|
The
year ahead looks rich in promise as London's museums and galleries
put the spotlight on key figures in Pop Art, Post-Impressionism,
architecture and fashion.
Nastassia Krugley has been taking a closer look at five shows you
shouldn't miss between spring and early summer...
The Design Museum
 The
Smithsons: House of the Future to House of Today
Who?
Husband-and-wife
Brit architects Peter and Alison Smithson.
Why?
Influential
and controversial thanks to such mid-20th century landmarks as the
Economist Building in the City and the Robin Hood Gardens housing
complex in Poplar, east London. Also pioneers of the fledging British
Pop Art movement.
Selling
point:
the exhibition will trace the development of the Smithson's architecture
and ideas, focusing on their London buildings and two of their most
important projects - the 1956 House of the Future, the visionary
‘model home’ they devised for the 1956 Daily Mail Ideal
Home Exhibition (pictured above), and the Hexenhaus, a little known
house for today in rural Germany.
Until
29 February 2004 at the Design Museum, Shad Thames SE1. Info: 0870
833 9955. Web: Design
Museum (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external
websites)
Royal
Academy of Art
 Vuillard:
From Post-Impressionism to Modern Master
Who?
French
painter Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940)
Why?
An
acclaimed master of technique who belonged to the generation of
young experimental artists at the forefront of French art including
Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis. Also one of the main practitioners
of Intimism - intimate domestic genre painting.
Selling
point:
over 200 works will show the developments in Vuillard's work from
the fin-de-siècle through to the 1930s, including decorative
panels for interior settings and set designs for the theatre. The
first exhibition to explore his photographic output in full.
From
31 January to 18 April 2004 at the Royal Academy of Art, Burlington
House, Piccadilly W1. Tel: 020 7300 8000. Web: Royal
Academy
Tate
Modern
 Constantin
Brancusi
Who?
One
of the key figures of modern sculpture, as important in his field
as Picasso was in the development of modern art.
Why?
Brancusi
was the first to bring primitivism and abstraction into sculpture,
using a range of materials from marble and limestone to bronze and
wood. A leading avant-garde artist and close friend to Duchamp and
Modigliani.
Selling
point:
the first major showing in the UK dedicated to his work, capturing
the essential character of his sculpture. It will be highly selective
in nature, most of the works executed mainly in wood and marble.
From
29 January to 23 May 2004 at Tate Modern, Bankside SE1. Tel: 020
7887 8000. Web: Tate
Modern
Hayward
Gallery
 Roy
Lichtenstein
Who?
American
Pop Art master and Warhol contemporary
Why?
Lichtenstein's
bold, precise paintings, with their primary colours outlined in
black and their strong images drawn from comic strips - Disney characters,
romantic melodramas, wartime action scenes - shocked the art scene
of the 60s. These same images are among the most distinctive and
influential works of the second half of the 20th century.
Selling
point:
the first large scale showing of his paintings and drawings in London
since 1968.
From
26 February to 16 May 2004 at the Hayward Gallery, Belvedere Road
SE1. Tel: 020 7960 5226. Web: Hayward
Gallery
Victoria
& Albert Museum
 Vivienne
Westwood: 34 Years In Fashion
Who?
Simply
one of the most influential fashion designers of the last 30 years
Why?
From
haute couture to ready-to-wear, La Westwood's career has spanned
the punk era, including outfits worn by the Sex Pistols in the 70s,
to grand ball-gowns influenced by historical art and dress. Infamous
for her subversive adaptations of British traditions and gentle
parodies of royalty.
Selling
point:
the largest exhibition the V&A has ever dedicated to a British
designer, featuring over 150 designs selected from the Museum's
collection and Westwood's personal archive.
From
1 April to 11 July 2004 at the V&A, Cromwell Road, South Kensington
SW7. Tel: 020 7942 2000. Web: V&A
Museum
Now
go to our Galleries index for
more on London's visual arts scene
|
Listen live
Click
through amazing shots of London from high up in a helicopter!