Serpentine Gallery Exhibition Road, London Middlesex England

Serpentine Gallery

The Serpentine Gallery with the 2008 Pavilion

Location within Central London
Established    1970
Location    Kensington Gardens, London W2, England, United Kingdom
Visitor figures    734,353 (2009)[1]
Ranked 17th nationally
Director    Julia Peyton Jones
Public transit access    Lancaster Gate
South Kensington   
Website    www.serpentinegallery.org
The Serpentine Gallery is an art gallery in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, central London. It focuses on modern and contemporary art and is one of London's best-loved galleries for this reason. Its exhibition, architecture, education and public programmes attract approximately 750,000 visitors a year and admission is free.

Established in 1970 and housed in a classical 1934 tea pavilion, it takes its name from the nearby Serpentine Lake.
Notable artists who have been exhibited there include Man Ray, Henry Moore, Andy Warhol, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, Allan McCollum, Damien Hirst, and Jeff Koons.

On the ground at the gallery's entrance is a permanent work by Ian Hamilton Finlay in collaboration with Peter Coates, dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, the Serpentine's former patron.

In 2006 Serpentine Gallery premiered a major exhibition of contemporary Chinese Art. Titled China Power Station: Part One, the exhibition was housed in Battersea Power Station in South London, offering a rare glimpse for the public of the interior of a well known landmark.

The gallery was set up by the Arts Council of Great Britain and for its first years was only open on a limited basis during the summer months. In 1991, Julia Peyton Jones OBE was appointed as Director and under her the gallery was extensively refurbished. In 2006 the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist was appointed as Co-Director Exhibitions and Programmes, and Director International Projects.