A Lunchtime Guide to Art

Have you ever been left needing your art fix half way through a day of mindlessly dull lectures? Well look no further than this guide, my Lunchtime Guide to Art, which tells you about all the amazing galleries and museums that are on offer within a stone’s throw of Imperial’s South Kensington campus. And it is quite extraordinary; I can’t imagine there are many universities where you can walk five minutes down the road, see one of the world’s best art collections and still be back in time for lectures to start again an hour later.

Imperial College Blyth Gallery

Tucked away and thus often missed is our very own art gallery, an idyll of tranquility away from the hubbub of university life below. The Blyth Gallery on the 5th Floor of the Sherfield Building is the perfect respite, even just for a fifteen-minute detour from your lecture schedule. Free and open 9am ‘til 9pm seven days a week, you can really visit whenever you want. From Ritual to Romance, a new solo exhibition by artist Chris Shaw runs from 27th November to 8th January and shall display a rich melding of symbolism old and new, putting ancient imagery in the context of our popular culture; it’s sure to be exciting and maybe even a bit provocative.

Natural History Museum

It is hard not to be aware of the huge brute of a building at the end of our sacred Exhibition Road, the National History Museum. Although more thought of for its earthquake simulator than its exhibition space, the Museum does run a wonderful annual photography competition.

Now in its 50th year, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year prize, which runs until 30th August, 2015, is truly a celebration of the beauty of our natural world, altering our perspective on the narratives of certain species through the use of breathtaking photography. Although not free like some of the others (£6.30 for a student), I would still thoroughly recommend it. Open daily 10.00-17.15

Royal Geographic Society

Often forgotten about in favour of its more famous cousins down the other end of Exhibition Road, the Royal Geographic Society is a wonderful institution and regularly holds exhibitions that combine art with a sense of travel or exploration. Such a show is starting on 1st December – India’s Disappearing Railways – which runs until 9th January; a free retrospective of Australian photographer Angus McDonald’s final works, it explores how the Indian railway system is slowly disappearing as the country modernizes and how this change will affect all the people who rely on it for their livelihood, a beautiful and moving collection of photos.

Christie’s Auction House

A slightly more unusual option for lunchtime art is the Christie’s Auction House on Old Brompton Road. Experience the glamour of the art market for free by going to one of their auctions or alternatively just a viewing on what is for sale in the coming days. You may not have heard of any of the artists on show (all the big name sales happen at their Mayfair branch) but a visit here will certainly give you a sense of an aspect of the art world that you are not usually exposed to.

However, it’s still probably going to be out of your price range unless you’ve got a few thousand pounds knocking about! Upcoming auctions include one of British pre-Raphaelite and Impressionist art on 26th November and one on British watercolour on 2nd December, with viewings of the works on the preceding days for both.

Cadogan Contemporary Gallery

Right next door to Christie’s is one of South Kensington’s few private art galleries. Free as ever, it is exhibiting, from 17th November to 3rd December, Janette Kerr’s New Work from the Sea, a Turner-esque collection of swirling seascapes, full of energy and vitality – a great opportunity to discover a less known but no less exquisite artist. Open Mon-Fri 10.00-18.00, Sat 11.00-18.00

Michael Hoppen Gallery

Another free private gallery, this time just off King’s Road on Jubilee Place, the Michael Hoppen Gallery is currently showing the work of Japanese artist Sohei Nishino, New Dioramas. Running until 7th January, the show builds off Nishino’s previous success with his New York and London dioramas to create ones of other great cities, Berlin, Rio and Tokyo to name a few. In a mixture of photography and cartography, the dioramas are not meant to give you a geographically accurate depiction but portray the sense of a place, its personality, its quirks, its beauty. Nishino spends months in these cities, exploring them to gain a sense of their unique features. Then he photographs them, meticulously constructing a patchwork collage that leaves you utterly immersed in this unorthodox but enlightened way of portraying places. Wonderful! Open Mon-Fri 09.30-18.00, Sat 10.30-17.00

Saatchi Gallery

About a 20 minute walk from campus is the famous Saatchi Gallery, located at the Sloane Square end of Kings Road. With free entry to all exhibitions as well as free membership and all associated perks, the gallery is definitely worth a visit.

An upcoming show that I am very much looking forward to is Post Pop: East Meets West (26th November, 2014 – 23rd February, 2015), which explores the impact the influential but deeply consumerist Pop Art movement had on the Communist countries of the East, such as the USSR and China, with surprising and often strikingly beautiful effect, an effect that is still being felt to this day. Open every day 10.00-18.00

Victoria and Albert Museum

The V&A really is the artistic crown jewels of the area and if I were to advise you to go to only one of these art spaces, I would recommend this one. Opposite the Natural History Museum on Exhibition Road, it has an awesome collection of artefacts from all around the world, whether you’re interested in Chinese, Indian or some other country’s art. It also has some cracking exhibitions on at the moment: Wedding Dresses 1775-2014 (Until 15th March) tracing the history of this most iconic piece of fashion and Constable: The Making of a Master (Until 11th January) examining Constable’s groundbreaking new take on landscape painting, to name but two. And whilst you do have to pay for entry to the special exhibitions, there’s enough free stuff in the permanent collection to keep you busy for days on end! Open daily 10.00-17.45 (until 22.00 on Fridays)

Royal College of Art

Located just behind Beit Quad, right next to the Royal Albert Hall, is the Royal College of Art, a prestigious art and design college that often holds exhibitions that reveals some of the great art and artists to pass through its hallways.

One such exhibition, running until 22nd December, is GraphicsRCA: Fifty Years and Beyond, a look back at the role the college has played in the modern history of graphic design. Both free and wonderfully creative, the show explores how graphics has changed and is still changing in the present as we move into a digitized world. Just as a previous show in 1963 looked at the emergence of modernism in graphic design, this exhibit of some rarely seen works gives you a sense of the field’s evolution and how it promises to change in the future.

Serpentine Gallery

It is quite possible that you have already stumbled across the gallery by accident. Tucked away in Hyde Park only minutes from campus, the Serpentine Gallery is a wonderful celebration of modern art and has often been crucial in establishing artists in this country. It is also famous for the pavilions it commissions, inviting acclaimed artists and architects from around the world to create a temporary space that can act as an intimate work that the public can engage with.

Notable shows on at the moment include a display of German artist Reiner Ruthenbeck’s geometric sculptures and Argentinian artist Julio le Parc’s first UK show. And if you’re not spoilt enough, it’s also, like so many other things around Imperial, free!_ Open Tue-Sun 10.00-18.00_

So there you go, all the lovely things that South Kensington has to offer for art. But make sure to enjoy responsibly, I don’t want to be to blame for you missing lectures because you’re so taken up to all this great art.