East End Gallery Hunt Experience - All Galleries.

This day started out very windy and I wasn't really excited for this. Because it was towards the end of our trip, I was tired and still overwhelmed by the art we've already seen and just wasn't into it. We started out and once I realized we were on our way to the Francesca Woodman exhibit, the mood was somewhat lifted.

The Approach Gallery: 'Key Largo' Exhibition of Gary Webb's work.

-This space was awkward. Being upstairs from a tavern I would think would limit who comes into that space. Also, it's up narrow, steep stairs that may make it hard for elderly or disabled. The sculptures in here I wasn't really a fan of either. They didn't seem to please my eye aesthetically in any way and they all seemed too different to put in a space that small together. I kind of liked "Miami Poo Pope" only because it was made out of glass and I liked the reflections from it.

Nettie Horn Gallery: First UK solo exhibition of Oliver Pietsch. "From Here to Eternity" (Video)

-This video was interesting to say the least. Although we didn't stay for the whole piece, I really like how the imagery was about death but the music was upbeat and beautiful. I also saw this as death within culture and mass media as I recognized some of the imagery from movies and shows from America. What really bothered me about this space was when people needed to enter, they buzzed which was loud. Then once they did enter, they were extremely loud. Also, the bean bag chairs are a great idea in theory but seemed to be a disturbance when people moved, got up or sat down.

Ibid Projects: 'Exaggerate the Classics' by Rallou Panagiotou.

This gallery.... what to say. Well, I didn't enjoy the space. It was confusing and poorly laid out. I didn't know what rooms held what pieces and where I was suppose to be led or where I shouldn't of been. I was more concerned with finding my way around rather then looking at the work. This work was not my style either. It was definitely sloppy craft and this area seemed like some space that someone stored there foundations work and called it a 'gallery.'

White Cube: 'Lamentations' by Rachel Kneebone

I loved this space, especially downstairs. The color of the walls against the white of the porcelian was really amazing. her pieces were beautifully done. I would have been more drawn to the sculptural pieces downstairs if they were just on the floor and not on a pedestal. The ones upstairs I really liked because they came out of the wall. I was more drawn to them for the 3D aspect then any of their content. I really enjoyed having the sketches there too. I liked to see where an artist or piece starts and where it ends up.

Parasol Unit: 'Burlesque in which we've thrown it on its head' by Nathan Cash Davidson

I really liked how this artist was our age; born in 1988. It was exciting to see someone right out of school into a contemporary gallery with a solo show. However, I wasn't drawn to his work in the slightest. It seemed very 'basic painting' to me. The space was large and almost empty to me. There was also hardly anyone in this exhibit which was probably one of the only spaces I've been too that seemed empty.

Victoria Miro: 'Collages from The Independent 1999-2004' by Tom Lubbock

This was an exhibition that has been reopened in tribute to Tom's death on January 9, 2011 from a brain tumor. These pieces were all collage pieces that were put together very well. I really enjoyed a lot of them because they had more in depth meanings then just cut out pieces of paper out together to form a visual representation. They also were crafted really, really well. You needed to get up close to see that they were collages.

Victoria Miro: 'Francesca Woodman' by Francesca Woodman.

Words cannot express how happy I am that I have seen her work up close and personal. Francesca is my favorite photographer for how she sees the human form and its interactions and relationships to objects and spaces. Shot all in medium format black and white and all silver prints, printed extremely well, these images have a presence and a huge aura to them; individually and as a whole. Her work is hardly ever viewed in exhibitions considering she had a very short career and life. The space could not have been better either; upstairs was AMAZING. I also really loved how packed this gallery was. It made me realize just how great she was to a lot of people even though she's not considered 'a famous photographer.' This was the highlight of my trip and I cannot wait to let this all soak in.

Borough Market Experience

This place was huge! I didn't expect it to be this large and have so many choices. I was overwhelmed with scents and all the people around. I ate an egg and cheese on a roll with some hot chocolate. We walked over and ate in the courtyard of St Pauls Cathedral. This morning was so windy! But it was a nice experience. I still like the egg and cheeses back in NY better though.

The National Portrait Gallery Experience

Upon arrival, I didn't really have a first impression of this place since it is kind of within the building of The National Gallery and looked the same. We headed right to the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibit. I went in expecting amazing work and was somewhat disappointing. Most of the images looked like they came from a student exhibit with terrible lighting, off color printing or just flat out straight forward portraits with no back story (They all had a story but most were not conveyed through the image themselves. They needed the artist statement to survive) I really had trouble with the four overall winners. I only really enjoyed one which I believe won 2nd place, "Tic Tac & Tootsie" which portrayed two homeless twins who fell into homelessness at 19, then became addicted to prescription drugs and then into prostitution. I felt most of this from the image itself. Others that I thought were extremely strong in image and content were not even winners (Unless you consider just being chosen for the show as a 'winner') Overall, I'm glad I saw this exhibit and also glad it was only 2 pounds but just slightly disappointed from the quality of the images.

After this we walked around a bit before they closed and saw Jason Brooks piece "Sir Paul Nurse." This was amazing. It was a huge portrait from arcylic on linen which looked just like a photograph. I thought it was a Chuck Close but it wasn't, just resembled it. I really, really enjoyed this piece. I was also excited and disturbed to see "Self" by Marck Quinn. I don't know who would think to make your self portrait out of your own blood and it really creeps me out. It did remind me of something Damian Hurst would do though.

OXO Gallery Experience - Gallery 3

Today after Greenwich and the Royal Observatory, we decided to finish up the last of our three extra galleries. We went to a gallery in the OXO Wharf building by Southwark that had a show titled "The Art of the Album." The show consisted of mainly silk screened limited edition prints of the covers of very famous albums such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin and Oasis. It was really exciting to see the images as images and not as covers to albums. Also, the gallery itself had a nice, fresh, young vibe and was really packed when we were there. The show was extended from the 9th to the 16th by popular demand. I'm really glad we took the time to go out of our way a little to see this place. It was an awesome exhibit! Well worht getting caught in the thunder/lighting/downpour on the way out (Most fun I've had in London)

The Royal Observatory Experience

This place was really cool to walk around. I loved how high up you were, minus the walk to get to it. The view was really spectacular. Walking through was okay, I liked the building and space more then the instruments inside. It was still really awesome to see though. I think most of our favorites part was the Prime Meridan line. We all took pictures stradling the line by the New York part. It was really fun and cool to see. Some of us also went into the building that was a camera obscura and it was so cool! The top of the dome became the lens and it was reflected onto a table inside.

River Boat Cruise Experience

This was a fun experience. I kind of wish we did it earlier in the trip only because a lot of what we saw, we already saw up close. It was still nice to see the skyline and be able to pin point places we already were at and where they were in relation to each other. It was also a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining! It's also cool we did it with the theater group and that we ended up in Greenwich and got to explore it there.

Gallery S O Experience - Gallery 2

This gallery looked so small and quaint but had some really great pieces in it. Antoinette was really nice and informative. I was really drawn to the ladder necklace and the paper pearls that were on display. I also liked how this was a gallery to purchase items, not just look. She then took us to the back gallery, which was my favorite part. This space was amazing and I hope I have studio/gallery space like this one day. In this space, I really enjoyed the lint pieces and the high heel piece. I did however enjoy the room more then the work. Overall, I'm glad we stopped. She gave us the idea to see the student interim show at the Royal College which is showing metals and photography that we may go see tomorrow.