London Photography Exhibitions April 2016
London Photography Exhibitions April 2016
This is a London Photography Exhibitions post from our archives. Click link to see the latest London Photography Exhibitions.
London Photography Exhibitions in April 2016 include the just opened ‘Fox Talbot: Dawn of Photography’ display at Science Museum. A glimpse at some of the earliest photographs and some insight into the Fox Talbot’s process and it’s relative success versus the alternative French-invented Daguerrotype.
A number of London Photography Exhibitions are closing soon, read on for details so you can be sure not to miss any of them. Amongst those closing soon are Sergio Larrain’s first ever solo London exhibition, at the Magnum Print Room and Lee Miller’s a Women’s War at the Imperial War Museum. Follow links below for information on gallery opening times and exhibition closing dates.
See the regularly updated London Photography Galleries list. The London Photography Galleries list compliments this post on London Photography Exhibitions, with information on opening times and maps for the London photography exhibitions.
Fox Talbot: Dawn of the Photograph
Just opened.
Henry Fox Talbot could be considered the father of modern photography. In his lab at Lacock Abbey, near Chippenham in Wiltshire, he invented the process which made the production of photographic paper prints possible. At the time, contemporary, Daguerre’s process (which was invented in conjunction with Niépce) produced only a single Daguerrotype image on a silver-plated copper plate. Fox Talbot’s negative positive process allowed mass production of prints from a single negative, giving birth to modern photography.
Fox Talbot’s calotype photographic process was partly inspired when he was unable to capture the features of a village and distant mountains at Lake Como in Italy using a simple draughtsman’s tool. Though later with he drew on inspiration from the Dutch masters, noting how the mundane can make for captivating photographs in his book ‘The Pencil of Nature‘: “A painter’s eye will often be arrested where ordinary people see nothing remarkable. A casual gleam of sunshine, or a shadow thrown across his path, a time-withered oak, or a moss-covered stone may awaken a train of thoughts and feelings, and picturesque imaginings.” Henry Fox Talbot, The Pencil of Nature.
The Science Museum presents a major new exhibition. “Alongside his technical influence, Talbot’s personal legacy today is undoubtedly the beautiful photographs he produced” – Prospero. On display at ‘The Dawn of Photography’ are original prints the ‘The Pencil of Nature’. Lucky visitors, able to see the exhibition early will be treated to a display of rare daguerrotypes, which the Science Museum was able to procure from French archives until June: the rivalry continues between Daguerre and Fox Talbot. Visitors will be able to see both technologies side-by-side and make their own judgement.
The Science Museum is on Exhibition Road in South Kensington. If you have time, consider going to the Paul Strand exhibition across the road at the Victoria and Albert Museum (details on both below).
Just opened.
Admission: £8 (adult 17+ years).
Where: Science Museum.
Ends: Sunday, 11th September.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Science Museum.
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Sergio Larraín
Closing soon.
Sergio Larraín is considered to be the most important Chilean photographer of all times and was a living legend of artistic photography. He was a Magnum photographer and internationally recognised for his work in the 1960s, Chile’s finest lensman later became a recluse. His break came in 1958 when he won a bursary from the British Council, for an eight-month reportage project. With the bursary he took his Leica camera – which he had saved up for, working in a cafe – to Britain and captivated shots of the everyday, particularly in London. Just one year later he was invited to join Magnum by Henri Cartier-Bresson, himself being so impressed by the work. Larrain was endlessly experimental. Photographers looking for inspiration might look to the letter Sergio Larraín wrote to his nephew in 1982, when asked where to begin to become a photographertranslated into English.
“The game is going on an adventure, like a sailor boat: drop the sails. […] be in the street all day long, wander and wander in unknown places, sit under a tree when you’re tired, buy a banana or some bread and get on the first train, go wherever you like, and look, draw a bit, and look. Get away from the things you know, get closer to those you don’t know, go from one place to the other, places you like. Then, you’ll start finding things, images will be forming into your head, consider them as apparitions.” – Sergio Larraín on how to become a photographer. There is version in the orginial Spanish.
“A good picture is born from a state of grace. Grace becomes manifest when one is freed from conventions, free as a child in his first discovery of reality. The game is then to organize the triangle.” Sergio Larraín.
Magnum Print Room in London hosts the first solo UK Sergio Larraín exhibition. ON show will be ten rarely seen photographs from London amongst almost 45 prints, some rare vintage prints, captured in 1950s Chile. The Magnum Print Room is a stone’s throw from Old Street.
Closing soon.
Admission: Free.
Where: Magnum Print Room.
Ends: Friday, 22nd April.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Magnum Print Room.
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Masahisa Fukase: ‘Solitude of Ravens’
Closing soon.
Masahisa Fukase, the Japanese photographer is possibly best known for his grainy, dark and impressionistic depiction of domestic life. His 1986 book ‘Solitude of Ravens‘ was, in 2010, selected as the best photobook of the generation by the British Journal of Photography.
Michael Hoppen Gallery presents the first UK exhibition of vintage prints from ‘Solitude of Ravens’. The prints come directly from the private collection of the Masahisa Fukase Archive. The Michael Hoppen Gallery is in Chelsea, just off the King’s Road, a short walk from South Kensington tube station or slightly further from Sloane Square.
Closing soon.
Admission: Free.
Where: Michael Hoppen Gallery.
Ends: Saturday, 23rd April.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Michael Hoppen Gallery.
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Strange and Familiar
Magnum photographer, Martin Parr curates an exhibition of photographs of Britain through the eyes of foreigners. The foreigners are photographers from Magnum photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson and Sergio Larraín (whose first UK solo exhibition is on this Spring at the Magnum Print Room) to Gary Winogrand and Robert Frank.
“A stranger brings a fresh eye…and can see and record the qualities peculiar to his city.” – The Economist
Joint tickets are available from the Barbican for Strange and Familiar and Unseen City – an exhibition of Martin Parr’s own work at the Guildhall Art Gallery, just a few minutes’ walk from the Barbican Centre. (details below).
Admission: £12.00 (standard).
Where: Barbican Art Gallery.
Ends: Sunday, 19th June.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Barbican.
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Electronic Superhighway (2016-1966)
This is a major exhibition showing the impact of computer and digital technology going back to the 1960s. Electronic Superhighway is a “varied exhibition […] moving back in time from contemporary to early examples of art using digital processes” Charles Harrop Griffiths.
The Whitechapel Gallery is on Whitechapel High Street.
Admission: £13.50 (standard admission, with gift aid).
Where: Whitechapel Gallery.
Ends: Sunday, 15th May.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Whitechapel Gallery.
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Performing for the Camera
Performing for the Camera explores the relationship between photography and performance through over 50 seminal photographs. The exhibitions presents the work of photographers such as Cindy Sherman and feature performers from Yves Klein to Yayoi Kusama. The exhibition is broader and more interesting than a narcissistic trope of the selfie, instead “it takes its main focus from the documentation of Performance Art” Art & Photography.
“Poignant, touching, confrontational, painful and joyful” Guardian
“From its earliest beginnings to the age of the selfie, the urge to put on a show for the camera has proved irresistible
” Independent
Tate Modern is on the South Bank, across the River Thames from St Paul’s Cathedral. There are so many places to get food along the South Bank from street food to restaurants with fantastic views over the Thames, such as Skylon.
Admission: £16 (adult, with donation).
Where: Tate Modern.
Ends: Sunday, 12th June.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Tate Modern.
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Paul Strand: Photography and Film for the 20th Century
Paul Strand was on of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Paul Strand decided to become a photographer after a field trip to Alfred Steiglitz’ Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession in New York. Inspired by the photography of Steichen and others on that day he soon went on to produce photographic and painted work received recognition.
The Victoria & Albert Museum is staging the first major British Paul Strand retrospective since his death. Vintage prints from the V&A’s own collection will be on display, amongst some 200 artifacts. Paul Strands 1954 photographs captured in South Uist in the Outer Hebrides are also on show.
The V&A Museum is in South Kensington, on Exhibition Road, a few minutes from South Kensington tube station. You might want to combine the exhibition visit with a trip to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, which is a short walk from the museum.
Read on for information on the Julia Margaret Cameron: Influence and Intimacy and Alec Soth’s Gathered Leaves exhibitions on the other side of Exhibition Road, at South Kensington’s Science Museum.
Where: Victoria & Albert Museum.
Ends: Sunday, 3rd July.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Victoria & Albert Museum.
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Unseen City: Photos by Martin Parr
Martin Parr, one of Britain’s best-loved and most important photographers. Parr critically examines elements of modern life in his intimate, satirical and anthropological photography. He captures the British in quiet villages, at fairs and churches, in supermarkets, in their homes and holiday at the Great British seaside and abroad. A nuanced commentator on the British class system, Martin Parr is best known for his sharp eye and cheeky sense of humour. He is one of the nation’s most celebrated photographers.
Guildhall Art Gallery presents the result of two years’ examination of the eccentricity of the City of London showcasing bizarre rituals at the heart of the European financial capital city. Martin Parr brings to life the pomp and ceremony, traditions and people that are the City of London. For Parr enthusiasts, the short walk over to the Barbican Centre is a must. There you can see the ‘Strange and Familiar‘ exhibition, curated by Martin Parr offering a further take on the British identity.
The Guildhall Art Gallery is in the City of London in Guildhall Yard which is a short walk from Bank Underground Station. To explore another great British institution – the roast dinner – try a takeaway roast from Fuzzy’s Grub on nearby Mason’s Avenue.
Where: Guildhall Art Gallery.
Ends: Sunday, 31st July.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Guildhall Art Gallery.
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Vogue 100: A Century of Style
Vogue 100: A Century of Style is a real treat for fashion enthusiasts, packed with glamorous, iconic images of artists, actors and aristocracy. The exhibition showcases showcases the remarkabke range of photography commissioned by Vogue since it’s inception in 1916.
The National Portrait Gallery presents over 280 images from the Condé Nast archives. The National Portrait Gallery is on St. Martin’s Place, a few strides from Leicester Square tube station.
Admission: £19 (full price, with donation).
Where: National Portrait Gallery.
Ends: Sunday, 22nd May.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: National Portrait Gallery.
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Lee Miller: A Woman’s War
Closing soon.
Lee Miller was one of New York’s top fashion models, working with Edward Steichen amongst other legends of the era. In the 1920s, she left New York for Paris to become an established fine are and fashion photographer. After the breakout of WWII, Lee Miller became an acclaimed War Correspondent for Vogue Magazine. By 1943, she took up an opportunity to work as an accredited photojournalist attached to the American military forces. The exhibition features her work from this time.
When she died in 1977, Lee Miller’s body was cremated and her ashes were spread through her herb garden at Farley Farm House in East Sussex.
‘Lee Miller: A Woman’s War’ is a book published to coincide with the London photography Exhibition, telling the story of the lives’ of women affected by the war.
The Imperial War Museum presents previously unseen images of conflict. The project began several years ago, coming from a conversation with Antony Penrose, Lee Miller’s son. The exhibition puts the Lee Miller’s vision of gender during the conflict centre stage.
“This incredible selection […] cements [Lee Miller’s] position as one of the most important photographers of the 20th century” – Artfund.
The Imperial War Museum is on Lambeth Road, close to Elephant & Castle underground and mainline stations.
Closing soon.
Where: Imperial War Museum.
Ends: Sunday, 24th April.
See the London Photography Galleries list which compliments this London Photography Exhibitions post and is regularly updated with information on opening times and maps.
More information: Imperial War Museum.
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That’s it for this week’s London Photography Exhibitions, look out for next week’s list of London Photography Exhibitions!
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