On Tuesday November 18th, the Upper Sixth artists went on a gallery trip to London to visit the Late Turner
exhibition at the Tate Britain and the Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the Royal Academy. Both JMW Turner and Anselm Kiefer are considered to be ground-breaking figures in art history, and we were incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to visit both of these high-profile exhibitions on the same day. Turner’s radical response to his subject matter and his innovative use of techniques, processes and materials were beautifully showcased in this extensive exhibition of his late work.
Likewise, the Anselm Kiefer show, a retrospective of the man described as “a colossus of
contemporary art” made a big impression on our students, with his exhibition including monumental painting, sculpture, and installations. Kiefer’s work deals with challenging subject matter based on human experience, history, mythology, literature and science, and certainly gave us plenty of food for thought, and inspiration for our own practical work. Due to some transport hitches we found ourselves without a coach for most of our journey, but we were lucky enough to
have some great weather, and enjoyed some extensive walking tours between Waterloo and the two galleries. Furthermore, we were able to take in some classic scenes of historic London, and also take the opportunity to visit some of the smaller dealer galleries, which showcased some exciting contemporary art in Cork Street.
James Nairne
Director of Art
