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Exhibitions currently running:
Rothko in Britain - In 1961 the Whitechapel Gallery held the first solo show of American artist Mark Rothko in Britain. This landmark exhibition is brought vividly to life through the Gallery’s archives of original photographs, letters from the artist and new recordings of visitors’ memories presented alongside Rothko’s painting Light Red Over Black (1957). Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was part of a generation of American painters whose style became known as Abstract Expressionism. From the 1950s he used muted colours to make luminous rectangles seemingly hover on the surface of the canvas. While realising his Whitechapel Gallery exhibition he outlined precise instructions of how he wanted his work to be displayed, such as the lighting levels and hanging height of paintings. All this created an immersive experience for the viewer. Reviewing the show in The New Statesman art critic David Sylvester wrote, ‘Faced with Rothko’s paintings at Whitechapel, one feels oneself unbearably hemmed-in by forces buffeting one’s every nerve’. The display sheds new light on Rothko’s connection with Britain, highlighting the strong relationships he formed during his trip in the summer of 1959 and an era of dialogue between British and American artists. Until 26 February.
Zarina Bhimji - Landscapes and buildings haunted by their layered histories are the protagonists in British artist Zarina Bhimji’s photographs and large-scale film installations. India and East Africa are the repeat locations for her poetic foray into the archaeology of place. This first major survey exhibition traces 25 years of Bhimji’s work. It opens with the premiere of her long-awaited film, Yellow Patch (2011), inspired by trade and migration across the Indian Ocean. Desolate yet beautiful close-up images of abandoned Haveli palaces and colonial offices in Mumbai harbour give way to atmospheric renditions of the desert and the sea, all accompanied by an evocative soundtrack. Yellow Patch complements the renowned film Out of Blue (2002), an arresting visual journey across Uganda, its elegiac terrain disturbed by the sound of fire, birds and human voices. Until 9 March.
Gillian Wearing - Turner Prize-winning British artist Gillian Wearing’s photographs and films explore the public and private lives of ordinary people. Fascinated by how people present themselves in front of the camera in fly-on-the-wall documentaries and reality TV, she explores ideas of personal identity through often masking her subjects and using theatre’s staging techniques. This major exhibition surveys Wearing’s work from Signs that Say What You Want Them to Say and Not Signs that Say What Someone Else Wants You to Say (1992–3) to her latest videoBully (2010). From 28 March until 17 June.
The Bloomberg Commission: Josiah McElheny: The Past Was A Mirage Id Left Far Behind - Sculptor, writer and student of glass blowing, Josiah McElheny transforms the Gallery into a hall of mirrors. Seven large-scale, mirrored sculptures are arranged as multiple reflective screens for displaying abstract films, selected by a group of invited collaborators and programmed to change throughout the year. The sculptures reflect and refract the projected film selection, saturating the whole gallery and visitors in images and light. Refracted, distorted and multiplied, the moving images explore how abstraction is used to depict an image of visual enlightenment. Until 20 July.
Whitechapel Art Gallery
80-82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX
020 7522 7888
Gallery opening times:
Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 6pm
Thursday 11am - 9pm
Closed Mondays
www.whitechapel.org
