Exhibitions worth visiting in London in 2023
Flowery: OrchidsThis annual festival is back in bloom, this time inspired by the beauty and biodiversity of Cameroon. Just like previous years, the orchids are spread throughout the various zones of the Princess of Wales conservatory and accompanied by sculptures that are just as colorful as the flowers on display.
At Kew Gardens. 4 February —5 March, $16.50—entrance to the gardens included.
Architectural: Vanishing Points While we like to think of architecture existing purely in the real world, emerging designers and architects are using platforms like Instagram to create structures in the virtual world. This collection of works, which range from the practical to the fantastical, are all by architects who have gathered significant social media followings.
In the Digital Universe at ROCA London. 8 February—31 July, free.
Powerful Portraits: Alice Neel The largest UK exhibition to date of American painter Alice Neel’s work will bring together her figurative pieces from across her 60-year career. Neel went against the popular grain by painting figures when abstract works were most popular, and she painted subjects that other artists ignored —pregnant women, labor leaders, black children, civil rights activists and strange performers. It’s high time we had a major show of her work in London, and the Barbiean has duly provided.
At Barbican Art Gallery. 16 February–21 May,$16.50.
Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint. Art history has often shone a light on the men of Abstract Expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Well, now’s the time to let the most important women of the movement take the limelight in an exhibition that includes works by American artists such as Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler, but spreads the net wider to include the female abstract artists from Europe, Asia and the wider world, with whom most of us will be unfamiliar.
At Whitechapel Gallery. 9 February—7 May, $16.50 —concessions available.
1. What might newly-developing designers and architects tend to do?
A.To gather significant social media. |
B.To create virtual architectural structures. |
C.To create platforms like Instagram. |
D.To design purely real architectural structures. |
2. When can visitors appreciate Lee Krasner’s works?
A.On March 10. | B.On January 7. |
C.On February 8. | D.On May 8. |
3. What can we learn about the artist Alice Neel?
A.She is 60 years old now. |
B.Her artworks don’t intentionally follow the mainstream. |
C.She often ignored some common subjects. |
D.She is the most popular American painter in the UK. |