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<\/a><\/p>\nThe exhibition brings together a substantial collection of Magritte\u2019s surrealist work with pieces by more than forty other artists, exploring how his peculiar way of seeing the world continues to spread. Familiar apples, bowler hats and cloud-filled skies mingle with objects that seem to have wandered in from somebody else\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n
The setting is part of the attraction. From an austere gallery exterior, you walk into rooms lined with richly coloured curtains, with some paintings recessed into chunky frames that look almost like little theatre windows.<\/p>\n
Large, weird sculptures fill the centre, including a pile of bricks that looks like someone took the Tate\u2019s infamous brick art and threw it up in the air in disgust. It\u2019s the paintings that shine though, some of which are vaguely familiar to us from overuse in the media, and many we\u2019ve probably never seen before.<\/p>\n
In The Philosopher\u2019s Lamp, a man\u2019s nose curves down into the bowl of his pipe, while a candle coils beside him. Elsewhere, a formally dressed figure has an enormous, balloon-like head, and the trees with glowing eyes reminded me of Space:1999\u2019s The Rules of Luton.<\/p>\n The exhibition\u2019s title, This Is Still Not a Pipe: The Afterlife of Magritte, comes from Magritte\u2019s continuing argument about pictures and things. The pipe shown here carries a revised version of his famous message: this is still not a pipe. But it is a picture of one.<\/p>\n Other connections are looser. Jeff Koons\u2019s gleaming stainless-steel locomotive will appeal to many for its highly detailed construction \u2013 but I am not sure it\u2019s surrealist, while Soshiro Matsubara\u2019s woman-faced bird, lying on its back, is a much smaller and stranger presence.<\/p>\n Overall, there are enough famous paintings here to lure visitors, but the range is so wide and weird that the exhibition is most importantly\u2026 a lot of fun to visit.<\/p>\n Not many art galleries can say that.<\/p>\n The exhibition, This Is Still Not a Pipe: The Afterlife of Magritte<\/a> is at Gagosian in Mayfair<\/a> until 12th December 2026 and is free to visit.<\/p>\n It\u2019s open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and the gallery is about half way between Bond Street and Green Park tube stations.<\/p>\n Gagosian Gallery Note: If you have bags, you\u2019ll be directed to leave them at the cloakroom by the entrance.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
20 Grosvenor Hill
London
W1K 3QD<\/p>\n