Affiliated with Tate Britain,
London’s most exciting new gallery is housed within the old Bankside
power station, on a prime riverside site opposite the City. Large enough
for huge installations, its 88 galleries provide a light, airy space in
which to display Tate’s collection of international modern art. This
includes works by Dalí, Picasso, Matisse, Rothko and Warhol as well as
work by many acclaimed contemporary artists. The displays are changed
frequently.
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Bankside SE1
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020 7887 8008
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www.tate.org.uk
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Open 10am–6pm Sun–Thu, 10am–10pm Fri–Sat
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Closed 24–26 Dec
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Free (admission charge for temporary exhibitions)
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A boat service connects with Tate Britain
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The main entrance is down a
ramp into the huge Turbine Hall below ground level, on level 1, where
the coat check, information and main shop are. You can also enter the
gallery on the ground floor, level 2, by the Café or by the Millennium
Bridge. The main themed galleries are on level 3 (material gestures;
poetry and dream) and level 5, which includes a new learning zone.
Temporary exhibitions are on level 4, and level 7 has a restaurant with
great views of the Thames. As with many London galleries, Tate’s works
of art are sometimes moved temporarily, loaned out or removed for
restoration.
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Bankside power station, now home to Tate Modern
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There is a great view from
the restaurant on level 7. The Café on level 2 overlooks the gardens.
The Espresso Bar on level 4 has a riverside balcony.
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With more than 10,000 titles, the Turbine Hall book-shop claims to be the largest art bookshop in London.
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Daily events of cinema, video, talks and tours are advertised in the main hall.
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Top 10 Exhibits
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The Snail
This
1953 cutout is one of Henri Matisse’s (1869–1954) final works,
completed whilst bed-ridden. The paper spirals represent a snail’s
shell.
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The Acrobat and His Partner
Fernand
Léger (1881–1955) completed this painting in 1948, months before
attending a Communist -sponsored peace congress. The circus is portrayed
as a symbol of energy.
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Whaam!
This 1963 painting by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–97) is based on an image from All American Men of War,
published by DC Comics in 1962. He was inspired by comics or
advertisements, presenting powerful scenes in an impersonal, detached
way.
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Three Dancers
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was noted for the different painting styles he mastered as he pushed the boundaries of Modern Art. Three Dancers marks the beginning of a new major phase in his work.
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Coffee
Pierre
Bonnard (1867–1947) frequently painted life at the dining table. In
this 1915 canvas, the artist portrayed his wife Marthe sipping coffee
with her pet dachshund by her side, suggesting an intimate domestic
routine.
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Suicide
This
painting by George Grosz (1893–1959) reflects the artist’s
disillusionment with German society especially during World War I.
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Summertime No. 9A
The
American Jackson Pollock (1912–56) was the pioneer of Action Painting.
He carried out his first “drip” painting in 1947, pouring paint on to
huge canvases on the floor. Summertime No. 9A dates from 1948.
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The Reckless Sleeper
René
Magritte (1898–1967) painted this work in 1928, during a period in
which he explored Surrealism and Freudian symbolism. A man sleeps in an
alcove above a dark sky and a tablet embedded with everyday objects, as
if dreamed by the sleeper.
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Fish
Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957) created Fish
in 1926. This sculpture presents a bronze “fish” on a polished disc
above a wooden base. Brancusi was known for his ability to capture the
essential qualities of his subjects in elementary, abstract forms.
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Spatial Concept “Waiting”
The
Italian-Argentine artist Lucio Fontana (1899–1968) began to cut
canvases in 1959. Although these cuts were carefully premeditated, they
were executed in an instant. In this work, Spatial Concept “Waiting”,
the cut erupts from the surface, giving the impression of a gesture
towards the viewer in a way that is at once both energetic and
threatening.