Friday 2 April 2021

Whitechapel Gallery - What's On: summertime exhibitions + online events

 

In time for the bank holiday weekend, we're delighted to announce that tickets for our summer exhibitions are now available! This May don't miss your chance to encounter Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy, the largest retrospective to date of this spirited and lyrical artist.

Our free displays feature the archival Phantoms of Surrealism which brings together 11 women artists for the first time since 1936; Ayo Akingbade's latest films focus on gentrification and belonging; artist Sol Calero curates an environment with works drawn from the Hiscox Collection; Nalini Malani presents a 9-channel Animation Chamber and the Artists' Film International programme shares new films focussed on the theme of care. 

Before the shows open, join us online for events featuring artists and writers Chloe Dewe MathewsAndrew Kötting and Astrida Neimanis.

Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy

Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy
Opens 19 May | £9.50 / £7.50 concs. | Free for members

Whether dancing on the rooftops in Paris, sharing ideas with Pablo Picasso, or gathering starfish on the beaches of Cornwall, Eileen Agar (1899–1991) transformed the everyday into the extraordinary. Her unique style nimbly spanned painting, collage, photography and sculpture, even ceremonial hats. Combining order and chaos, Agar’s work fuses vivid abstraction with imagery from classical art, the natural world and sexual pleasure.  

Pre-book Now

Free displays
Phantoms of Surrealism
Opens 19 May | Free

To coincide with Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy, eleven Surrealist women artists are brought together for the first time since 1936 in a new archive exhibition. Phantoms of Surrealism includes artworks and archival material from Ruth AdamsEileen AgarElizabeth AndrewsDiana Brinton LeeClaude Cahun, Ithell ColquhounSheila LeggeGrace PailthorpeElizabeth RaikesEdith Rimmington and Stella Snead.

Pre-book now.
Desde el Salón (From the Living Room)
Opens 19 May | Free

Curated by the artist Sol CaleroDesde el Salón (From the Living Room) features significant artworks by Joan Miró, Annie LeibovitzPolly ApfelbaumPablo PicassoSarah Morris, John Baldessari and more, all drawn from the Hiscox Collection.

Pre-book now.
A Glittering City: Ayo Akingbade with Duchamp & Sons
Opens 19 May | Free

London-based artist Ayo Akingbade presents two films; a new commission, Fire in My Belly (2021), and Dear Babylon (2019). In both, Akingbade forges conversations on gentrification, power and resilience.

Pre-book now.
Nalini Malani: Can You Hear Me?
Re-opens 19 May | Free

Embodying the role of the artist as social activist, Nalini Malani gives voice to the marginalised through visual stories. This multi-layered, immersive installation explores themes of violence, feminism, racial tensions and post-colonial legacies. 

Pre-book now.
Artists' Film International
6 April - 6 June 2021

Next week three new artists films by Agnė JokšėVictoria Verseau and Neda Kovinić will screen on our website as part of the collaborative Artists' Film International project, this season centred on the theme of care. 

Stay tuned.

Online events
Thames Log: Chloe Dewe Mathews with Andrew Kötting
Thu 8 Apr, 7pm | £5 suggested donation

Acclaimed artist Chloe Dewe Mathews launches her new photographic bookwork exploring the many rituals attached to the Thames, from source to mouth. She will be in conversation with renowned artist Andrew Kötting, whose own films engage with the waterways of the UK.

Find out more. 

Big Ideas: Astrida Neimanis
Thu 22 Apr, 7pmn | £5 suggested donation

Working at the intersection of feminism and environmental studies, Astrida 
Neimanis
 is the leading figure of ‘hydrofeminist’ thought. In this lecture, 
Neimanis thinks across Eileen Agar’s own artistic practice of collage, the torquing of scale and the juxtaposition of unrelated things.

Find out more.