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Embark on a captivating journey through space and time

From 12 April 2024 to 12 January 2025, discover a fresh perspective on London, its architecture and geography at this new exhibition created by multi-award-winning wood engraver Anne Desmet for Guildhall Art Gallery.

'Anne Desmet: Kaleidoscope/London' sees the artist slicing into prints focused on London from her earlier wood-engravings, linocuts and hand-drawn lithographs to make a new series of digital collages, inspired by looking at a fragmented view of the world through a toy kaleidoscope.

The exhibition will feature 150 works, including 41 London-themed kaleidoscopic prints created exclusively for this new exhibition, as well as a selection of tools and engraved wood blocks, spanning over three decades of Desmet’s documentation of London through the mediums of wood engraving and mixed-media printed collage.

Highlights of the show include a complex collage, ‘Fires of London’, created using 18 razor-clam shells to present a theme of the many historic fires of London over the last 1,500 years.

A must-visit exhibition for art lovers, curated by Anne Desmet and Head of Guildhall Art Gallery Elizabeth Scott. Admission is ‘Pay What You Can’.

Collage of fragmented abstract images as seen through a toy kaleidoscope

Exhibition Guided Tours

Join artist and co-curator Anne Desmet RA for an extended tour of the exhibition and learn more about her hand-crafted print techniques and the diverse themes that inform her work.

This extended artist-led guided tours start at 2:30pm and last for approximately one hour. Tours will take place on the following dates:

  • Wednesday 6 November 2024
  • Saturday 7 December 2024

Tickets for these tours are £10, please book your ticket in advance. For a self-led visit, please book a General Admission ticket.