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SEASON HIGHLIGHTS PRINT – DRAFT COPY/LAYOUT
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Whitechapel Gallery
Spring 2009
Highlights
[PAGE ONE]
Introduction
The Gallery re-opens its doors after an ambitious expansion
transforming its spaces and doubling its size. The century-old
institution is the artists’ gallery for everyone. With beautiful new
galleries, exhibitions, artist commissions, collection displays,
historic archives, education resources, inspiring art courses and
a new dining room, the newly expanded Gallery will be open all
year round, so there will always be something free to see.
Located in the heart of the East End, The
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Exhibitions
April–June
Isa Genzken: Open, Sesame!
5 April–21 June 2009
Galleries 1, 8 & 9
This is the first retrospective of a major European artist whose fusion of photography,
paint, architecture and found objects into the realm of sculpture has influenced
generations of younger artists. The show commences with early floor works from the
1970s and continues with a sequence of windows, rooms and buildings cast from plaster
and concrete in the 1980s. The exhibition also features elements from more recent
installations such as Empire/Vampire, Who Kills Death, 2003, Oil, 2007 and Ground Zero,
2008. They are created with toys, souvenirs, furniture, building materials — the stuff of
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consumer culture, arranged in associative scenarios that are in turn funny, poetic and
disturbing.
Admission free
Isa Genzken: Open, Sesame! is organised in collaboration with the Museum Ludwig, Cologne. Supported by the
Kulturstiftung des Bundes, the Henry Moore Foundation, the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen and the Goethe
Institute, London. With thanks to Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Hauser & Wirth, Zurich London and David
Zwirner, New York.
Goshka Macuga: The Bloomberg Commission
5 April 2009–18 April 2010
Gallery 2
London-based Polish artist Goshka Macuga focuses on a key moment in the history of
the Whitechapel Gallery: the presentation of Picasso’s Guernica in 1939. Forming the
centrepiece of Macuga’s installation is a life-size tapestry of Guernica, commissioned by
Nelson Rockefeller in 1955. In 1985, the Rockefeller Estate lent the tapestry to the United
Nations Headquarters in New York, it has hung ever since outside the United Nations
Security Council.
Macuga’s is widely acclaimed for her sculptural installations of artefacts and photographs,
derived from art history, politics and anthropology. The project draws connections across
historic and contemporary world affairs, their protagonists and the cultural ripple effects
they have triggered. Evolving throughout the year, this major new commission intertwines
narratives and constellations of objects to demonstrate the profound relation between
aesthetics and politics.
Admission free
Supported by: Bloomberg
The Bloomberg Commission invites an international artist to create an annual site-specific artwork inspired by
the rich history of the former library. Bloomberg’s support reflects its commitment to innovation, and its ongoing
efforts to expand access to art, science and the humanities. Additional support provided by the Adam Mickiewicz
Institute, the Henry Moore Foundation, the Polish Cultural Institute, and the Wingate Scholarships. With thanks
to Kate MacGarry. Goshka Macuga is the Wingate Artist-in-Residence at the Whitechapel Gallery.
British Council Collection: Great Early Buys
5 April–14 June 2009
Gallery 7
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The British Council Collection holds over 8000 works, and is one of the most impressive
public collections of 20th century British art in the world. Selected by the artist Michael
Craig-Martin, this display focuses on one of the Collection’s great strengths – buying
from artists at early stages in their careers - in the first of a series of exhibitions oganised
over the next year, on the occasion ofthe British Council’s 75th anniversary.
Focusing on Great Early Buys the exhibition also includes key works by Paul Nash and
Ben Nicholson; Girl with Roses by Lucien Freud, rare early carvings by Henry Moore;
Cataract 3, one of Bridget Riley’s first major paintings in colour; and later works by a
younger generation of artists such as Peter Doig, Sarah Lucas and Chris Ofili.
Following on throughout 2009, three further guest curators will present displays drawn
from the Collection. A fifth display in Spring 2010 will result from an international
competition open to curators worldwide.
Admission free
Supported by: Hiscox
Hiscox’s sponsorship of the British Council Collection underlines its commitment to promoting and protecting
the very best in contemporary art.
The Whitechapel Boys: David Bomberg, Jacob Epstein, Mark Gertler, Jacob
Kramer, Joseph Leftwich, Bernard Meninsky, John Rodker, Isaac Rosenberg,
Clare Winsten, Stephen Winsten and Alfred Wolmark
5 April–20 September 2009, The Pat Matthews Gallery (Gallery 4)
In 1901, 25% of the population of east London was Jewish, hailing from central and
eastern Europe. A group of remarkable artists and writers emerged from this diaspora and
came to be known as the Whitechapel Boys. Using the Whitechapel Library as a meeting
place, their discussions contributed to the founding of British Modernism.
The writers and poets searched for innovative prose to express their philosophical and
political views. The Whitechapel Boys looks at the origins of a company of radical thinkers
who overcame the restraints of living in the impoverished East End and became a vibrant
avant garde.
Admission free
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Also Showing:
Ursula Mayer
5 April–21 June 2009
Zilkha Auditorium
Minerva Cuevas: S.COOP
5 April–7 June 2009
176 Project Gallery (Gallery 6) and 26-28 Toynbee Street
Archive Adventures
5 April–7 June 2009
Outset Project Gallery (Gallery 5)
John Kobal New Work Award: Andrew Grassie, Rosalind Nashashibi, Nick Relph &
Oliver Payne, Juergen Teller
5 April–21 June 2009
Foyer and throughout the building
Social Sculpture
Ongoing
Throughout the building
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Talks/Events/Courses
Gallery Talk: Eleanor Nairne
Thursday 16 April, 7pm
Gallery 2 (Free, booking essential)
Situated within the historic space of the former library, Eleanor Nairne, independent
researcher, discusses Goshka Macuga: The Bloomberg Commission , exploring the
relationship between art and propaganda in the context of the Spanish Civil War and East
End activism.
Gallery Talk: William Mann
Thursday 30 April, 7pm
Whitechapel Gallery
(Free, booking essential)
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In collaboration with leading Belgian architects Robbrecht en Daem, London practice
Witherford Watson Mann have worked to realise the Whitechapel Gallery’s major
expansion project. Architect William Mann gives an insight into the project’s design and
urban context.
First Thursdays Gallery Talk:
David Bussel
Thursday 7 May, 7pm
Gallery 1 (Free, booking essential)
Independent curator and co-author of the publication Isa Genzken: Ground Zero David
Bussel discusses key works in the prolific career of the German sculptor, from Genzken’s
early practice to the present day.
With BSL interpretation.
Michael Craig-Martin in
Conversation with Andrea Tarsia
Sunday 17 May, 3pm
Zilkha Auditorium
(£7/£5 concs., booking essential)
Recognised as one of the major figures in 20th century British conceptual art and often
linked to the emergence of the ‘Young British Artists’ after his influential professorship at
Goldsmiths College in London, painter and sculptor Michael Craig-Martin talks to Andrea
Tarsia, Head of Displays & Curatorial Studies, about his work and his selection for the
British Council Collection: Great Early Buys.
ENGLAND
A Play By Tim Crouch
Performed by Tim Crouch and Hannah Ringham
8 May–16 June (Friday–Tuesday), 7pm & 9pm
Whitechapel Gallery
(£15/£10 concs., booking essential. Book through the National Theatre.
nationaltheatre.org.uk/england or +44 (0)20 7452 3000, no booking fee.
The London premiere of Tim Crouch’s award-winning play performed throughout the
galleries, in association with the National Theatre. A story of a transplant: a heart inside a
body, a culture inside another country’s culture. Told by two guides, England takes us to a
place of urgency about the values we give to human life and art. England is the third play
in a body of work that has established Tim Crouch as one of the most distinctive voices in
British theatre.
A Traverse Theatre commission in association with The Fruitmarket Gallery.
Produced by news from nowhere, with Culturgest, Lisbon, and Warwick Arts Centre, UK.
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Supported by: Arts Council England.
Sigmund Freud’s Dora: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Anthony McCall, Claire Pajaczkowska, Andrew Tyndall, Ivan Ward,
Jane Weinstock (Jay Street Film Project). US, 1979 (40mins)
23 April–11 June (£6/£4 concs., booking essential)
The film programme focuses every season on a single work in a variety of contexts. The
first season presents the collectively made Sigmund Freud’s Dora: A Case of Mistaken
Identity, now brilliantly restored 30 years after it was originally shown. It is accompanied
by live discussions with the filmmakers, with artists and design specialists and related film
work.
Mother Foucault with Will Self
Thursday 11 Jun, 7pm (Free, booking recommended.)
Controversial writer, journalist, critic and cartoonist Will Self reads selected works
alongside new talents and young writers. Self’s subject matter ranges from
the bizarre – where man and woman swap sexual organs (Cock and Bull) or an artist
wakes up in a world of monkeys (Great Apes) – to the philosophical, where
death is as stressful and tedious as life (How The Dead Live).
Curated by Joelle Taylor in collaboration with the Poetry Society.
Duke of Uke
Friday 19 June, 7pm (£7/£6 concs., £3 Members, booking recommended)
London’s very own and well respected Ukulele shop, and recording studios, Soup Studios,
promote their own music adventures. The Duke of Uke’s interest in instrument and craft is
reflected in their eclectic and playful line ups.
[PAGE SEVEN]
Shopping/Dining/Join Us
Shopping
The Bookshop, managed by Koenig Books, offers art books, the latest art publications,
and gifts specially designed for the Whitechapel Gallery. Limited edition notebooks by
artists including David Batchelor, Simon Perriton, and Daniel Sinsel are great
collectables. The popular series of affordable, ‘must-have’ paperback readers, Documents
of Contemporary Art, each cover a single theme central to contemporary visual culture.
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To celebrate the Whitechapel Gallery’s opening new publications will include A Manual
For Navigating The 21st Century Gallery, Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Institutions so
Different, So Appealing? and A Graphic Century, which traces a history of graphic design
through iconic Whitechapel Gallery posters. Rises in the East: A Gallery in Whitechapel
explores the Gallery’s architectural history amid the evolving cityscape of east London.
Whitechapel Editions by leading artists including Howard Hodgkin, Anish Kapoor, Sarah
Morris and Cornelia Parker are sold in support of the Whitechapel Gallery exhibition and
education programmes.
Dining
The Whitechapel Gallery Dining Room offers a unique dining experience, championing
British food and using local seasonal produce.
Book Now - whitechapelgallery.org/dine or +44 (0)20 7522 7896
In addition the Café/Bar on the mezzanine level offers fresh sandwiches, light meals, cakes
and pastries and a place to read newspapers, art publications and information on the
exhibitions.
Membership
Join Us
Are you passionate about art?
The Whitechapel Gallery offers a number of ways to become more closely involved
with our work. Members receive private view invitations and discounts on ticketed
events. Patrons and Associates enjoy a more personal relationship and an exclusive
programme of special events. Membership starts from £20.
Join online: whitechapelgallery.org/join
Email: supporters@whitechapelgallery.org
Phone: +44 (0)20 7522 7888
[PAGE EIGHT]
Visit
Whitechapel Gallery
77–82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX
Aldgate East
Liverpool St, Tower Gateway DLR
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T +44 (0)20 7522 7888
F +44 (0)20 7377 7887
info@whitechapelgallery.org
whitechapelgallery.org
Admission free
Opening times
Gallery
Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–6pm
Thursday, 11am–9pm
Friday music 7pm–11pm
Bookshop
Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–6pm
Thursday, 11am–9pm
Whitechapel Gallery Dining Room
Tuesday–Friday, 11.30am–3pm
and 5.30–11pm (last food orders 9.30pm)
Saturday, 11.30am–11pm (last food orders 9.30pm)
Sunday, 11.30am–5.30pm
Café/Bar
Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–5.30pm
Thursday, 11am–10pm (last admission 9pm)
Friday, 11am–5.30pm and 7pm–11pm
Keep in touch
Subscribe to the free monthly newsletter to be kept informed about current and future
exhibitions, events and offers. whitechapelgallery.org/subscribe
Access information
For parking information, large print and audio guides
T +44(0)20 7522 7888, info@whitechapelgallery.org
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