Last Saturday my dad and I took a long overdue day trip to London to soak up all, well not quite all, the art that the capital has to offer. Our chosen exhibitions were Grayson Perry’s The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! and the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. Today I thought I would share some pictures of the beautiful art that we saw alongside my ramblings about how lovely everything was, and boy was it lovely!
I have been a huge fan of Grayson Perry for a number of years now, anyone I know will tell you that without hesitation. I think his work, which mainly comments on society and the world we live in, is hugely thought provoking and at the same time manages to be fun and accessible. What a GENIUS. We were both so excited to visit this exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, maybe a bit too excited, I mean we arrived before it even opened. True fans. Anyway, it didn’t disappoint and we spent a good few hours wandering around admiring the sheer detail of all the pieces, from the pots and tapestries to a giant motorbike, everything was meticulously put together. So what were my favourite pieces?
I loved seeing the pieces that I recognised from Grayson’s programmes, of course, but alongside these the pieces that stood out for me were surprisingly the less typically Perry pieces, such as the pink and blue motorbike and the Kateboard, a skateboard depicting a golden Kate Middleton. He is such a versatile artist and I think the exhibition really represented that. If you have any interest in society, art, politics, or anything really, then I really recommend you take a trip to see this FREE exhibition, yes you heard me right! And who doesn’t want to see a huge candy coloured bicycle, am I right?
Ohhh, the Summer Exhibition, where to begin? For any of you who aren’t sure what I am on about, the Summer Exhibition is an huge exhibition of almost every type of art and is open for ANYONE to enter. I have wanted to visit it since my parents returned from it a few years ago raving about how incredible it was to see so much art work in one place. This year I finally got my chance to see it for myself and you know what? They were right. It was amazing to see such a diverse range of art all in one space and oh my goodness, it really gave a new meaning to the concept of a ‘gallery wall’.
The question is where to begin when choosing my favourites from the exhibition, I mean I have never seen so much art in one place! However, if I was going to choose I would say Disintegrate by Peggy Cozzi (No. 181), Heligan by Christine Woodward (No. 274) and Lunch with The Duchess by Katja Angeli (No. 642) were the ones I would have taken home if I could have. They were right up my street.
As well as admiring all of the art at both exhibitions (obviously) one of my favourite things to do in galleries is to people watch. It is so much fun to work out all the different personalities of the people there, from the deadly serious to the seriously confused, everyone will make an appearance. I really recommend you give it a go next time you have some time in a gallery or museum, it is so much fun.
We had a lovely day in London and really enjoyed both of these wonderful exhibitions. I think it is worth mentioning that they are both still on for quite a few months, so if you fancy seeing them there is still time! It goes without saying that I would highly recommend them both. It is a great time for art at the moment and I urge you all to get out there and be inspired. I know I was that day. I’d love to know who your favourite artists are and what your favourite exhibitions have been?
Love Holly x
I absolutely love this post! That motorbike is soo dreamy and its so nice to see a blogger from Shropshire too!! X
http://bloggerwithoutaclue.blogspot.co.uk/