Colouring outside the lines: 3 hidden gems of the London art gallery scene
by Katie Baxter
Throughout my childhood, my mum endeavoured to instil me with an appreciation of art. Before every family holiday, she would scour through guide books and meticulously highlight the galleries that stood out to her on the page, before frantically scribbling down a list of her favourites in a notebook. It was her pre-holiday ritual, one that she would perform in preparation for the cultural pilgrimage she had planned for us.
Nostalgia washes over me as I recall wandering through the majestic halls of some of the best art galleries in Europe with my parents. I vividly remember gliding through the gilded arches of these grand, high-ceilinged rooms, floating dreamily from painting to painting. Whether we were in Venice at the Gallerie dell’Accademia (still a personal favourite to this day), or the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna, I would lose all sense of time and space as I stood face-to-face with a masterpiece, holding court with the figures in the painting, who would cast their eyes down upon me. A child at the time, I would become immersed in the world of the paintings, imagining myself in amongst the action of bloody battle scenes and dreamy pastoral landscapes alike. I cherish these memories dearly, and I owe my mum greatly for passing on her passion for art to me.
Visiting such renowned artistic institutions is a rite of passage for any art lover, an experience that will leave you awe-struck. These galleries are a rich treasure trove of timeless art, and you will find yourself uncovering something new no matter how many times you visit. However, the unfortunate reality is that due to their immense popularity, you’ll often find yourself plodding along in these galleries behind tourists en masse, or jostling for a spot in front of a masterpiece. Standing in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, one tends to feel like a sardine in an overloaded tin.
In a bid to explore a lesser-known side to the art world, I embarked on a mission to find some of the best small art galleries in London, an experience that I believed would enrich my appreciation for art further. Off the beaten track, you’ll find a goldmine of hidden gems; boutique art galleries that allow you to connect more intimately with the art on display. The spaces are often quiet, so you feel almost as if a private exhibition is being held in your honour. The galleries listed here host different exhibitions throughout the year, spotlighting unique works by a wide range of artists, which offer a glimpse into a new world of cultural traditions and artistic practises, compared to the Eurocentric perspective of the major art galleries.
If you’re also looking to explore a side of the London art scene that stretches beyond the conventional, this guide could come in handy.
Frith Street Gallery
Established in 1989, Frith Street Gallery is now located in a purpose-built space on Golden Square, a stone’s throw away from the hubbub of Oxford Street. Stepping into this gallery feels like waltzing into an oasis, a world away from the deafening cacophony of central London.
Currently showcasing the artwork of Shilpa Gupta, Frith Street Gallery is renowned for its championing of international artists, whether they’re already well-established in the contemporary art scene or at the very commencement of their career. The minimalist white space of the gallery, married with the starkness of Gupta’s work, instantly awakened my curiosity, drawing me into the exhibition.
Gupta explores “the tension we experience […] with the outside world”, coloured by the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Two moving sculpture installations dominate the space, both visually and audibly grabbing my attention. One, a knife spinning on a podium, the mechanism omitting a loud, aggressive whirring sound, symbolising the pent-up, violent movement that underpins static confinement. The other was a split-flap display, which typically shows times and destinations at airports, but here flips through a series of poetic and abstract phrases in order to convey the fragility of language. The exhibition was incredibly thought-provoking, resonating deeply in the fallout of the global pandemic.
Autograph Gallery
Autograph is a gallery with social purpose. This space hosts works by artists who use their medium — whether that be photography, film, or painting — to explore topical themes in relation to identity and race. The gallery also hosts events, such as art workshops for children and online talks with a range of artists.
The current exhibition at Autograph is entitled ‘Care, Contagion, Community’ and explores the ways in which interpersonal relationships have been affected by the global pandemic. The gallery commissioned ten artists to respond personally to this theme through their chosen artistic medium, and the results are highly poignant. My personal favourite was a series of paintings by Aida Silvestri, which fused imperial and colonial imagery with references to the BAME community. This series chillingly highlights the irony of a moralising rhetoric being spewed by a government that ignores the groups most negatively impacted by COVID.
In March, Autograph will be centring an exhibition around the photography of Poulomi Basi, as she explores the close dynamic between mother and daughter, who are connected by their mutual experiences of patriarchal trauma and their desire for freedom.
Camden Art Centre
Camden Art Centre is a gallery that does not distinguish between novice and professional artist; no matter who you are, this gallery is determined to immerse you into the world of art, helping you to forge a genuine connection with your inner creativity. Whether it’s an introductory four-week course to the Japanese technique of Nirokomi or a lecture on Titian’s art by a seventeenth-century scholar, there truly is something for everyone.
I had the pleasure of seeing two exhibitions at this gallery, both being hosted simultaneously up until 13th March. One was the work of Allison Katz, a Montreal-born artist whose art combines her own biography with universal moments of daily life, synthesising these with dream-like and unusual imagery. Katz is playful with the physical space of the gallery, positioning a 3D painting of an elevator on the other side of the wall of a real elevator, confusing you as you leave, and hanging a painting of a cock crossing the road so that it literally spans two walls.
In conjunction with Katz’s work was that of French Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet. This multi-media exhibition featured colourful sculptures that took inspiration from the flags of Caribbean countries, serving as a vibrant ode to their independence following centuries of colonial rule. (For more on Creuzet’s work, see Camden Art Centre’s website)
Visiting these galleries was an enlightening experience, one that opened my eyes to the expansive nature of art itself. I felt far removed from the tourists who simply hover on their tiptoes to snap a picture on their smartphones of a famous painting listed on their sightseeing tour. Smaller galleries offer you an opportunity to intimately connect with the consciousness of the artist. From French Caribbean Julien Creuzet to Mumbai- based Shilpa Gupta, the exhibitions that I had the pleasure of attending featured diverse artists from a vast array of backgrounds.
So, the next time you’re out and about in London, why not consider dedicating an hour or two to a unique and thought-provoking exhibition at one of these galleries? Tucked away behind the bustling main streets of London, they’re a cultural sanctuary that will leave you looking at the world around you a little more inquisitively.
If you have a story you’d like to share about a great little place or other bimbling experiences, get in touch with us at hello@bimble.com.
