London Open at the Whitechapel Gallery 2018
June 8 - August 26, 2018
The winner of Contemporary Arts Trust Prize at the Whitechapel Open exhibition is Alexis Teplin for her textile installation which was immediately striking, even before the performance, written by herself, which brought the whole work into a third dimension seamlessly. The costumes and the backdrop blended in an infinite exchange. The whole exhibition has been excellently chosen by the selection panel and is well worth a visit. Choosing a winner was not an easy task.The Whitechapel Gallery’s open submission exhibition was launched in 1932 as the East End Academy for ‘all artists living or working east of the famous Aldgate Pump’, and the exhibition’s popularity ensured that it became an annual event. The London Open is a triennial exhibition open to all artists aged 26 or over living or working in London. The exhibition features painting, sculpture, moving image, photography, drawing, performances and installations
From the 1970s onwards the area around the Gallery in east London become 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.
