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LONDON FOR FUN Newsletter: 23 February 2010 Issue No.191

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1.) Top 10 London events
2.) Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries
3.) How to unsubscribe

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1. Top 10 London events
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1 - Points of View: Capturing the 19th century in photographs - From the first tentative ‘drawings of shadows’ produced in the mid-1830s to its universal acceptance as a leisure pursuit, photography was swept along by a tide of entrepreneurial activity throughout the 19th century. Organised by subject matter, the exhibition asks: 'Who was taking the photograph and why?' Section by section, items are presented within their cultural context to explore some of the major themes of the 19th century – from expansion to industrialisation, science, and the rapid changes taking place in society. The final section reveals how technology responded to the demands of a developing mass market for photography, which continues to the present day. Until 7 March. www.bl.uk LAST CHANCE

2 - Gillian Ayres at 80: New Paintings and Works on Paper - Ayres is best known for her vibrant palette and the sheer physicality with which she applies paint to canvas. The works in this exhibition contain many familiar motifs but also represent a marked progression. Each work brims with her usual energy, however these new compositions are more distilled and exude the confidence of a painter at the height of her powers. Until 13 March. www.alancristea.com

3 - Dieter Rams - Less and More - For 40 years, from 1955 until 1995, Dieter Rams designed or oversaw the design of over 500 products for the German electronics manufacturer Braun, as well as furniture for Vitsœ. Audio equipment, calculators, shavers and shelving systems are just some of the products created by Dieter Rams, each item holds a special place in the history of industrial and furniture design and has established Dieter Rams as one of the most influential designers of the late 20th century. This exhibition is the first UK definitive retrospective of Dieter Rams’ career in over 12 years. Showcasing landmark designs for both Braun and Vitsœ, this exhibition examines how Dieter Rams’ design ethos inspired and challenged perceptions of domestic design and assesses Dieter Rams’ lasting influence on today’s design landscape. Archive film footage, models, sketches and prototypes are displayed alongside specially commissioned interviews with Dieter Rams’ contemporaries, which include Jonathon Ive, Jasper Morrision, Sam Hecht and Naoto Fukasawa. Until 14 March. www.designmuseum.org

4 - Romeo and Juliet - Kenneth MacMillan’s interpretation of Romeo and Juliet’s doomed love is one of the greatest examples of 20th-century choreography. This revival by The Royal Ballet brings all the lyrical beauty and touching fluidity of its intimate moments for the two lovers along with the grandeur of the ball scene and the action-packed encounters of the opposing Montagues and Capulets. Beautifully staged with rich period costumes and designs, Romeo and Juliet will draw you into its intense drama with some of the finest of today’s dancers matched to the powerful sounds of Prokofiev’s famous music. This is a wonderful chance for you to experience one of the enduring tragic tales of all time, a classic of the international ballet repertory and a favourite of Royal Ballet audiences. Until 16 March. Buy tickets

5 - John Gerrard - Extending from Animated Scene, his critically acclaimed presentation at the 53rd Venice Biennale, the artist exhibits two new works, Sow Farm (near Libbey, Oklahoma) 2009, which depicts a sprawling, unmanned, computer-controlled agricultural complex on the American Great Plains, and Lufkin (near Hugo, Colorado) 2009, a portrait of an oil derrick in the same region. The works, painstakingly constructed by the artist and a group of collaborators over periods of up to eighteen months, employ the new temporal medium of realtime 3D. Since his discovery of it in the late 1990s, the artist has pursued a unique engagement with this form, creating eerilyompelling virtual portraits, which extend and develop traditions of painting, photography, cinema and sculpture. Until 24 March. www.thomasdane.com

6 - Crash - Gagosian Gallery London presents "Crash," a major group exhibition which takes its title from the famous novel by JG Ballard. Ballard's novels stand among the most visionary, provocative literature of the twentieth century, with his ominous predictions regarding the fate of Western culture and his insights into the dark psychopathology of the human race. This exhibition is a response to the enormous impact and enduring cultural significance of his work, following his death in spring 2009. Highlighting Ballard's great passion for the surreal and his engagement with the artists of his own generation, "Crash" includes examples of his specific inspirations as well as works by contemporary artists who have, in turn, been inspired by his vision. Until April 1. www.gagosian.com

7 - The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters - The Royal Academy of Arts is staging a landmark exhibition of the work of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). The focus of the exhibition is the artist’s remarkable correspondence. Over 35 original letters, rarely exhibited to the public due to their fragility, are on display in the main galleries of Burlington House, together with around 65 paintings and 30 drawings that express the principal themes to be found within the correspondence. Thus the exhibition is offering a unique opportunity to gain an insight into the complex mind of Vincent van Gogh. This is the first major Van Gogh exhibition in London for over forty years. Until 18 April. www.royalacademy.org.uk

8 - Chris Ofili - Chris Ofili’s intensely coloured and intricately ornamented paintings are on show at Tate Britain in a major survey of the artist’s career that brings together over 45 paintings, as well as pencil drawings and watercolours from the mid 1990s to today. Ofili has built an international reputation with his works that bridge the sacred and the profane, popular culture and beliefs. His exuberant paintings are renowned for their rich layering and inventive use of media, including balls of elephant dung that punctuate the canvas and support them at their base, as well as glitter, resin, map pins and magazine cut-outs. Until 16 May. www.tate.org.uk

9 - Irving Penn Portraits - Devoted to one of the greatest photographers of his generation who died recently, the exhibition will include over 120 prints from Penn's seven-decade career ranging from his early portraits for Vogue in 1944 to some of his last work. The exhibition is a survey of Penn's portraits of major cultural figures brought together from many international collections. Portraits include Truman Capote, Salvador Dalì, Marlene Dietrich, Christian Dior, T.S. Eliot, Duke Ellington, Alfred Hitchcock, Nicole Kidman, Willem de Kooning, Jessye Norman, Rudolph Nureyev, Edith Piaf, Pablo Picasso, Harold Pinter, Igor Stravinsky, and Tennessee Williams. From 18 February until 6 June. www.npg.org.uk

10 - Gauguin - Gauguin (1848-1903) is one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the late nineteenth century. Remarkably, this is the first major exhibition in London to be devoted to his work in over half a century. Bringing together over one hundred works from public and private collections from around the world, the exhibition will take a fresh and compelling look at this master of modern art. Challenging commonly held assumptions about the artist and his practice and encompassing paintings, sculptures and drawings, as well as a documentary section, the exhibition will reveal the complexity and richness of his narrative strategies for a twenty-first century audience. Key loans include Self-portrait with Manao tu papau 1893, Teha 'amana has many Parents 1893 and Vision of the Sermon 1888. From 30 September 2010 until 16 January 2011. www.tate.org.uk/modern

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2. Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries:

Events listing:
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Theatre listings:
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Museum listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-museums.htm

Galleries listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/galleries-in-London.htm

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