British home".Daily Telegraph.27 October 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2013.
- ^ab"New Generation: 1964 » 3 Apr 1964 » The Spectator Archive".The Spectator Archive.
- ^ab"John Hoyland obituary".the Guardian.1 August 2011.
- ^"John Hoyland | Artist | Royal Academy of Arts".royalacademy.org.uk.
- ^abcJuliff, Toby (2018). "A New Generation of British Art: A Problem of Provincialism". Sydney: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art. pp. 125–145.
- ^"This is Tomorrow".
- ^"John Hoyland 'The New Generation: 1964' by Bryan Robertson".
- ^Lambirth, Andrew (2009).John Hoyland: Scatter the Devils.Norwich: Unicorn Press. p. 17.ISBN978-1-906509-07-1.
- ^"New generation sculpture – Art Term".Tate.
- ^Johnson, Paul (24 January 2011)."Reaching the summit".The British Ambassador to Sweden blogs on The Local.Retrieved30 May2013.
- ^Ayad, Myrna (5 November 2015)."Whitechapel Gallery in London Brings Modern Arab Art to the World (Published 2015)".The New York Times.
- ^"Publications".
- ^"In praise of... Guernica".The Guardian.26 March 2009.Retrieved12 July2017.
- ^"Art gallery extension completed".BBC News.31 March 2009.
- ^"Iwona Blazwik on the Whitechapel. Interview by Oliver Basciano".ARTINFO.4 June 2009.
- ^Yiakoumaki, Nayia."The Whitechapel Opens its Archive"Archived11 August 2011 at theWayback Machine,Apollo,2009-03-01. 2009-05-28.
- ^abc"A miracle in the East End".The Telegraph.
- ^"Battles with my trustees » 24 Mar 2001 » The Spectator Archive".The Spectator Archive.
- ^Greenberger, Alex (5 January 2022)."Iwona Blazwick Steps Down as Director of London's Whitechapel Gallery After Two Decades".ARTnews.Retrieved17 February2022.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Greg Whitfield,Review of Janet Cardiff, George Bures Miller and Philip DiCorcia show at Whitechapel Art Gallery (June–August 2003),3:am Magazine.Includes a good photograph of the Gallery interior.
- Prince William opens Whitechapel GalleryPrince of Wales WebsiteArchived25 December 2010 at theWayback Machine
- Alice Neel: Painted Truths Exhibition 2010,Exhibition Review
- Isa Genzken, first exhibition in the newly expanded GalleryIsa Genzken: Open Sesame
- Sophie Calle reviewGuardian Article
- Interview with Iwona BlaswickTimes Online
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Academics | |
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| People | |
| Other | |
- Education in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Contemporary art galleries in London
- Buildings and structures completed in 1901
- Museums in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Art museums and galleries established in 1901
- 1901 establishments in England
- Edwardian architecture in London
- Art Nouveau architecture in London
- Art Nouveau museum buildings
- Whitechapel