Exhibition review: Victoriana - The Art of Revival, Guildhall Art Gallery, London
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Your support makes all the difference.What is it? The first major exhibition to examine Victorian revivalism in its many varied and popular forms; features work by 28 contemporary artists including Yinka Shonibare, Grayson Perry, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Paula Rego and Polly Morgan.
The Independent says: “One’s first thought [is] ‘why hasn’t this been done before?’ Our artistic view of the Victorian era is so stuck in the sentimentality of its narrative pictures and the jewelled precision of Pre-Raphaelite painting, that it is easy to forget just what a boisterous, anxiety-ridden and populist period this was. That’s the part which fascinates modern artists … The era may be seen largely through ironic eyes, but it is no longer viewed with dismissive ones … Quite the most entrancing exhibition of the year.”
They say: Metro: “a lively and entertaining exhibition that not only provides a potted guide to Victorian preoccupations but gives vintage concerns renewed relevance.”
You say: @andrewweale: “Fun and very, very quirky. If not a little kinky!”; @leighclothier: “A quick visit today to @GuildhallArt Victoriana: The Art of Revival... Loved it! Can’t wait to go again.”
Details: to 8 Dec; cityoflondon.gov.uk
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