A London Parking Lot Is Now Full of Art

Written by Alice Pfeiffer Friday, 30 July 2010 20:40

London - Peckham in South London isn’t the typical neighborhood you’d pick for a lazy afternoon stroll — yet it has become a place of choice for up-and-coming artists, who are rapidly setting up studios and gallery spaces in local disused factories and warehouses. The Hannah Barry Gallery, housed in an old cricket bat factory, is one of them. On top of rotating year-round shows, it also hosts an annual sculpture exhibition, set up in a multistory parking lot. “Bold Tendency 4,” the current incarnation, which runs through Sept. 30, covers over 64,500 square feet, stretching over the four top floors of the lot, as well as the rooftop.

The building (Level 7-10, Peckham Rye Multistory Car Park, 95A Rye Lane; 44-207-493-4224; was in disuse and locked up, but after much schmoozing, Ms. Barry and her cohorts convinced the borough of Southwark (which encloses Peckham) to lend it to them — a bold ambition indeed.

The show presents a selection of 14 young sculptors and artists from various backgrounds and countries, including the London artist Nicholas Byrne; the Chicago-born, Brazilian-based multimedia artist Juliana Cerqueira Leite; and Florian Roithmayr, who previously worked as a set designer in Germany.

Thanks to both its size and appearance, the space is a challenge for the gallerists and artists, explained Sven Muendner, co-director of the gallery, which “allows young artists to re-evaluate not only the size of their works but also how the work and the artist are ‘riddled with questions’ by the building and the environment that standard white cube situations cannot ask,” he said.

A practical advantage of such a space is that it allows many more visitors than a classical gallery format would: on the day of the recent opening, 2,500 art enthusiasts were in attendance; last year, a total of 30,000 visited the summer-long show.

While you’re there, don’t miss out on the pop-up organic canteen set up atop the parking lot: Frank’s Cafe and Campari Bar was designed by the young architects Paloma Gormley (the daughter of the Turner Prize-winning artist Anthony Gormley) and Lettice Drake, and serves delicious fare — yet another reason to make the trip to Peckham.

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