London is launching its own promenade with art park along the lines of New York’s unexpectedly successful High Line. The project is spearheaded by gallerist Megan Piper:
The Piper Gallery quickly established a reputation for its quietly rigorous, meticulously mounted programme which brought new exposure – and evaluation – to figures who, although often esteemed within the art world, had dipped below the market radar. Although currently looking for new premises, Piper still represents her nine-strong stable, whose average age is around 73 and includes Slade professor of art Edward Allington, Royal Academician Tess Jaray and renowned 80-year-old public sculptor Paul de Monchaux. ‘I feel like the luckiest person in the world to work with these artists,’ Piper enthuses. ‘They are the brilliance that keeps me going – there’s a huge appeal in following the journey of their careers, seeing how their work has evolved and especially what they are doing now.’
The same passion is in evidence when Piper talks about The Line, which she describes as ‘a walk, not a park – a dynamic exhibition that’s about linking places and people in a part of London that doesn’t have the museums and galleries afforded to other parts of town.’ When we meet, the first tranche of funding is in place and a panel of art world luminaries and East London locals are poised to begin the selection process for the 40 or so modern and contemporary sculptures that will punctuate its route, all of which are being submitted from existing collections, both public and private. ‘The amount of art that is out of sight in artist’s studios and gallery storage is quite astonishing,’ Piper declares. ‘For a long time I’ve wanted to find a creative way to shine a light on the extraordinary world-class work that is hidden from public view and to bring the inside out.’
Drawing the line with Megan Piper (Telegraph)
