It is the highest sculpture in the United Kingdom but it is also an attraction that thrills visitor’s of all ages. It is the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the spectacular tunnel slide designed by artists Anish Kapoor and Carsten Höller for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Surrounded by a flame-red trellis, a 114.5 metre spiral tower offers breathtaking views of London from two terraces suspended 76 and 80 metres off the ground respectively. For the brave-at-heart, the real adventure starts here - flying down the highest and longest slide in the world at 24 kilometres an hour! But the surprises aren’t finished yet - through concave lens placed on the panoramic platform, you can look at the world upside-down while the descent of the spiral staircase offers some unexpected sonic experiences. Whoever wants to learn more about this curious work of art will find all the information right there in a specially dedicated area. Created for the London Olympic Games in 2012, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a behemoth made from recycled steel and inspired by the double helix of DNA, held together by 600 hundred star knots and thirty-five-thousand bolts. Synonymous with innovative design and playful invention, it has transformed the landscape of East London, showing the numerous faces of a versatile and resistant material - from the red trellises to the polished-steel mirrors, from the spiral staircases to the Corten steel that forms the upper canopy.
A. R. Turner brings his “Energy” to the Saatchi Gallery
London’s Saatchi Gallery hosts the European debut of A. R. Turner. Twelve new works inspired by landscapes and travels unfold as a reflection on time, nature and the human condition.
At the Royal Opera House, Andrei Șerban’s visionary staging of Puccini’s masterpiece returns. Amid timeless arias and striking visuals, the ice princess finally exposes her humanity.
The Courtauld Gallery in London reveals an unexpected side of Barbara Hepworth: the sculptor who painted emptiness. Hepworth in Colour intertwines form and pigment in a vivid story where colour does not decorate but breathes within the material.
At the Royal Academy, The Histories presents the most comprehensive European survey of Kerry James Marshall’s work. Over seventy pieces place Black figures at the center of the artistic narrative, redefining Western painting’s traditional canons with bold, poetic force.