Hosting 59 Group related shows in 12 years, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Susan Haire, The Cello Factory has become our home.
Since 2008 there have been 13 London Group exhibitions with the majority of members showing, 13 smaller London Group shows, including two Draws, 33 non-London Group shows that included London Group members of which 22 were solo shows, three were two/three person shows and the remaining seven included non-members.
The Cello Factory is situated in the South Bank area five minutes’ walk from Waterloo Station between the National Theatre and the Old Vic. It is unusual for being a double-height private gallery and has copious natural light and striking black beams. It also has a video room and can have 100% blackout used to great effect in two London Group exhibitions, In the Dark and In the Dark 2020 – Even Darker.
Originally a warehouse, the building was used as the furniture repository for the Savoy Hotel. It is thought that the first Daleks were made on the premises or in an adjacent warehouse. It was then a showroom for stringed instruments and was renowned for specialising in the Stradivarius. After that it was the studio of a photographer who made portraits of ballet dancers as they danced in the space.
It also holds many concerts and recitals and has been home to the London Ear Festival of contemporary music since its inception in 2013. This is an international festival presenting world premieres from at least a dozen countries each year. It has also hosted a number of theatre productions and even an opera, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, by Viktor Ullmann.
The Cello Factory is well-known in the London art world and has a high reputation. It has hosted four Young Contemporary Talent exhibitions presented by the Ingram Collection, the largest private collection of Modern British art in the UK, the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation Bursary Exhibition, the Chiara Williams Contemporary Art, Solo Award – a solo show in the London Art Fair, and the Director’s Showcase for the Lumen Prize, described by the Guardian as the world’s pre-eminent digital art prize.
The Cello Factory is looking to the future passionate to keep the vision it holds dear while expanding into gallery and events hire.
Susan Haire PLG, 2020
Visit thecellofactory.com for more information
