Saatchi Gallery, London
Posted On December 20, 2010
Want to visit one of the top as well as mysterious art galleries for free? Then, when you next go to London, be at the Saatchi Gallery. The word ‘mysterious’ is not for the gallery, but for some ‘collections’ whose artists are not known making your trip interesting and exciting. The purpose of the Saatchi Gallery is to offer a creative environment of modern art featuring the skills of mostly unknown young artists or of the settled global artists whose works are never or occasionally displayed in the United Kingdom. The probing feature of the Saatchi Gallery is that several artists whose works are showcased are actually unseen not only by the common man, but also by the commercial world of art. After getting recognition from this gallery of London, several artists are now offered shows by the other museums as well as galleries of the world. So, for the young artists, this one acts as the platform for launching their careers. Today, it is known as the ‘Museum of Contemporary Art for London’.
Nestled in the Duke of York HQ building that adorns the King’s Road, the Saatchi Gallery feels proud for its this work and guarantees free admission for all the visitors as well as shows. This is done to fulfill the aim of introducing the modern art to maximum people as possible. On top of that, a visitor of the museum is allowed to take photos for free. This is a bonus!
Within in a year, it changes exhibitions for 3 to 4 times making you convince for a regular visit. It is not possible to speak about all its exhibits here. However, I will definitely speak about my favorites. One of them was the ‘Old Persons Home’ made by the most controversial Chinese artists namely, Sun Yuan and Peng Yu and exhibited in 2007. It was really amusing to see life size sculptures set on wheel chairs of various dimensions. These sculptures were believed to be of the aging world known leaders of the world moving about on motorized wheelchairs and bumping into walls. This pulled so many people that the staff had to stop them from spending much time at the exhibit.
Next worth a watch exhibit was of 2008 called ‘Love it! Bite it!’ Its name does not reveal what would be within the display, but it certainly indicates one’s reaction towards it. It was an amazing masterpiece built from dog chews! A modern city layout was on display here showing the different famous monuments of the world such as the Coliseum and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Erected with carefully ornate columns, superb arches towers, and cornices, it certainly encompassed a cultural heritage. Some of the famous artists whose works are shown until now at the Saatchi gallery are Boris Mikhailov, Paula Rego, Jenny Saville, Andreas Gursky, and Leon Golub.
To reach this gallery in Chelsea, you need to walk for 3 to 4 minutes from the Sloane Square Underground or for 10 to 12 minutes from Victoria. You can also come here by bus – 11, 22, 211, and 319 (King’s Road) as well as 11 and 211 (Lower Sloane Street). It is also possible to come here by train; the nearest station being Victoria from where you need to walk for 10 to 12 minutes.
Timings: 10 am to 6 pm on all days, last admission at 5:30 pm.
