Tate Britain and the National Gallery

Out and about in London today with culture vulture Airways, we hit some more of London´s galleries.

First stop is Tate Britain situated on the South Bank where they are running two great exhibitions at the moment.

The Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) retrospective is simply outstanding, running the gamete from the 1920s – 1960s. Using a variety of predominantly British stones and woods for his sculptures it maps out his early influences of African tribal stuff to more esoteric and avant guarde modern sculptures and gives a glimpse of Moore´s prolific output. The exhibition also includes a series of mixed media sketches of miners and London Underground stations during World War 2 which were used as air-raid shelters. These works are superb if really dark.





dark wartime sketch

The second exhibition we see at Tate Britain is by Turner winning artist Chris Ofili who made his name by incorporating elephant dung into his compositions. The novelty wears a bit thin, but he has moved on from his elephant shit days and his use of colour and shape reflect a more positive and uplifting nuance to his compositions. This exhibition runs to the 16th May.

elephant shit was a feature in Ofili´s earlier compositions



a happier Ofili?

You can get a discount on visiting both these special exhibitions GBP16 or 2 pounds off with a student discount. No photography is allowed without a press pass and i got busted by security on three separate occasions.

Our next stop takes us to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with 800 years of Western European Art History. With a background in Art History Airways knows her stuff and is able to offer valuable insights into many of the pictures. Entry is free and Fridays are late night openings till 9pm.

The National Gallery