The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the first publicly funded galleries for temporary exhibitions in London. The building is a notable example of the British Modern Style. In 2009 the gallery approximately doubled in size by incorporating the adjacent former Passmore Edwards library building. It exhibits the work of contemporary artists and organizes retrospective exhibitions and other art shows.

History

The gallery exhibited

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

's '' Guernica'' in 1938 as part of a touring exhibition organised by

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World ...

to protest against the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. The gallery played a major role in the history of post-war British art by promoting the work of emerging artists. Several significant exhibitions were held at the Whitechapel Gallery including '' This is Tomorrow'' in 1956, the first UK exhibition by

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

in 1961, and in 1964, ''The New Generation'' show which featured John Hoyland, Bridget Riley,

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

and Patrick Caulfield among others. Initiated by members of the Independent Group, the exhibition brought Pop Art to the general public as well as introducing some of the artists, concepts, designers and photographers that would define the

Swinging Sixties The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...

. Throughout its history, the gallery had a series of open exhibitions that provided a platform for the area's artist community, but by the early 1990s these open shows became less relevant as emerging artists moved to other areas. In the late 1970s, the critical importance of the Whitechapel Gallery was displaced by newer venues such as the

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Royal ...

, then in the 1980s it enjoyed a resurgence under the Directorship of Nicholas Serota. The gallery had a major refurbishment in 1986; and in 2009 expanded into the former Passmore Edwards Library building next door. The expansion, which doubled the gallery's physical size and nearly tripled its available exhibition space, now allows the Whitechapel Gallery to remain open to the public all year round.

Notable exhibitions

*1908 – Muhammadan Art and Life in Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Morocco and India. Autumn Exhibition 23 October to 6 December. The opening day to the public was on 27th Ramadan. An advisory member was Syed Ameer Ali, who in 1910 was one of the main instigators of the London Mosque Fund, which went on to establish the nearby East London Mosque. *1956 – This is Tomorrow exhibit *1958 – American abstract expressionist

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

*1961 –

. The installation of his work at the Whitechapel becomes his template for all subsequent shows *1961 - Recent Australian painting, Whitechapel Gallery, London (including

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen AO (born 7 June 1945) is an Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, Chairma ...

) *1964 – The New Generation – Painting – showcasing the work of John Hoyland, Patrick Caulfield,

, Paul Huxley, Alan Jones and Bridget Riley *1965 – The New Generation – Sculpture – showcasing the work of Philip King, David Annesley, Michael Bolus, Tim Scott, William Tucker, Isaac Witkin *1970 and 1971 –

retrospective, first major shows of

Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...

and Richard Long *1982 –

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

*1986 Victor Willing, a retrospective exhibition *1993 – The Whitechapel Gallery showcases Lucian Freud *2001 and 2002 –

Liam Gillick Liam Gillick (born 1964) is a British artist. In the 1990s he was one of the informal Young British Artists group; like many of them, he took a degree in fine art from Goldsmiths' College, in London. He was among the artists included in the ...

and

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work explores in snapshot-style the emotions of the individual, in intimate relationships, and the Bohemian style, bohemian LGBT subcultural communities, especially dealing w ...

stage their first major solo shows in the UK *2008 – Cornelia Parker's film ''Chomskian Abstract'', featuring

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

*2009 – Retrospective of Isa Genzken's work and solo shows for Sophie Calle and Elizabeth Peyton *2010 – Survey of Alice Neel's portraits in Britain *19–20 January 2011 the gallery hosted the inaugural Northern Future Forum gathering of prime ministers. *2011 – First UK survey of German artist Thomas Struth, one of the photographers of the late 20th century *2012 – A comprehensive survey of

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

winning British artist Gillian Wearing *2013 – The first major solo exhibition in London for YBA artist Sarah Lucas *2014 – Five decade survey of North American

Richard Tuttle Richard Dean Tuttle (born July 12, 1941) is an American postminimalist artist known for his small, casual, subtle, intimate works. His art makes use of scale and line. His works span a range of formats, from sculpture, painting, drawing, print ...

, which was presented in conjunction with a major installation in

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

's Turbine Hall and a solo show for

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

pioneer Hannah Höch *2015 – The first show in Britain on Arab Modernism "Imperfect Chronology: Arab Art from the Modern to the Contemporary", from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection *2016 – A new commission by feminist activism art group

Guerrilla Girls Guerrilla Girls is an anonymous group of Feminist movements and ideologies, feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world. The group formed in New York City in 1985, born out of a picket against the Museum of ...

and a major retrospective of British artist

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

*2017 – A major retrospective of German artist Thomas Ruff and solo show for British artist Benedict Drew *2018 – A solo show for Mark Dion and the first major UK survey of artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset

Publications

In 2006, Whitechapel Gallery and MIT Press formed an editorial alliance to produce a new series of books entitled Documents of Contemporary Art.

Expansion

The Whitechapel reopened in April 2009 after a two-year project, which approximately doubled the size of the Gallery by incorporating the adjacent former Passmore Edwards library building (vacated when Whitechapel Idea Store opened). The work cost approximately £13.5 million and was partly funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. A full-size tapestry based on Pablo Picasso's '' Guernica'', by Jacqueline de la Baume Dürrbach and loaned from the United Nations Art Collection, was included in the inaugural exhibition by Goshka Macuga. and Isa Genzken. As part of the expansion, a new Archive Gallery, a reading room and an archive repository (where the Whitechapel's historic records are held) have been created to support the Whitechapel's standing as an educational charity. The archives catalogue the very conception of the gallery, as well as the complete directors' files of correspondence which reveal the reasons behind key decisions in the Gallery's history.

Directors

* Charles Aitken (1901–1911) * Hugh Scrutton (1945–1952) *

Bryan Robertson Bryan Robertson Order of the British Empire, OBE (1 April 1925 – 18 November 2002) was an English curator and arts manager described by ''Studio International'' as "the greatest Director the Tate Gallery never had". Biography Robertson was born ...

(1952–1968) * Mark Glazebrook (1969–1971) * Jenny Stein (1972–1974) * Jasia Reichardt (1974–1976) * Nicholas Serota (1976–1988) * Catherine Lampert (1988–2002) * Iwona Blazwick (2002–2022) * Gilane Tawadros (2022–Present)

References

External links

* * Greg Whitfield
Review of Janet Cardiff, George Bures Miller and Philip DiCorcia show at Whitechapel Art Gallery (June–August 2003)
''3:am Magazine''. Includes a good photograph of the Gallery interior. * Prince William opens Whitechapel Galler

* Alice Neel: Painted Truths Exhibition 2010
Exhibition Review
* Isa Genzken, first exhibition in the newly expanded Galler
Isa Genzken: Open Sesame
* Sophie Calle revie
Guardian Article
* Interview with Iwona Blaswic
Times Online
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