London Photography Exhibitions May 2016

London Photography Exhibitions May 2016

This is a London Photography Exhibitions post from our archives. Click link to see the latest London Photography Exhibitions.

If you’re suffering from withdrawal symptoms after the fantastic Photo London 2016 show at Somerset House last week, don’t despair! There are two fresh London photography exhibitions to end May: Anja Niemi’s Short Stories at The Little Black Gallery in Chelsea and Black Chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery. Plenty more to convince you to go see these below.

Robert Clayton’s ‘Estate’ London photography exhibition at the Four Corners Gallery is ending soon. Read on for opening times and closing date.

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.

Anja Niemi: Short Stories

Just opened!
Free admission.
Anja Niemi is one of the most compelling contemporary artists of our time. The Norwegian studied at London College of Printing and this is her fourth exhibition at the Little Black Gallery in London. Short Stories was premiered last week at Photo London 2016. The photographs on display were captured over a year using just a 1970s Polaroid camera. These images are presented on 140 sheets of peel-apart Polaroids. The images are arranged in eight stories, each inspired by photographs of pre-owned object.

The Little Black Gallery is in Chelsea, just off the Fulham Road.

Just opened!
Free admission.
Where: The Little Black Gallery.
Ends: Thursday, 16th 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: The Little Black Gallery.
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Black Chronicles: Photographic Portraits 1862-1948

Free admission.
Black Chronicles is a new display on at the National Portrait Gallery and is a collaboration with Autograph ABP. In fact the display is part of Autograph ABPs Heritage Lottery Fund project, ‘The Missing Chapter’. The 40 photographs on display provide a snapshot of black lives and experiences in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain.

The National Portrait Gallery is on St. Martin’s Place, a few strides from Leicester Square tube station.

Free admission.
Where: National Portrait Gallery.
Ends: Sunday, 11th December.
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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Simon Norfolk: Under London

Free admission.

Simon Norfolk is British based photographer known for his landscape work. In 2003 he was nominated for the Citibank Prize (now known as the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize).

Under London presents photographs of ten objects found at archaeological digs across the capital and photographed by Simon Norfolk, above ground, close to where they were found. The images on display were published in a recent edition of National Geographic magazine.

The Museum of London is in the City of London close to the Barbican Centre where you can currently catch the Martin Parr curated exhibition ‘Strange and Familiar’ – read on for more details.

Free admission.
Where: Museum of London.
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: Museum of London.
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Robert Clayton: Estate

Closing soon.
Free admission.
Robert Clayton is a documentary photographer. In 1991 he set about capturing life on the Lion Farm Estate in Oldbury. The images provide an insightful glimpse into the past. The estate appears as a both far from anywhere and, more astonishingly, deserted to the point of desolation.

Four Corners gallery presents Robert Clayton’s images alongside his documentary film. The Four Corners Gallery is in Bethnal Green. The exhibition is supported by the Arts Council England.

Closing soon.
Free admission.
Where: Four Corners Gallery.
Ends: Sunday, 29th 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: Four Corners Gallery.
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Magical Surfaces: The Uncanny in Contemporary Photography

Free admission.

Magical Surfaces features the work of Stephen Shore and six other photographers exploring the uncanny indifferent forms, using photography as the medium. The exhibition is on now at the Parasol Unit in Hoxton.

Free admission.
Where: Parasol Unit.
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: Parasol Unit.
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Fox Talbot: Dawn of the Photograph

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).

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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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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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.
Return to top of London Photography Exhibitions May 2016 post.

Paul Strand: Photography and Film for the 20th Century

Paul Strand was on of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Pioneering photographer, 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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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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