Whitechapel Gallery in East London

Galleries in London - Whitechapel Art Gallery

Looking to get cultural? As a slight obsessive in the field of art, architecture and design, my aim over the next few months is to build a comprehensive guide of the best galleries to be found north, south, east and west of the capital. So forget the usual London landmarks and get appealing to the creative in you.

I will be adding to this section bit by bit the more I tend to wander around exhibitions with my head phones on! So, keep updated by joining our twitter updates and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to email me at info@londonerseye.com.

East

Whitechapel Art Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
E1 7QX
www.whitechapelgallery.org

Firstly, donít do a me and go down the old entrance side street only to discover a squatters association! Yes, the much awaited new Whitechapel Art Gallery is finally open to the joy of art buffs and the general public alike. And what a beautiful transformation too, with a fantastic entrance situated on the predominantly deprived Whitechapel High Street, although I must say I quite liked the previous seedy side entrance down a fluorescent lit alleyway. This is an inspiring century old cultural institution within a largely renowned poverty stricken but ethnically diverse area of London, with its roots firmly set in the community.

I went to visit the retrospective exhibition of Isa Genzken last month, a German sculptor who works with a wide range of visual media and references. Isaís work deals with issues of the natural and architectural world, as well as the energy and violence of western culture. I particularly loved the ground floor exhibits of her early work, and the raw quality of cast concrete and plaster sculpture that draws you by playing with qualities of light and space.

Admissions is free, and Whitechapel is a great gallery to go to on your own with nothing but headphones and portishead for company. The layout is not straightforward and you find yourself wandering through small gallery spaces, finding nooks of video installations, and crannies of displayed community art work within Whitechapel itself. There are suggestive qualities throughout of a gallery embedded within social and cultural history.

The bookshop is a black hole cut out of the wall on the ground floor, small in relation to the scale of the gallery itself, but comprehensive. Suggestions - make sure you pick a free copy of the Guardian on your way out, go and sit in one of the cafes on nearby Brick Lane afterwards with a book from the shop and enjoy the sunshine.