Spectrum London was a London art gallery which showed contemporary figurative painting, photography and sculpture. It staged '' Go West'', the first commercial West End show of the Stuckists, and a retrospective by Sebastian Horsley. It closed in 2008.

Location

The gallery was at 77

Great Titchfield Street Great Titchfield Street is a mixed-use street in the West End of London, West End of London. It runs north from Oxford Street to Greenwell Street. It lies within the informally designated London area of Fitzrovia. In administrative terms it is ...

, London W1.

History

In June 2005, the Spectrum London had a show of photographs by Dennis Morris documenting the daily lives, ceremonies and rituals of the Mowanjum Australian Aborigine community."Gallery is blessed by Aborigine"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 6 June 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2010. The gallery was blessed by Aboriginal tribe leader, Francis Firebrace, wearing body paint and tribal dress. Spectrum London was the first West End commercial gallery to show the Stuckists, in the exhibition '' Go West'' in October 2006."Stuckists art group in major show"
BBC online, 23 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2006"Go West"
telegraph.co.uk online gallery. Retrieved 9 October 2006 This exhibition elevated the hitherto artworld outsiders into "major players", and occasioned controversy because of a satirical painting of Sir

Nicholas Serota Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota (born 27 April 1946) is a British art historian and curator. He has been chairman of Arts Council England since February 2017. Serota was director of the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, then director of the Whitechap ...

and nude paintings of

Stella Vine Stella Vine (born Melissa Jane Robson, 1969) is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities. In 2001, she ...

by her ex-husband

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...

."Morris, Jane (200
"Getting stuck in"
''The Guardian'' online, 24 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2006Barnes, Anthony (2006
"Portrait of an ex-husband's revenge"
''The Independent on Sunday''. Retrieved 9 October 2006, from findarticles.comTeodorczuk, Tom (2006
"Modern art is pants"
''Evening Standard'', 22 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2006 from thisislondon.co.uk. Ten leading Stuckist artists were exhibited. Thomson's and

Joe Machine Joe Machine (born Joseph Stokes,Buckman, David (2006), ''Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945''. p. 1018. ''Art Dictionaries''. Bristol. . 6 April 1973) is an England, English painter and poet. He is a founding member of the Stuckism, Stu ...

's paintings sold, before the show opened, to buyers from the UK, Japan and the US.Gleadell, Colin (2006
"Market news: Roger Hilton's child-like drawings, 'stuckist' paintings and Edward Seago"
''Daily Telegraph'' online, 3 October 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2006 The gallery also exhibited work by Michael Dickinson,"Michael Dickinson, Stuckist artist jailed in Turkey for a collage, now free. See his work at Go West"
stuckism.com. Retrieved 9 October 2006 who was released from ten days in a Turkish jail without charge after exhibiting a collage of the Turkish prime minister,

Tayyip Erdoğan Tayyip () is a Turkish given name for males. Tayyip may refer to: * Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 1954), Turkish politician, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey from 2003 to 2014, and current President of Turkey since 2014 *Tayyip Talha Sa ...

, as a dog."Keeping Turkey out of the EU"
(Video interview with Michael Dickinson on More 4) channel4.com. Retrieved 9 October 2006 In March 2006, Venetian artist

Ludovico de Luigi Ludovico De Luigi (born 11 November 1933) is a contemporary Italian sculptor and painter born and living in Venice, Italy. Career De Luigi's first exhibition was in 1965 with his one-man show at the Gallery "Il Canale" in Venice which included ...

had his first solo show in the UK. In September 2007, it staged ''Hookers, Dealers, Tailors'', a retrospective by Sebastian Horsley. Horsley became known when he underwent a

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

; this show documented his diving in Australian shark-infested water and copiously ingesting deadly drugs. Other artists shown at the gallery include

Lennie Lee Lennie Lee (born 4 March 1958) is a South African conceptual artist who lives and works in London. Life and career Lee is a South African artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He moved to the UK in 1960. He was educated at Dulwich college i ...

,"Spectrum London"
Artfacts.net. Retrieved 9 October 2006

Rita Duffy Rita Duffy (born 1959) is a Northern Ireland artist, described in 2005 as the province's "foremost artist". She describes herself as a Republican, pacifist and feminist. Her installations and projects often highlight socio-political issues and ...

, Peter Murphy, Sir Peter Blake and

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 ...

."Laptop dinner by Pii at Spectrum London"
allinlondon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2006 The gallery shut in 2008.

Notes and references

{{Authority control Defunct contemporary art galleries in London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Year of establishment missing Art museums and galleries disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in England

Location

History

See also

Notes and references