Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Ealing Green, London W5 5EQ
www.pitzhanger.org.uk Instagram: @pitzhanger
Sir John Soane (1753-1837) designed and built many iconic London buildings, including the Bank of England, Dulwich Picture Gallery and his city home and office, now the Sir John Soane Museum, which itself has a significant contemporary art programme. Pitzhanger Manor, in Ealing, was his country house. After acquiring the estate in 1800, he transformed it into a showcase of his architectural style, featuring neoclassical elements and innovative use of light and space. In 1900 Ealing Borough Council acquired the manor, and it is now a heritage site that has run a programme of contemporary art exhibitions since 1996. I recall, for example, an impressively curated photo-centred survey of urban development, displacement and desertion round the world in 2012.
That said, the programme has stepped up since the manor reopened after extensively restoration during 2016-19. That has been overseen by Clare Gough, who has just moved on to be replaced as Director by Rebecca Lyons, with Richard Parry as the current Head of Public Programmes. The manor makes for an unusually characterful venue, and among the artists attracted to the chance to respond to Soane’s legacy and designs, Anish Kapoor, Julian Opie and Grayson Perry have perhaps been the most prominent. I recall Rana Begum, the husband-and-wife combination of Idris Khan and Annie Morris, and a posthumous Anthony Caro show, as particular favourites – and I would add to them the current pairing of Permindar Kaur and Prem Sahib, who fit together and with the building’s history particularly well.
The gallery stays open late on Thursdays, and this week there is the chance to hear Ben Luke discuss their concurrent exhibitions, Kaur’s ‘Mirror, Mirror’ and Sahib’s ‘Doubles’ – even the titles echo each other.
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.
