Recent
Exhibition
|
View
from top-floor cafe |
The Tate Modern, the new home
of the Tate's collection of modern and contemporary international
art from 1900 to the present, opened in May 2000.
The gallery is housed in the
old Bankside Power Station created by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott,
also architect of Battersea Power Station and designer of
the red telephone box.
The vast building was remodelled
by the Swiss architects, Herzog & de Meuron, at a cost
of £134 million. Although the massive block, with its
huge central tower, has been smartened up, its industrial
character still asserts itself. A new glass structure,
created by Michael Craig-Martin in collaboration with the
architects, has been added at roof level to provide two more
floors and bring in more light.
From here there are magnificent
views over London. The two-storey beam of light that
runs along the top of the building (known as 'The Swiss Light')
has become a beacon on the London skyline.
The cathedral-like Turbine Hall
was created following the removal of the old power station
machinery, and this enormous room rises the whole height of
the building, with three gallery floors, shops and cafés built
into a compact bank on one side.
Visitors can enjoy the views
down into the Turbine Hall from the mezzanine bridge on Level
2 and from the various galleries. Seating is available
between the two suites on each floor and from here there are
views of the Thames and across London.
The café on Level 7 boasts panoramic
views across the river to St Paul's and over south London.
These are particularly spectacular at night, when you can
book dinner, or just take a drink at the bar.
The enormous size of the building,
the Turbine Hall is 500 feet long and 100 feet high, means
that a far greater range of works can be displayed than was
possible at the original Millbank site. The Tate Modern
exhibits its works by theme, still life, landscape, history
painting and the nude.
Housed in four separate suites
on two floors, the selections illustrate how artists continue
to use these traditional subjects.
As well as its permanent collection,
Tate Modern also houses regular special exhibitions, for which
there is usually a charge. Following an agreement with the
V&A, the two institutions will regularly exchange works
of art.
The Millennium Bridge was designed
by Norman Foster, Anthony Caro and Ove Arup to link Tate Modern
with St Paul's Cathedral, just across the Thames. However,
it was closed within days of its official opening when it
was found that the movement of pedestrians made the bridge
sway alarmingly. The strengthened bridge was re-opened
in 2002.
There are plans to link Tate
Modern by boat, shuttle bus, and pedestrian and bicycle routes
to the former Tate Gallery on Millbank, now known as the Tate
Britain.
Admission free,
except for special exhibitions
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