Here’s my pick of three things to do this week, including an exhibition on writer Virginia Woolf at the National Portrait Gallery, another on my favourite Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, and a lighthearted French film set on the island of Île de Ré.
STOP
What: Virginia Woolf: Art, Life and Vision
Where: National Portrait Gallery, London
When: Until October 26
Opening this week is an exhibition dedicated to one of the most celebrated women writers of the twentieth century- Virginia Woolf. It will explore her life and achievements as a novelist, intellectual, campaigner and public figure through portraits (by Bloomsbury Group contemporaries Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry) and rare archival material including letters, diaries and books.
LOOK
What: Reason & Intuition: Alvar Aalto & Ola Kolehmainen in Soane
Where: Pitzhanger Manor, London
When: Until April 28
Coming to Sir John Soane’s 19th century country villa in Ealing, Pitzhanger Manor, this exhibition brings together the work of my favourite architect Alvar Aalto and contemporary Finnish artist Ola Kolehmainen. While Aalto’s creations such as his Paimio Chair and the sculptural Beehive ceiling lamp will fill Soane’s home, Kolehmainen will explore space and the built environment in a collection of large-scale photographs. (I visited Aalto’s studio and home in Helsinki, have a look at my photos, like the one above, here)
LISTEN
What: Cycling with Moliere
Where: Cinemas across the country
When: Various dates
Head off to the picturesque island of Île de Ré (which I recently visited, see my post here) for a comedy of errors as a retired actor, living reclusively in the countryside, is visited by an old colleague, who wants him to appear in a production of Molière’s play The Misanthrope. They embark on seven days of rehearsal in one of the prettiest parts of France.
