There’s something really appropriate about visiting art galleries when it’s raining. As I
walked into a Mayfair gallery I wished I wore glasses so that I could pensively chew on
their tip with the rain pouring outside. Partly because it would be a great Kodak moment
but also because the art galleries in West London lend themselves well to pretentiousness.

Tucked behind the Royal Academy of Art is a network of side streets filled with luxury
shops, car dealers and art galleries that blur the line between gallery and art merchant. You need to be armed with a fairly thick skin when visiting these more than slightly pretentious venues. But, if you can get past the initial awkwardness of being greeted by a bored and too polite receptionist, the smell of money and very prominent price tags, and of having to be rung into a gallery at the start, you can find some great artworks. Just remember that off putting exterior does not mean unwelcoming interior.

What’s great about this part of London for a start is that no two galleries are alike, and they are all in easy walking distance of each other. In a short morning I must have seen at least 10, and it felt like not enough. But because I saw too many to sum up, I am just going to go into detail about a few that really stood out to me to give you a good idea of what the area has to offer. Check out the map below to get an idea of the area. The yellow icons are the galleries I would recommend visiting.

Philip Mold portrait gallery (29 Dover Street, London, W1S 4NA) – Stark and beautiful collection of world class portraits, mainly 16th and 17th century but some more modern ones as well.

The Air Gallery (32 Dover StreetLondon W1S 4NE) – Works by a single artist, David Begbie, following the same idea: wire mesh nudes. May sound under impressive, but very detailed work with stunning shadows.

Flowers (21 Cork Street London W1S 3LZ) – Just when you think you’ve seen enough photos of destitute urban landscapes, this exposition comes along. Amazingly humane photos of urban China.

Redfern gallery (20 Cork StreetLondon W1S 3LZ) – Filled with spaghetti western landscapes or gardens. All by the same artist, Annabel Gault, who paints with a childish feel and bold brush strokes. Think Rothko painting the countryside. Beautifully presented.

Apricot gallery (27 Albemarle Street, London W1S4HZ ) - This was absolutely incredible, really the best I saw. A Contemporary Vietnamese art exposition with a mix of ‘political’ paintings, one really powerful painting of faceless soldiers marching under a red flad stood out, and more serene landscapes. Vibrant and engaging.

Below is a Google map of all the galleries mentioned in this article (yellow markers) and some extra West London Galleries that are worth a visit (blue markers): Click the map to view larger…