Empty Streets: Noel Gibson’s East London (1967-75)

This exhibition continues the Nunnery Gallery’s Year of the Painting in 2014, where different perspectives on East London painting have been examined we now look closer at one of the East End’s most prolific and locally celebrated chatacters Noel Gibson.
Born in Glasgow in 1928, Gibson was a classic Londoner with an upbringing outside London and a social life and a lifestyle that mirrors the variety of life one could enjoy in the mid-twentieth century metropolis.  Noel had several  careers, or paid jobs, which facilitated his passion for painting.  Unlike many artists he also found some notable success in his lifetime exhibiting internationally in the United States, Italy and in his adopted home London.
Noel Gibson was an Everyman, exemplifying the new generation of post-war artists, obsessively recording the streets around them.  Notably Noel Gibson’s paintings are almost entirely unpopulated.  Standing amongst Noel Gibson’s large empty streets gives one a sense of the peace of an early morning street before the crowds descend.
Bow Arts is grateful to have worked closely with Gary Haines and the Tower Hamlets Library and Archive service to curate this exhibition.