East End Academy: The Painting Edition

Exhibition Dates: 9 July - 30 August

The newly reopened Whitechapel Gallery is currently exhibiting East End Academy: The Painting Edition, a triennial exhibition featuring artists living or working in east London. The Academy was established in 1932 and is committed to promoting emerging painters and showing off the latest developments in British painting. Some of the works on display were amazing and there seemed to be a theme that contrasted exterior and interior spaces throughout. Artists include, Varda Caivano, Robert Holyhead, Henrijs Preiss, Luke Dowd, Andy Harper, Guy Allott, Lara Viana, Emily Wolfe, Zara Matthews, Bruno Pacheco, Daniel Kelly and Cullinan Richards. Painted works incorporate a range of materials and techniques including large architectural collages, spray paint, photography, oil on canvas, and installations.

The revamped gallery is spacious and modern while still maintaining its historical identity and antique architectural elements. And there are several exhibitions on at the moment including The Bloomberg Commission: Goshka Macuga: The Nature of the Beast (until April 2010) a public venue featuring a historical account of Picasso’s Guernica at the Whitechapel and a tapestry of the incredible painting.

Image: Lara Viana, Frame, 2008, oil on board, 46.5 x 40 cm.
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