Installation view: Anselm Kiefer – Finnegans Wake
White Cube, 144 – 152 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ
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Jay Jopling set up White Cube in a small space on Duke Street, St. James’s, where 75 shows by 75 different artists were presented between 1993-2001, including several by the YBAs with whom the gallery become closely associated.
The model became more orthodox as the focus moved to Hoxton (2000-12) before the current spaces were opened: Mason’s Yard (2006) and the museum scale presence in Bermondsey (2012). The 2010 Mason’s Yard screening of ‘The Clock’ by Christian Marclay was popular enough to justify time-tracking all-night viewings – which was nice, as I love dawn – and he will return in September with a video installation derived from ten years of collecting film clips in which a door opens or closes. I wonder how early I’ll be able to get in. Meanwhile, you can see Anselm Kiefer’s all-encompassing Joyce-inspired installation Finnegans Wake until 20 August: the third time he has taken over the Bermondsey space to spectacular effect.
My favourite recent London shows illustrate White Cube’s international breadth: Takis and Ibrahim Mahama in 2021; Louise Giovanelli and Jeff Wall in 2022; David Altmejd and Marguerite Humeau this year. The gallery has expanded to match, and now covers Hong Kong, Paris, Palm Beach and – from this October – Seoul and New York. Tracey Emin, along with Damien Hirst the artist most famously and consistently shown, will exhibit in Manhattan in November.
London’s gallery scene is varied, from small artist-run spaces to major institutions and everything in between. Each week, art writer and curator Paul Carey-Kent gives a personal view of a space worth visiting.
