8 minute read
Experience: Art in London...
From world-class galleries and exciting new exhibitions to art-filled hotels and restaurants adorned with priceless pieces, Dream Escape discovers London's artistic side.
Home to a plethora of historic galleries and museums filled with extraordinary works that transcend all eras, styles and movements, London is one of the world's greatest destinations for art and culture. But the capital’s creative nature is not limited to its exhibitions alone – experiences inspired by art can be found across the city, and Dream Escape’s Travel Design team are well versed in creating itineraries that include the very best that London has to offer.
October is a particularly exciting month for the capital’s art scene, as Frieze London takes place in Regent's Park (11–15, 2023). This hotly anticipated large-scale event is one of the world's leading fairs for contemporary art, featuring established artists alongside new and exciting names. Taking place at the same time and just a short, sculpture-studded stroll away is Frieze Masters, a similar event that showcases older works made pre-2000. Dream Escape organises trips and guided tours at both elegant events, where visitors are invited to view and even purchase the artworks on display.
Another art destination currently creating a buzz across the city is the world-famous National Portrait Gallery, which finally reopened earlier in 2023 following a threeyear closure and the most extensive transformation of the building since 1896. Home to the world’s greatest collection of portraits spanning six centuries, the project has involved a complete redisplay of the collection, a significant refurbishment, and the creation of new public spaces.
This winter, the gallery is hosting a major David Hockney exhibition ('David Hockney: Drawing from Life', 2 November 2023–21 January 2024), which features 160 of the English artist’s works, including over 30 new portraits on display for the very first time.
When visiting the gallery, Dream Escape highly recommends a meal at The Portrait, a stylish new restaurant situated on the fourth floor by acclaimed Irish chef and restaurateur Richard Corrigan. It serves a sophisticated all-day menu among art-inspired interiors and offers wonderful views across Trafalgar Square and beyond.
London’s two Tate galleries are a must for art lovers. Located in a former power station overlooking the Thames, Tate Modern sits directly across the river from St Paul's Cathedral and contains over 100 years of contemporary art from around the world. Current exhibition 'A World in Common' (until 14 January 2024) is a celebration of the varied landscape of contemporary African photography today, while 'Capturing the Moment' (until 28 January 2024) explores the relationship between photography and painting, featuring expressive works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Paula Rego and more. This year, the gallery is hosting the first major retrospective in the UK in nearly 20 years on Canadian American modern artist Philip Guston (5 October 2023–25 February 2024), before the opening of a new major exhibition featuring the work of artist and activist Yoko Ono in February 2024.
With a regular boat service connecting the two galleries, Tate Britain overlooks the Thames in Westminster. This beautiful, historic building is home to the world's largest collection of British art, including the world’s largest collection of works by JMW Turner. 'Women in Revolt!' (8 November 2023–7 April 2024) opens this year – a major new survey of feminist art by over 100 women artists working in the UK, and the first exhibition of its kind.
A recent trend within the London art scene is immersivity. Housed in a unique, purpose-built 30,000-sq-ft venue located just steps from Marble Arch and Oxford Street, Frameless is the largest permanent multisensory experience in the UK. It contains four vast immersive galleries featuring some of the world’s greatest works of art by the likes of Cézanne, Kandinsky,
Monet, Dalí, Van Gogh, Canaletto, Rembrandt and Klimt to name but a few, presented in ways never seen before using state-of-the-art projection techniques. The gallery hosts regular events, including popular yoga classes in the space too.
A similar boundary-pushing experience can be found at Lightroom, which opened in London’s King’s Cross earlier in 2023, and uses augmented and virtual reality to make art come to life. Its inaugural exhibition – 'David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)' – is open until 3 December 2023, and uses Lightroom’s huge walls and revolutionary sound system to enable visitors to experience the world through the artist’s eyes.
To celebrate the current Hockey exhibition at Lightroom, luxury five-star hotel Rosewood London has created a stunning, art-inspired afternoon tea. This sensational threecourse experience features a selection of Hockey-inspired cakes and desserts – each a work of art in themselves –served in the hotel’s beautiful Mirror Room, which has also undergone a certain amount of 'Hockneyfication'.
Nearby on Regent Street, 'The Art of Banksy' (13 September 2023–21 January 2024) is returning to the capital. This smashhit exhibition has brought the anonymous artist’s era-defining works to over 1.5 million visitors in 15 cities across the globe, and features more than 110 Banksy pieces, including new and previously unseen works.
In the centre of London’s iconic Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery is hosting the first major retrospective in more than 30 years of Dutch painter Frans Hals (30 September 2023–21 January 2024). Nearby, The Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly is unveiling 'Impressionists on Paper: Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec' (25 November 2023–10 March 2024), a ground-breaking exhibition featuring around 70 works on paper by leading Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists such as Degas, Cézanne, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Over in South Kensington, art and fashion combine at the V&A Museum in the first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of French couturière Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (16 September 2023–25 February 2024). At nearby five-star boutique hotel The Milestone, guests can enjoy the services of talented resident artist Shelley Levy. Tailored towards all levels of artistic abilities, painting and drawing workshops are on offer and Shelley can also create wonderfully unique, personalised portraits for guests. Another luxury hotel with artistic licence is The Lanesborough, which overlooks Hyde Park Corner adjacent to the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Located within the hotel’s glorious Regency dining room, The Lanesborough Grill exhibits the work of some of the most exciting contemporary artists in the UK in a six-monthly changing exhibition. Nearby in Mayfair, Claridge's ArtSpace is a museum-quality venue underneath the hotel, where previous exhibitions have included Les Lalanne, Damien Hirst, and more. Refuel with a coffee and an exquisite cake at the ArtSpace Café – a sleek, vibrant space designed by renowned British architectural designer John Pawson, with a gallery-like patisserie counter.
For a restaurant where food and art combine in an unforgettable fashion, Dream Escape suggests a visit to the recently opened Bacchanalia in Mayfair. Here, a Mediterranean-inspired menu is served in spectacular surrounds, which include lavish murals and five colossal, classically inspired sculptures by Damien Hirst suspended overhead. Nearby and with similar wow factor, Dream Escape organises exclusive use of the Renoir Room at iconic seafood restaurant, Scott’s Mayfair, which is clad in verre églomisé and has an illuminated green agate floor. The walls of this stunning private dining room are adorned with artworks by the likes of Renoir, Miró, and Chagall. Seating eight on one elegant oval table, it is an intimate and incredibly special space for an unforgettable occasion.
For a final artistic flourish, Dream Escape recommends a visit to The Hari, a five-star luxury hotel in the heart of Belgravia.
Here, bartender Giuseppe Abbracciante has created eight imaginative cocktails all inspired by artists. Don’t miss the colourful Jackson Pollock concoction, which combines flavours such as rum, amaretto, crème de banana and lime juice, and is presented in an elegant coupe theatrically splashed with edible paint.
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Susie Little, Travel Design Manager
Gone are the days when art was solely for the wealthy and educated. With the dawn of a new generation, it is clear that art is available for everyone, not only to respect and admire what they see before them, but to have an opinion. The reassurance that we can judge what’s in front of us with only our own verdict is what has encouraged many new art pop-ups around London – with a vibrant and everchanging scene.”
WORDS | SOPHIE FARRAH
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