Fodor's Expert Review Serpentine Galleries
Taking its name from the artificial recreational lake that curves its way through Hyde Park, the Serpentine South Gallery, housed in a brick 1930s tea pavilion in Kensington Gardens, is one of London's foremost showcases for contemporary art. Just about every reputable modern artist has exhibited here: Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, and Gerhard Richter, to name a few. A permanent work on the gallery's grounds—eight benches and a carved stone circle—commemorates the gallery's former patron Princess Diana.
The Serpentine North Gallery, a second exhibition space in a converted Georgian gunpowder storeroom just across a small bridge, has a dramatic extension designed by Zaha Hadid as well as a stylish restaurant. If you're in town between May and September, check out the annual Serpentine Pavilion, where each year a different leading architect is given free rein to create a temporary structure, always with imaginative results. Past designers have included Frank... READ MORE
Taking its name from the artificial recreational lake that curves its way through Hyde Park, the Serpentine South Gallery, housed in a brick 1930s tea pavilion in Kensington Gardens, is one of London's foremost showcases for contemporary art. Just about every reputable modern artist has exhibited here: Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, and Gerhard Richter, to name a few. A permanent work on the gallery's grounds—eight benches and a carved stone circle—commemorates the gallery's former patron Princess Diana.
The Serpentine North Gallery, a second exhibition space in a converted Georgian gunpowder storeroom just across a small bridge, has a dramatic extension designed by Zaha Hadid as well as a stylish restaurant. If you're in town between May and September, check out the annual Serpentine Pavilion, where each year a different leading architect is given free rein to create a temporary structure, always with imaginative results. Past designers have included Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, and Jean Nouvel.
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