Photo London 2023

Fun but overwhelming exhibition at Somerset House showcasing galleries specialising in selling photography.

I had always wanted to go to this show but it usually clashes with the Charleston Festival which I go to. I had not appreciated quite how big it is! It takes over the whole of Somerset House including erecting a temporary structure in the courtyard and the Embankment galleries.

I quickly learnt that the best approach was to walk round fairly quickly just lingering at images which really caught your eye. It would have been good if the galleries provided a bit more information on the works on show. I liked the mix of contemporary and older work and I impressed myself at how many of the photographers I recognised from other shows.

I think the only was to review the show is to mention pieces I particularly liked!

  • Fan Ho's Hong Kong street photography from the 1950s
  • A lovely picture of Amsterdam from 1934 by Wolfgang Suschitsky
  • Jeffrey Milstein's aerial views of Rome and a container port taken from a helicopter not a  drone
  • Luke Stephenson's sharp pictures of birds against bright backgrounds
  • Philppe Calandre's pictures of London landmarks on platforms (see attached to understand)

The two curated sections were of work by the documentary photographer Martin Parr who I love and a show looking at female photographers of the last 100 years from the Hyman Collection from which I gathered some new names to look out for.

Closed 14 May 2023


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