Bart Lodewijks: White Li(n)es, Whitechapel Gallery

Who is Bart Lodewijks?
The Dutch artist can often be found sketching large chalk drawings in ordinary neighbourhoods around the world, delighting in how the blackboard chalk trickles down the wall with the ravages of rain and time. Whether it’s a busy city centre or a quiet suburban residential building, urban environments from Glasgow to Rio de Janeiro have served as a canvas for Lodewijks’ contemporary artwork. Initially drawing on industrial buildings without asking permission, Lodewijks now works closely with local communities to explore how drawing can become a social process built on trust and dialogue. Most recently Bart Lodewijks was involved with TRACK – a project in the working class district of Moscou, Ghent.
Whitechapel Gallery exhibition
For his Whitechapel commission, Lodewijks worked with young people from across London to find out about their relationships to the spaces around them. Writing assignments as the basis for the workshops, Lodwijks helped the group to create a series of chalk drawings in response to the gallery space. You’ll also find information about Lodewijks’ past projects a useful resource in understanding this intriguing artist.
A little known commission at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, but Lodewijks’ socially minded exhibition packs a punch.
While you’re there, why not check out other current art exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery – like Richard Tuttle’s thrilling retrospective? Click here to read the Culture Whisper preview