The Legendary Matt’s Gallery…
September 22nd, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Matt’s Gallery, located in London’s East End, is a non profit gallery established in 1979 by its director Robin Klassnik. Named after Klassnik’s Old English Sheepdog ‘Matt E. Mulsion’, this space is funded by the arts council and other major trusts and foundations.
The gallery’s longevity is testament to its success and over the past thirty years, Klassnik has developed a reputation for displaying the kind of work that is not made anywhere else.
The most well know installation shown at Matt’s was probably in 1987 when artist Richard Wilson flooded the gallery with used engine oil in his iconic work 20:50. This piece was subsequently acquired by Charles Saatchi and I remember seeing the work at County Hall on the south bank, where it dominated one of the gallery’s oak pannelled rooms.
More recently, the gallery has shown the likes of Willie Doherty, Susan Hiller and Mike Nelson to great critical acclaim.
Matt’s Gallery has been cited as “the most heroic art space in London” by the Sunday Times Culture Magazine.
The gallery exists to support artists with the time and space to take risks, and to be bold enough to be different.
Show your support and visit www.mattsgallery.org for up to date information about its projects, and to read a synopsis about the current work on show, an interesting sculptural installation called ‘Hotel’ by artist Paul Carter that disrupts the architectural features of the gallery.
Matt’s Gallery can be found at 42-44, Copperfield Road, Bow, E3 4RR and is open all year round from Wednesday to Sunday 12 pm – 6 pm.
