Review: Art at Kings Place - Sally Soames and Chris Steele-Perkins

By Londonist Last edited 165 months ago
Review: Art at Kings Place - Sally Soames and Chris Steele-Perkins

An exhibition of news photographer Sally Soames' portraits is on display at Guardian News and Media in Kings Place. The collection makes for a nice afternoon browse and includes imposing images of writers, artists, and other notables.

If you’ve always wanted to admire Margaret Atwood’s profile in a soft light or experience Orson Welles facing you bluntly from the backseat of a car, this is the exhibition for you. Ultimately, though, while impressive, Soames’ photographs are somehow unmoving.

For a fuller experience, make sure you also pop around the corner for a look at Chris Steele-Perkins' photography collection, “England, My England” inside the Kings Place Gallery and go from flattering portraits of famous people to a portrait of a nation, warts and all. Steele-Perkins’ exhibition (sample show to right) is a witty study of the absurdities, tragedies, and pleasures of English life, spanning over three decades. His subjects include the glum looking audience of a 1974 Brixton reggae festival, youths perusing a Tottenham Court Road stereo store, and a dog urinating on a family’s windbreak at crowded Blackpool Beach. In pure contrast to Sally Soames next door at the Guardian, each shot is simple, smart, and full of humanity.

Sally Soames’ photographs are shown as part of the Scott Trust Foundation Archive in the foyer of Guardian News and Media 10-6 pm everyday until 20 August. “England, My England” by Chris Steele-Perkins is at Kings Place Gallery until 30 July, 10-6 pm M-F, 11-5 pm weekends. Free admission to both.

By Lillian He

Last Updated 29 June 2010