Ten years of contemporary art 1992-2002

With the appointment of David Thorp as Director in 1992, the exhibition programme began to focus on the latest developments in contemporary art and the Gallery came to be known as the South London Gallery. After a gap of ten years, the SLG began once again to collect contemporary works relating to South London with the help of the Contemporary Art Society (CAS). Purchases in this period included works by Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Tracey Emin.

The Gallery’s profile and visitor figures grew enormously as it began to stage exhibitions by internationally acclaimed artists such as Gilbert & George, Anselm Kiefer and Sherrie Levine, as well as younger artists such as Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk and Ann Sofi-Sidén. This programme saw the SLG short-listed in the Prudential Awards for the Arts in 1996 and Director David Thorp nominated for the Prudential Creative Britons Award the following year.

In 1999 the Gallery joined the CAS’s Special Collection Scheme, and purchased works by Sarah Lucas, Keith Coventry and Angus Fairhurst among others. The contemporary collection is now a valuable resource for projects with schools allowing pupils hands on experience of working with contemporary works of art. Also in 1999 the SLG’s Live Art programme was launched by Donna Lynas, with performances by Marcia Farquhar, Francesca Vilalta Olle, Franko B and Stuart Brisley.

View the contemporary collection