On a freezing evening in February, we went across to see the Irving Penn exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG). It’s a long time since my last visit and I had forgotten what a great gallery this is. It is also staggeringly wheelchair friendly – I don’t know why that should surprise me but it does. In fairness, most publicly funded galleries do have pretty good access.
We really enjoyed the exhibition – some really great iconic images and so interesting to see the changes in style and techniques over Penn’s long career. Totally recommend anyone to go.
We then went up to eat at the NPG restaurant providing a – now usual - Tate Modern style, mediocre, expensive food offering which was somewhat improved by fabulous views across the London night-time skyline. A nice space, good for the wheels but a completely unmemorable meal.
Must mention another bonus, which was to find a blue badge space to park in right outside! Whoa! Do things get much better? I have made a mental note to keep an eye out for future NPG exhibitions.
In passing, I also really enjoyed seeing the Chris Ofili exhibition at Tate Britain. If you don’t know his work, look him up and enjoy his wonderful Afro-centric use of colour, technique and style. It is way more impressive in the ‘flesh’. Remember, you can book – email or phone - a disabled parking space in Tate Britain’s rear car park if you go – ya gotta love that!
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