London Art Journey - Gallery Edition

Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Saartchi Gallery was hosting the "The Rolling Stones" special exhibition, but I did not go in to visit; instead, I went directly to Whitechapel Gallery to see American post-minimalist painter Mary Heilmann (born 1940) "Looking at Pictures" painting special exhibition. The artist said: "Every one of my paintings can be seen as an autobiographical mark, a discovery, revealing my past at that time through such presentation, or my projection into the future. Every charm summons a spiritual reality and gives it physical form."

I also visited the special exhibition of six neon light works by another minimalist artist Keith Sonnier (born 1941), titled "Light Works 1968-70". The artist said: "Neon has always been a material, a flat written advertising symbol. However, I began to rebel within this landscape, pulling it up from space and using it in a more three-dimensional form." I also took the opportunity to wander through the streets of the Indian district looking for graffiti art on walls. Following a group of students guided by a teacher, I captured quite a few images, especially the striking text-and-image works by writer W.R.D. Smith.

The Serpentine Gallery, located in the lush green park, is a must-visit spot on London's art journey. It is currently hosting the "Quick Light" special exhibition by the vigorous veteran painter Alex Katz (born 1927), featuring simplified, flattened portraits and charming landscapes. The painter said, "Instantaneous light, if you have the ability to grasp it, then what you grasp is the entirety of the present moment. You can reach that state, which is eternity."

Outside the gallery, the annual architectural art special exhibition explores formal spaces and materials. This year features the magnificent and extremely minimalist triangular structure of the "Serpentine Pavilion" by the team of architect Bjark Ingels (BIG), formed by stacking uniform-sized rectangular plastic-steel pieces of varying lengths in an orderly manner. In another corner of the park, four architects—American-German Barkow Leibinger, Nigerian African Kunle Adeyemi, British Asif Khan, and Hungarian Yona Friedman—presented four monumental architectural art works in the form of environmental space installations titled "Summer Houses".

In another exhibition space of the Serpentine Gallery, the vigorous veteran Greek painter Etel Adnan (born 1925) is hosting the "the weight of the world" minimalist color-field abstract special exhibition. He said, "Color is the measure of life's existence. I feel like faith. Affirmation in the state of pure faith. My existence is because I see color."