A day off and a trip to London to visit the Gauguin exhibition at the Tate Modern. The gallery itself was shrouded in controversy when it opened, ridiculed in the media for some of its displays. Yet yesterday I found it welcoming, spacious and appealing. It's a converted industrial building with a riverside location on the south bank of the Thames.
The exhibition of Gauguin's work was thematic rather than chronological, and although quite crowded there was just enough space to stand and dmire and hink about the artist at work. Many years ago I visited a Gauguin gallery in Pont Avon in Brittany, so this was a chance to come face to face with other work by an artist that intrigues me. At first I questioned the paintings he produces on his stays in later life to Tahiti and Martinique. Over time I've come to enjoy and perhaps understand them better.
I'm not really an art gallery person if such a thing exists. Some visitors yesterday seemed to blend effortlessly into the surroundings ; however exhibitions are a different matter. The chance to view an artist's work in greater depth and to learn something of their life is an experience that I find hard to resist.
After seeing the exhibition we sat on the balcony overlooking the river, with St Paul's cathedral staring us in the face. The river boats , a welcome new feature to the London landscape moved on the Thames. The Millenium pedestrian bridge carried people across the river, as the words of Ray Davies masterpiece "Waterloo Sunset" swirled around my head, like the "dirty old river" down below. A walk along the riverside took us past the rebuilt Globe Theatre. London is so full of wonder and surprises as a city. You can in it or near it most of your life, and yet it still holds treasures that you've not seen.
Finally facing my fears we walked across the millenium bridge and made our way around St Paul's, statues, monuments revealing London's past while all around people hurried about focussed on their daily life. However as long as they gaze at Waterloo Sunset they are in paradise.
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