1. Photo: Time Out/Laura Gallant
    Photo: Time Out/Laura Gallant
  2. Photo: Time Out/Laura Gallant
    Photo: Time Out/Laura Gallant
  3. Photo: Time Out/Laura Gallant
    Photo: Time Out/Laura Gallant

Review

Serpentine Gallery

4 out of 5 stars
  • Art | Galleries
  • Hyde Park
  • Recommended
Eddy Frankel
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Time Out says

What is it?

Tucked away at the secluded western edge of central London’s biggest park, the twin Serpentine galleries (South is the older one, North is its new newish little sibling), are an oasis of contemporary art in very genteel, leafy surroundings. They both do a rolling two-monthly programme of exhibitions featuring up-to-the-minute artists, which, combined with its annual Serpentine Pavilion (a new architectural something-or-other commissioned every spring from  some renowned architect and plonked in the park between June and September), make it a primo destination for culture vultures in the city.

Why go

Its contemporary art programming is genuinely top notch, and it’s technology team is genuinely innovative, dedicating itself to cutting edge approaches to the fusion of art and tech. 

Don’t miss

Serpentine South’s bookshop is one of the best sellers of art books in the city, with a great selection of catalogues, theory tomes and high brow magazines.

When to visit

Open daily from 10am-6pm, and it’s free. 

Time Out tip

Head out of Serpentine North towards Lancaster Gate and you’ll spot Henry Moore’s enormous marble arch facing west. It’s a beautiful work of modernist sculpture.

Details

Address
Kensington Gardens
London
W2 3XA
Transport:
Tube: Lancaster Gate/Knightsbridge/South Kensington
Price:
Free
Opening hours:
Daily 10am-6pm. Check website for seasonal variations
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What’s on

Giuseppe Penone: Thoughts in the Roots

Sculptor Giuseppe Penone – famously part of the Italian movement Arte Povera, a group Inspired by the politics of 1960s and who used everyday materials in their work – has been fascinated with the relationship between man and nature since the late 60s, when he began his interventions with the natural world. This Serpentine exhibition is the most comprehensive presentation of Penone’s work in the UK and will extend beyond the gallery with his famous tree sculptures extending into the Royal Parks.

Peter Doig: ‘House of Music’

Peter Doig is one of the greatest living painters, an artist whose approach to hazy, memory-drenched figuration has had an enormous impact on the visual landscape of today. For his show at the Serpentine, he’s going well beyond the canvas, filling the gallery with speaker systems to explore the impact of music on his work. Does DJ-set-meets-art-exhibition sound like your idea of hell? Mine too, but it’s Doig, so it just might work. Maybe.
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