People sitting on the Metropolitan line have been captured in art by the artist Martin Church, who now has an exhibition of his work at the Barbican Library.
The exhibition is of over one hundred new works, including original collages, paintings, reproductions and digital composites, and all the images are made in public by sketching on the Metropolitan Line tube trains.
Most of them are drawn on prepared front pages of the Evening Standard newspaper – giving timeless portraits a sense to belonging to a specific moment in time.
Most of them are obviously people on the tube, although there are a few more abstract images, such as a lady standing who seems almost to be emerging from a shattered mirror background. I think it would be fair to say that the artwork is in a unique style, and as many people will love the exhibition as might recoil in dislike.
The exhibition, Martin Church – Tube Pictures is in the Barbican Library until 29th January and is free to visit.
- Mon: 9.30am to 5.30pm
- Tue: 9.30am to 7.30pm
- Wed: 9.30am to 5.30pm
- Thur: 9.30am to 7.30pm
- Fri: 9.30am to 5.30pm
- Sat: 9.30am to 4pm
Closed on Sundays and bank holidays.
This review of “ Tube Picture” exhibition has a nice turn of phrase and an originality of observation .
It is reminiscent of the style of the late Evening Standard Art Critic Brian Sewell who was very impressed and bought some of the artist’s early works of Hackney’s black community in the night clubs of Dalston Hackney