What was once the Searcys restaurant on the second floor is now an intimate gallery space overlooking the lake with a splendid view across to St Giles church. It is now hosting its first series of groundbreaking exhibitions entitled Encounters:Giacometti.
‘One of the most significant European sculptors of the 20th century, Giacometti is known for his distinctive, elongated sculptures which experiment with the human form. Responding to the pain and devastation caused by the Second World War, his works proposed a new perspective on humanity and the collective psyche.
Organised in collaboration with the Fondation Giacometti, the first of a series is now open with an exhibition of works by Huma Bhabha. This will be followed by Mona Hatoum in September and Lynda Benglis in February 2026. Their artworks resonate with and respond to Giacometti’s sculptures, opening up new intergenerational dialogues through the timeless themes of death, fragmentation, the domestic, memory, trauma, the erotic, horror and humour. This is the first time that their sculptures will be seen alongside Giacometti’s works’. You can read more about Huma Bhabha in this Guardian interview along with a review here.
Here are some of the images I took when I visited which will hopefully give you a flavour of the exhibition …
Giacometti The Glade, 1950
Huma Bhabha Untitled, 2022
Giacometti Large Head, 1960
Huma Bhabha Untitled, 2022
Giacometti, in the foreground, Four Women on a Base, 1950
Huma Bhabha Untitled, 2022
Nice space …
Huma Bhabha What Should it Be, 2024
Giacometti Walking Woman, 1932
Huma Bhabha Mask of Dimitrios, 2019
Giacometti Three Walking Men, 1948
Huma Bhabha Magic Carpet, 2003
Giacometti Walking Man 1, 1960
The Guardian gave the exhibition 5 Stars and so do I *****
Four of Huma Bhabha’s works are also installed in the lobby …
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Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell have been working collaboratively as ‘Good Wives and Warriors’ for nearly 20 years since graduating from the Glasgow School of Art. Their work has been featured in The Guardian, New Scientist and on the BBC as well as illustrated campaigns for Ren Skincare, Tiger Beer, Absolut, Adidas, Swatch and Tic-Tac.
They are now primarily illustrating elaborate non-fiction children’s books for publishers such as Laurence King, Big Picture Press, Wide Eyed Press, Penguin and Puffin.
‘To take a leaf out a Book’ shows the workings of their richly illustrated picture books, featuring their original hand painted illustrations and published books, full of mythical creatures, plants and animals. It’s great fun – here are some images from the exhibition which runs until 28th April.
Strawberry Squid …
Coral Reef …
Allosauros …
The Prehistotic World …
Great fun and well worth a visit (and some of the work is for sale if you’re interested).
On show outside the library are four monumantal sculptures by Huma Bhabha. These gigantic forms represent the ancient and the modern, the human and the non-human, and draw inspiration from 1980s and 1990s horror and fantasy films …
The works herald the opening of a new gallery on 8th May in the space previously occupied by the Searcy restaurant. Entitled Huma Bhabha Encounters: Giacometti, the sculptures in this show will span nearly a century of artmaking, their mediums ranging across plaster, bronze, terracotta, and found objects. Works from across Bhabha’s career will be displayed alongside iconic works by Giacometti made mostly in the aftermath of World War II.
Hope you had a nice Easter – I’m still finishing off the chocs …
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I first wrote briefly about this building in June 2020 saying that I would return later to write more and I have finally got around to it!
Lloyd’s Register began as The Society for the Registry of Shipping in 1760. In that year, eleven men met in Edward Lloyd’s coffee house to talk about publishing a list of ships, a register to define their quality and safeguard life and property carried on them. Much of the Register’s history, including its origins, has been preserved in the organisation’s Archives which contain over 1.1million digitised and catalogued assets including ship plans and surveys.
It has now eveolved into a charity, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, whose objectives remain the same as those of Lloyd’s Register: to protect people from harm and to ensure the infrastructure that we depend on for day-to-day living is safe for society both now and in the future. The Foundation also strives to provide the right skills and education to achieve these objectives.
It can be found at 71 Fenchurch Street, EC3M 4BS on the corner with Lloyd’s Avenue …
The north and south turrets …
There are numerous maidens holding models of different types of vessels …
The second maiden from the left holds the model of a steamship whilst the figure immediatly behind her holds a model of a galleon …
This panel also contains six maidens. Those in the foreground hold a ship’s telegraph, a hammer and a propeller. A cog or ratchet wheel emerges behind the leg of the right-hand figure …
The central panel contains a standing female personifying Lloyd’s. She wears a crown of sails and stands on a ship’s prow, holding in one hand a caduceus, in the other a book. Behind her is a Zodiacal sphere, and to either side of her are two mermaids ..
A series of bronze maidens holding model ships …
The impressive entrance …
The panel on the left may represent ‘Trade’. At the centre stands a naked youth, wearing mercury’s winged bonnet and holding the caduceus in one hand and in the other an orb surmounted by a galleon …
At his feet are waves bearing a symmetrical arrangement of sailing-ships laden with exotic fruit. Behind the youth is a representation of the globe. Four maidens stand to the left and three to the right, some wearing ethnic costume. One holds an elephants tusk, another a sheaf of corn. An Indian woman holds a war axe whilst the remainder hold closed caskets.
In the panel on the right there is at the centre another naked youth holding a sextant and a compass …
At his feet are waves bearing a symmetrical arrangement of sailing ships laden with packages. Behind the youth is the sun, its rays projecting to form a pattern in the background. The sun is flanked by ornamental columns, with compasses at the finials. There are three maidens on the left and four on the right, carrying navigational instruments, a globe and the model of a ship.
The spandrel above the right hand window on Lloyd’s Avenue. At the centre, from left to right, are the Arms of Cardiff and the words VILLÆ CARDIFF, the Arms of Hull, and the Arms of Southampton, with the words VILLÆ SOUT(HAMP)TONIÆ …
Flanking these are cross-sections of the engines of steamships and pairs of maidens to either side, holding tools and navigational instruments.
Above the left hand window …
At the centre, from left to right, the coat of arms of an unidentified towm, with motto …S…COMMUNI.TATIS V, followed by the Arms of Dublin and the Arms of Belfast with its motto (PRO) TANTO QUID RETRIBUAMUS, surrounded by a trophy of machinery connected with shipbuilding. Pairs of maidens to left and right hold plans and a model of a steamship.
There are also some amusing figures nearby, children playing with dolphins on a leash …
I haven’t been able to capture all the great aspects of this building, so I do recommend a visit, particularly on a sunny day …
In my descriptions, I am extremely grateful to Dr Philip Ward-Jackson and his comprehensive guide Public Sculpture of the City of London from which I have quoted extensively.
Some miscellaneous news and images.
New Moon above St Giles …
The Big Egg Hunt is on in the City (these two are at Aldgate and Barbican respectively) …
There’s a new image on the Tower 42 screen (but so far I haven’t been able to find out what it’s about – maybe something to do with Turkey?) …
Tulips are emerging in the Silk Street beds, hooray …
And, in the middle of them, a Camassia. Maybe from last year …
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