White Cube (Hoxton Square): Hoxton Square, London, N1 6PB
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 6pm
Nearest tube: Old Street (Northern Line)
Buses that stop near the gallery: 21, 35, 43, 48, 55, 67,76, 141, 149, 205, 214, 242, 243, 271 and 394
Inside the White Cube is pretty much as it’s described on the tin: it is a white box. In the two, square exhibition spaces, one upstairs and one down, the walls are white, the ceiling is white and the floor is, well grey. It was in the White Cube that I first learnt that after each show a gallery redecorates, after foolishly questioning out loud how the walls could possibly stay so strikingly white despite the fact they play host to, on average, around ten re-hangs a year.
The place is white to the point of obsession, which means none of those handy exhibitions descriptions, no labels on the artwork and certainly no word about the artists themselves. Unlike some galleries, which can successfully double the time needed to walk around them with their use of annotations, White Cube doesn’t give anything away about its shows. This can mean, in some of their more obscure exhibitions, you can find yourself wandering around a bit dumbfounded.
But, for those determined to fathom out the complexities of a show, there is usually a pile of press releases and list of works on the desk in reception, and despite their often stone-faced demeanours the gallery assistants are usually quite happy to talk about the art if you approach them.
As you would expect from a gallery representing some of the biggest names in the art world - Gilbert & George, Anthony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Gabriel Orozco and Damián Ortega to name a few – the shows are, usually, brilliant. Of course, there is the odd exception. And if you aren’t a fan of the YBAs and contemporary art in general, you probably won’t enjoy a visit to the White Cube. But, it is a great place to start if you want to get a grounding in the modern art scene, and with a good turnover of shows, it’s a great place to see new exhibitions.
