Diary of a London Art Critic: Colourful Houses and a Digital Tree

Major exhibitions at The British Museum, Tate Modern, Kew Gardens and lots more

In this post, I summarise every exhibition I’ve seen over the last few weeks, not just those I write about in other publications, and you get my honest thoughts on them.

Saturday 26 April

As I was still recovering from losing my voice, it was a more sedate Saturday of gallery hopping than usual.

The re-hang at Apsley House

I popped into my curated exhibition, ‘Beyond the Prize’, at Mall Galleries for one last look on its final day (now closed).

Next door, at ICA, is an exhibition by Nora Turato (until 8 June, ticketed). I liked the idea of filling a room with print-outs of conversations from her life on A4 paper, but I had a read of a few, and nothing jumped out. More compelling material must cover the walls for something like this to work.

There were some works on paper by Richard Serra at Cristea Roberts (now closed). They didn’t look much on screen, just black and white abstract pieces. However, in person, there’s great texture to each piece. He’s best known for his sculptures, and you can read my piece about him in a previous newsletter.

I then walked over to Apsley House (ticketed), the stately home of the Duke of Wellington, with the address 1 London. They’ve rehung the collection of Dutch Masters, and there are some great works in it. It’s not worth a trip alone, but to see the whole collection, including spectacular works by Velázquez and followers of Rembrandt, is a treat. It’s a stunning venue for historical art fans if you've never been.

I finished the day close to home with my first visit to the new Koppel Project space in Wimbledon - with an exhibition of work by Daniel Greenfield-Campoverde (now closed). It was my first time seeing his work, and the ties to his Venezuelan heritage interested me. My favourite piece was where he’d cut out the entire UK coastline and arrange it in a single line along a concrete block.

Beneath the paywall:

• My thoughts on Hiroshige at The British Museum and Do Ho Suh at Tate Modern

• A first outdoor digital artwork at Kew Gardens and my first visit to The National Archives

• A whole host of Mayfair, Fitzrovia and West London exhibitions - the memorable and the forgettable

• What’s happening in Leeds and Edinburgh