The South London Gallery, founded 1891, is a public-funded gallery of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...

, London. Until 1992, it was known as the South London Art Gallery, and nowadays the acronym SLG is often used. Margot Heller became its director in 2001.

Gallery

History

The gallery traces its origins back to the South London Working Men's College at 91 Blackfriars Road in 1868, whose Principal was the biologist

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...

, the grandfather of

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

; the Manager was William Rossiter. In 1878, the College relocated to 143 Kennington Lane, where a Free Library was also opened. In 1879 Rossiter staged an art show of privately owned works at the Library. After this the name was changed to the Free Library and Art Gallery. In 1881, the library and gallery moved again to New Road, Battersea, and in 1887 to 207 Camberwell Road. Leading artists such as Sir

Frederic Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...

, President of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

and

G. F. Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

supported the institution; the Prime Minister,

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

, was its first president, succeeded by Leighton in 1887. On 4 May 1891, The South London Fine Art Gallery opened in Peckham Road in a new building in the grounds of Portland House, whose freehold Rossiter had purchased. In 1893, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

officially opened a lecture hall and library funded by newspaper owner

John Passmore Edwards John Passmore Edwards M.P. (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911) ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 ...

. In 1896, the Gallery was relocated at the Vestry of Camberwell. In 1898, Royal Academy President, Sir

Edward Poynter Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet (20 March 183626 July 1919) was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy. Life Poynter was the son of architect Ambrose Poynter. He was born in Paris, ...

opened a Technical Institute, which again had been funded by Passmore Edwards (to commemorate Lord Leighton who had died) on the site of Portland House. It later became

Camberwell College of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated wit ...

, which was run by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

from 1904, though the Gallery was still under the local authority. The Gallery added to its permanent collection in 1953, to celebrate the coronation, with works by contemporary artists such as John Piper and Christopher Wood, and the next decade acquired over 500 twentieth-century prints. The new

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

took over responsibility for the Gallery in 1965 but under independent trustees.

Modern phase

The appointment of

David Thorp David Thorp (born 26 March 1947) is an independent curator and director. He curated GSK Contemporary at the Royal Academy of Arts and Wide Open Spaces at PS1 MoMA New York, among many others. He was Curator of Contemporary Projects at the ...

as Director in 1992 brought what then came to be known as the South London Gallery into its present phase, when it espoused Britart and staged significant "cutting edge" exhibitions. The Gallery was the first venue for the showing of

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, CBE, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and ...

's "tent", ''

Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 ''Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995'' (1995), also known as ''The Tent'',Brown, p.83. was an artwork by Tracey Emin. The work was a tent with the appliquéd names of, literally, everyone she had ever slept with (not necessarily had se ...

'', when

Carl Freedman Carl Freedman (born 1965) is the founder of Carl Freedman Gallery (formerly Counter Gallery). He previously worked as a writer and a curator. Life and career The 1990s and the Young British Artists Saatchi arrived at ''Gambler'' in a green Be ...

curated the ''Minky Manky'' show in 1995. The show catalogue includes an interview with Emin. Other artists in the show were

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, collage and found objects. ...

Gary Hume Gary Stewart Hume (born 9 May 1962) is an English artist. Hume's work is strongly identified with the YBA who came to prominence in the early 1990s. Hume lives and works in London and Accord, New York.

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

Mat Collishaw Matthew "Mat" Collishaw Hon. FRPS (born 6 January 1966) is an English artist based in London. Collishaw's work uses photography and video. His best known work is ''Bullet Hole'' (1988), which is a closeup photo of what appears to be a bull ...

Gilbert and George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art d ...

, Critical Décor and Stephen Pippin. Freedman said one of the show's themes was:

the artist as a subject, and (to) explore the relationship between the art on the wall and its creator, to make the whole thing more humanistic. And in there somewhere there is the beginnings of a thesis on the relationship and similarities between madness and modernism, for example, defiance of authority, nihilism, examples of extreme relativism, strange transformations of the self, irrationality, and things like that.

''Minky Manky'' then went to the

Arnolfini Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a ...

gallery, Bristol. Two years later Emin staged a solo show ''I Need Art Like I Need God'', which included a debate with artist

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

about their former relationship. A strong programme of exhibitions gained the gallery increased publicity and greater visitor numbers, as well as a place in the 1996 Prudential Awards for the Arts, and a nomination for Thorp in 1997 for the Prudential Creative Britons Award. Exhibitors included

Anselm Kiefer Anselm Kiefer (born 8 March 1945) is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan h ...

and Gavin Turk. Works were acquired by artists such as

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; '' Another ...

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK t ...

and Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and

Angus Fairhurst Angus Fairhurst (4 October 1966 – 29 March 2008) was an English artist working in installation, photography and video. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs). Life and work Angus Fairhurst was born in Pembury, Kent. Having attended ...

. In 1999, Curator Donna Lynas began a Live Art programme, which incurred some controversy, with performances including

Franko B Franko B (born in Milan in 1960) is an Italian performance artist based in London, where he has lived since 1979. He studied fine art at Camberwell College of Arts (1986–87), Chelsea College of Art (1987–90) and the Byam Shaw School of Art (1 ...

and

Stuart Brisley Stuart Brisley (born 1933) is a British artist. Education Brisley studied at Guildford School of Art from 1949 to 1954 and at the Royal College of Art from 1956 to 1959. In 1959–60 he attended the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich, G ...

. In 2001, Margot Heller became Director continuing to develop the gallery's international reputation for its programme of contemporary art exhibitions and live art events, with integrated education projects for children, young people and adults. Five exhibitions each year profile the work of established international figures such as Tom Friedman, Mark Dion, Rivane Neuenschwander, Alfredo Jaar, Eva Rothschild, Ryan Gander and Superflex; as well as that by younger and mid-career artists such as Alice Channer and Oscar Murillo. Group shows bring together works by established and lesser known British and international artists. The gallery’s live art and film programme has included presentations by Rachel Gomme, Nathaniel Mellors, Gail Pickering, OMSK and Gisele Vienne, and occasional large scale off-site projects have included those by on Kawara in Trafalgar Square in 2004, and Chris Burden at Chelsea College of Art Parade Ground in 2006. The South London Gallery is at 65 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UH. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am–6pm, Wednesdays and the last Friday of every month until 9pm, exhibitions are free.Contact information and visitor information
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References

External links

* {{authority control Contemporary art galleries in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark 1891 establishments in England Museums in the London Borough of Southwark Art museums established in 1891 Camberwell 1891 in London