The London Open 2015

15 July – 6 September 2015, Galleries 1, 8, Victor Petitgas Gallery (Gallery 9) and Gallery 2

The Whitechapel Gallery presents The London Open 2015, the triennial exhibition open to all artists aged 26 or over living and working in London.

Presenting a cross-section of the most dynamic work being made across the capital today to a national and international audience, the exhibition features painting, sculpture, moving image, photography, drawing, performances and installations. Abstract and figurative painting as well as participatory and conceptual art have emerged as strong threads running through the exhibition.

Highlights include a brick sculpture built on-site by father/daughter team bricklayer Brian Watts and artist Demelza Watts and a colourful site specific wall-painting by Lothar Götz which covers the entrance to the exhibition. Also on show is a sculpture by Ben Woodeson made up of precariously balanced panes of glass and a tense video work by Nelmarie Du Preez of a robotic arm programmed to repeatedly stab a knife between her spread fingers. An ice sculpture of a local fishmonger by multi-media artist Sam Curtis is renewed every morning throughout the exhibition and is on show from 30 July in Gallery 2.

The exhibition which acts as a barometer of contemporary art includes works by 25 female artists, 22 male artists and one collective, who are originally from across the UK, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Peru, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, USA and all now live and work in London. Established artists such as Emma Hart, Mary Ramsden and Tim Stoner are shown alongside emerging artists including Tim Ellis, Eva Stenram and Dominic Watson. Many works included in the exhibition are available for purchase.

From a record number of 2,133 applicants, 48 artists were selected from open submission by a panel of high profile art world figures, including artist Angela de la Cruz, collector Nicoletta Fiorucci, writer and critic Ben Luke, gallerist Jake Miller and Whitechapel Gallery curators Daniel F. Herrmann, Eisler Curator and Head of Curatorial Studies, and Poppy Bowers, Assistant Curator.

The artists in The London Open 2015 are: Rebecca Ackroyd, Holly Antrum, Ryuji Araki, Salvatore Arancio, Zehra Arslan, Alex Baczynski-Jenkins, Sam Belinfante, Karl Bielik, Isha Bøhling, Jane Bustin, Jodie Carey, Ben Cove, Sam Curtis, Nelmarie Du Preez, Alexander Duncan, Tim Ellis, Adham Faramawy, Gaia Fugazza, Marco Godoy, Lothar Götz, Athene Greig, Buster Grimes, Mark Harris, Emma Hart, Dominic Hawgood, Mary Hurrell, Lucy Joyce, Dominic Kennedy, Sophie Mackfall, Damien Meade, Guy Patton, The Grantchester Pottery, Heather Power, Mary Ramsden, Sarah Roberts, Julie Roch-Cuerrier, Mitra Saboury, Lizi Sanchez, Laura Santamaria, Frances Scott, Eva Stenram, Tim Stoner, Roy Voss, Caroline Walker, Dominic Watson, Brian and Demelza Watts, Ben Woodeson and Madalina Zaharia.

The London Open 2015 goes on show 83 years after the Whitechapel Gallery’s first open submission exhibition in 1932. Called the East End Academy, it was ‘for all artists living or working east of the famous Aldgate Pump’. From the 1970s onwards the area around the Gallery in east London became home to many of the UK’s most important artists and the Whitechapel Open (as the East End Academy was later called) became a launch pad for artists in the early stages of their career, showing the work of artists such as Anish Kapoor, Julian Opie, Cornelia Parker, Grayson Perry, Bob & Roberta Smith, Richard Wentworth, Rachel Whiteread and Antony Gormley, often for the first time. Since 2012 the Whitechapel Gallery has expanded the reach of the exhibition to artists from all of London, recognising the Gallery’s cultural role in the city.

Daniel F. Herrmann, Eisler Curator and Head of Curatorial Studies, said: ‘The London Open 2015 received the greatest number of applications in the history of the Whitechapel Gallery’s open submission exhibition. The entries were of exceptionally high quality – their level of execution, creativity and critical sense are testament to London’s status as the art capital of the world and we are delighted to present some of the most interesting artists working in the city today.’

Notes for Editors

• For over a century the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered world class artists from modern masters such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to contemporaries such as Sophie Calle, Lucian Freud, Gilbert & George and Mark Wallinger. With beautiful galleries, exhibitions, artist commissions, collection displays, historic archives, education resources, inspiring art courses, dining room and bookshop, the Gallery is open all year round, so there is always something free to see. It is a touchstone for contemporary art internationally, plays a central role in London’s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of the world’s most vibrant contemporary art quarter.
• The exhibition is open to all artists aged 26 or over living and working in the London boroughs. These are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, City of London, City of Westminster, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, and Wandsworth.
• The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue. Limited edition artworks in support of the Whitechapel Gallery’s exhibitions and education programme are on sale.

Visitor Information
Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm, Thursdays, 11am – 9pm. Admission free. Whitechapel Gallery, 77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX. Nearest London Underground Station: Aldgate East, Liverpool Street, Tower Gateway DLR. T + 44 (0) 20 7522 7888
info@whitechapelgallery.org whitechapelgallery.org

For further press information please contact:
Anna Jones, Whitechapel Gallery Media Relations Manager on +44 (0) 20 7522 7871 or email AnnaJones@whitechapelgallery.org