Category Archives: Art

Van Gogh House

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We recently took advantage of a discount to make the bold and frankly quite terrifying decision to step out of Greater Kennington to visit the Van Gogh House on the Oval/Stockwell borders. The house isn’t really a museum per se, and was described by the perky and well drilled staff person as ‘a gallery space for people inspired by Van Gogh and other artists’. 

In a reality that might seem a bit surreal to the unaware, before becoming an artist Vincent Van Gogh did indeed live around the corner from the present day Lidl in Stockwell. The house outlines his life at the time through the letters that he prolifically wrote to his brother Theo, a few photos and drawings, and the efforts made to establish Vincent’s  residency in the home in the 1970’s. The rooms also offer a fascinating glimpse into a busy 19th century boarding house and school, where 11 people lived. 

On the gallery front,  the exhibit on now until 17 December is called ‘The Living House’ celebrating the 150 years since the great man’s residency. The exhibits explore the notion that the home is still inhabited in some manner and plays on the notion that the house is a collaborator in the artistic process and toys with the concept that art and living are entwined. And you even get a bar of soap for your cerebral efforts.  

Until 30 September Lambeth residents can visit Van Gogh museum for £4 and tickets can be nabbed here. If you live in Southwark then sorry, no discount for you. If you live in Wandsworth we’re not sure why you’re reading this site but should nevertheless be applauded for your profoundly good taste. 

If the sound of Van Gogh House makes you want to chop your ear off, you can instead go to the very tasty Van Gogh vegan café nearby, which has been rocking our top ten list © for a number of years. 

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Greengrassi Gallery

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We have to admit that we were only made aware of this Kennington gallery by a tourist website (and its usually them nicking ours ideas). So after we did a bit of research we discovered that Greengrassi is a rather enigmatic independent gallery with rotating exhibits by groundbreaking artists such as Turner Prize winner Tomma Abts. So under the guise of sunhatted local art aficionados, we recently popped over to inspect their latest offering, ‘nightlight’ (poor punctuation not ours) by Karin Ruggaber and Simon Ling. 

Karin Ruggaber is a professor at Slade and works in sculpture. Working with a range of different media, her work explores aspects of touch, feeling, and our relationship to architecture. She’s been exhibited at Tate Modern so she probably knows what she’s talking about. Simon Ling is a studio based painter who depicts materials mostly found but sometimes made. Ling’s subjects include rotting pieces of wood, undergrowth and (stick with us) circuit boards. He gives these unloved items a sense of agency by adding beauty, thereby making them valued again. 

Karin’s work at Greengrassi is an edit of 75 photos she took following in the footsteps of two amateur photographers in Rome in the early 20th century. The pictures depict fountains and buildings in Rome and are manipulated into quite stunning and tiny sepia/silvery images. Simon’s quite monumental paintings depict rotting and unwanted plants in a setting somewhat like a deserted garden centre. In a sense these captured plants exist somewhere between life and death and create a dystopian yet optimistic view or our green world. 

Greengrassi is at 1A Kempsford Road behind the Cotton’s Garden Estate and is totally free and open to the public. It is located behind some rather sinister looking black doors but don’t let that put you off! Open Tuesday to Saturday 12-6. nighlight is on until 29 July. 

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Brian Clarke at Newport St.

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Most of us equate stained glass with ecclesiastical feelings of guilt, forgiveness, penitence and, in our case, parental disappointment that we’ve chosen to work at a publishing house that might not actually exist. However, the newest offering at Vauxhall’s Newport Street Gallery takes stained glass out of the church and challenges us to consider it as a stand alone form of art, and we’ve just checked it out for you. 

Brian Clarke is regarded as the most significant figure working in stained glass today and the current show, ‘A Great Light’, is an overview of his output over the past 20 years. On the ground floor we encounter a quite mesmerising new work called ‘Ardath’, a huge wall of mouth blown glass depicting a floating, flowering meadow in springtime. A selection of Matisse like cut outs complement the work on the opposite wall. The other downstairs rooms feature skulls in a variety of settings. 

Upstairs we are presented first with an aquatic theme, in which a warship and men on a beach appear to be oscillating and moving in dot matrix compositions. The final rooms are the most interesting, and consist of a series of folding screens which possess a kind of ethereal beauty. Screens are intended to prevent us from seeing something, but these screens invite us to look through them with their depictions of jellyfish, heraldry, and flowers. Also in these galleries are smaller, jewel like panels presented on plinths. 

A Great Light is foremost an uplifting and life affirming body of work (in spite of the skulls) and feels quite appropriate for a sunny summer’s day. And if you don’t like stained glass they have an ace selection of merch to make your friends think you’re a real art connoisseur. 

Brian Clark, A Great Light is open now until 24 September at the Newport St. Gallery and is totally free. Just turn up.

Some of the merch
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Strike! At Southwark Playhouse

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We recently popped into our much loved Southwark Playhouse to review their latest offering ‘Strike’ and we’re here to tell you rebellious souls all about it. Those of you lucky enough to be Runoff regulars will be aware that the Playhouse now has two locations. Strike is staged at the original-but-soon-to-be-extinct venue in Newington Causeway. The new, more flashy venue is much closer to Kennington in Newington Butts at the base of curiously named high rise Uncle. 

Strike is a true story set in Dunne’s department store in Dublin circa 1984. When a worker follows through with directives from her union and refuses to sell an item made in South Africa, she is suspended from her role. However, she takes 10 like minded colleagues with her and the story evolves into life on the picket line. As their movement grows the group learn lessons from South African exile Nimrod, who had been incarcerated at Robben Island with Nelson Mandela and gives insight into daily life under Apartheid.  

In spite of opposition from Dunnes, the Catholic Church, the government and even union bosses themselves, the strikers persevere and their profile grows and they begin to spread their message as far as the United Nations and beyond. After 2 ½ years Ireland becomes the first western nation to ban South African agricultural goods, contributing to the fall of Apartheid two years later. Although the subject matter is bleak and serious, the play is at times funny, touching, and even has a few musical numbers thrown in. 

Strike is about justice, rebellion, and the right to stand up for what you believe in, which more or less sums up most Greater Kenningtonians. The only thing we could fault about this play was that it didn’t celebrate the fact that almost all of the strikers were female and had to make great sacrifices to pursue what they felt passionately about. However, with all of the strong ensemble female roles this will become evident to everyone in the audience. 

Strike is on now and runs until 6 May at the old venue. For some strange reason there are still tickets available and they can be purchased here. 

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Nocturne at Gasworks

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If you visit us regularly here on the Runoff you’re aware that when a new show arrives at Gasworks Gallery in Vauxhall we like to check it out for you. If you’ve never been to Gasworks it’s located at the Oval end of Vauxhall St. and is perfect if what you really demand from a gallery involves Styrofoam coffins or dolls that talk to you. 

The current installation at Gasworks is ‘Nocturne’ by Swedish artist Ingela Ihrman. Her practice focusses on nurturing empathy and a sense of wonder at all living creatures, with an emphasis on cave dwelling Oilbirds. Guests can literally merge with nature itself by walking through the exhibit while wearing a sculptural cloak made from wool and, um, air fresheners, which can be found behind the reception desk 

The gallery itself is cast in cave like semi darkness, with some quite beautiful hand made feathers dangling from the ceiling. There are also two video installations, the first being a gastroscopic journey through the digestive tract of a snake. In the second, the artist feeds a handmade Oilbird a variety of fruits, including a pineapple that is bigger than the bird itself. The overarching theme being a thought provoking examination of how we rely on nature and it relies on us. There are other themes too, but we’d never do your thinking for you you’ll have to check it out for yourself. 

Ingela Ihrman: Nocture is on now until 30 April and is totally free. Gasworks Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday 12 – 6. 

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Greater Kennington’s Greatest Occult Painter

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The eccentric and independent nature of Greater Kenningtonians runs deep in our history and veins. In our midst we once had living a visionary artist who was cast out by the artistic establishment due to his refusal to accept to artistic norms and being from south London. Maybe this piece will go a small way in reviving his legacy. 

Austin Osman Spare (1886 – 1956) and his family moved to Kennington Park Gardens when he was a boy and Spare trained as an illustrator and artist. He got his first big break when he was just 17 with an exhibit at Newington Public Library (now the Art Academy) in Walworth Road. He followed this success with having a picture displayed at the Royal Academy, and was soon lauded as the new enfant terrible of his generation. This was spurred on by Spare’s wild hair and love of giving outrageous interviews. 

In spite of his increasing fame, Spare decided to pursue his own style which proved increasingly out of step with the art establishment. He dabbled into the furthest reaches of his imagination with coded paintings and illustrations depicting the unconscious, the occult, graphic images of sex, and paganism. Spare achieved this by painting in what he referred to as trance like states enhanced by mysticism. You can imagine his body of work was not exactly in step with post Victorian tastes as he was far ahead of his time and was marginalised as a result.

Unsurprisingly, as Spare’s art was not to everyone’s tastes he faded into obscurity and penury. However, our local boy continued to give interviews and churn out work from his tiny flat/studio at the top of Walworth Rd. He believed that art should be enjoyed by everyone, and he often displayed his art in local pubs. After his studio was bombed in WW2, Spare lost much of his collection and confidence and began to build up both gradually. The culminated in a large exhibition of his work at his local, the White Bear pub in Kennington Park Road in 1953. When this turned out to be a flop he retired and died several years later. What we are left with is his groundbreaking oeuvre of work and a realisation that we can all leave impressions after we’ve departed Greater Kennington. 

The best way to appreciate Spare’s work today is to examine online collections, as his work is still usually not on display. He also had an endearing side hustle in painting his friends and neighbours. The BBC clip below relates to a 2010 exhibit of his work at the Cuming Museum: 

Shorts at the Cinema Museum

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And like the prodigal child, or some random naughty kid, we are back and we hope you enjoyed our month of history writing, picked especially for you as they get the most hits the history of Greater Kennington is important.

As you may or may not know, our greatest ‘at risk’ asset in is the wonderful Cinema Museum located in Charlie Chaplin’s old workhouse. To celebrate LGBTQI+ history month they are putting on series of screenings one is coming up this Thursday (the 16th) seems particularly interesting. It’s a series of shorts about aging, coming out later in life, and disabilities. Afterwards there is a QA and we all have a chance to ask the directors and actors questions about making and acting in the films. And there’s a bar. We’ve been to a number of shorts screenings at the London Film Festival; they’re great fun and an intriguing way to learn more about how films are made.

If you’ve never been to the Cinema Museum it’s a treasure trove of cinematic ephemera and your ticket to this event will allow you access to check out some of it, from ticket stubs to chairs, lighting and props. And the films are shown amongst the collection. A great even night out regardless of sexuality or even if you’re not a film buff. Did we mention there’s a bar? 

Doors open at 18:00 for a 19:00 start this Thursday and tickets can be purchased here for £8 a pop. A lot cheaper than the BFI.

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Bert Hardy, Chronicler of Greater Kennington

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From the archives, the sixth and last edition of our month of best history posts

Bert Hardy (1913-1995) was a self trained photographer and resident of Elephant and Castle who worked as chief photographer for the Picture Post during a pivotal moment in the history of the UK. Hardy travelled the world photographing wars and current affairs and closer to home covered the D-Day landings and a certain royal wedding. Closer to home ever still, he was commissioned a series of photographs called ‘Life in the Elephant’ over a three week period in 1949 depicting working class life in the Elephant.  

Set amidst a backdrop of bombs and building sites, Hardy captured the backdrop of a seemingly unchanged pattern of life….horse drawn carts, trams, kids playing…juxtaposed against a community that was changing radically. The wintry weather had a great deal to do with the effect of these photos, as did Hardy’s predilection for haze and smog. The photos below are just a snippet of those generated for the Post. We invite you to Google the man and you might just find yourself down your own time consuming but very enriching rabbit hole. Meanwhile enjoy the photos below.

A small boy reads a newspaper at the kitchen table while his mother opens a tin of food at their home in the Elephant and Castle area of London, 8th January 1949. Original publication: Picture Post – 4694 – Life In The Elephant – pub. 1949 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Brunswick House, the great survivor of Vauxhall

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From the archives, the fifth edition of our month of best history posts

Beyond the soon to be demolished Vauxhall bus station and nestled in the midst of the behemoth known as St. George Wharf lies a beautiful Georgian building that has survived encounters with oblivion, in an area that has become unrecognisable in recent years. 

Brunswick House dates from the mid 17th century but was rebuilt in 1758. The back of the house had sweeping views to the Thames and the front overlooked the then booming Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and market gardens of Oval. Just 32 years after being rebuilt the house suffered the ignominy  of being split into to, and would never be a single home again.  

The destiny of Brunswick House, and indeed Vauxhall, was profoundly affected by the arrival of the railways in the 1840’s in ways both good and bad. The railway was the final nail in the coffin for Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and poor Brunswick House had its access to the river permanently cut off by a railway goods yard. In the 1850’s the house ended up in the hands of London and South Western Railways and this is when its journey became particularly interesting. 

In 1860 a fire almost destroyed Brunswick House, and after being repaired it was used by the railways as a staff canteen for workers, a library, a concert hall, a scientific institute, a bar, and a caretaker’s cottage. In WW2 an army unit lived in the building and, according to legend, in the 1950’s it was used by MI5 and MI6 for secret meetings as they feared that their own HQ was bugged. It was threatened by the wrecking ball on several occasions but was saved from this fate by being listed in 1973. 



The house remained in railway hands for over 150 years when it was sold as the railways were being privitised and sold again in 2002 to a property developer. Some readers might remember this period as the building quickly declined as a result of vandalism and was in a pretty sorry state. It was purchased in 2005 by architectural salvage firm ‘Lassco’, who carefully restored the building and filled the rooms with its products, many of which are Georgian themselves. 

Next time you are going for your hour of exercise pop over to Brunswick House and marvel at the fact that it’s still there.  Lassco is very much open to the public (well, not right now) and a fascinating place to explore. They also have a critically acclaimed cafe. If you’re willing to sell a kidney, or your name happens to be Elton John, you might even be able to buy a doorknob there! 

Faking it at Southwark Playhouse

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Are you at that point in January where there isn’t much to do but you’re nevertheless scratching to get out of the house or office? So are we, so to address the scratch we just checked out the intriguing and timely show ‘Fake News’ at Southwark Playhouse. Not the new Playhouse in Kennington that we visited last summer (it’s a thing), but the original in Newington Causeway. 

Originally presented to a sold out crowd at the Edinburgh Fringe, Fake News revolves around a budding journalist who’s just landed a plumb internship at the country’s foremost news organisation. With the audience acting as younger interns, Millennial Times is described to us as ‘the most lucrative and therefore respected media company on earth’ (we thought that was Kennington Runoff, but moving on). Given this, what the Times value most is the pursuit of clicks and money above ethics. But as long as people remain entertained, is this such a bad thing? 

As our budding journalist finds himself increasing enmeshed in a hilarious and distressing workplace with Angus and Debbie, he struggles to find a story that will launch his career and prove that he deserves to be there. Eventually he stumbles across a story that might not only make his career, but might disprove one of the biggest news stories since 9/11. But is his revelation itself fake news and if so, does it matter if it makes people happy and shareholders richer? Of course we’re not going to tell you.

Fake News is on now and runs until 28 January and tickets can be booked here. A delicious irony is that it’s received rave reviews from some of the same news outlets that it bashes. Below is the writer appearing on Sky News. The running time is one hour so you can toddle on home and still make it an early night. 

We here at the Runoff will be taking a break for the next month. But before you fall into apoplectic fits of anguish, don’t worry as we will be spoon feeding you with highlights from our history archives. We’re offering you these stories purely because they had the most hits give Greater Kenningtonians much more depth and context into our anointed patch. Enjoy!

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