Route 19

opening reception Tuesday 09 September, 1-9pm

curated by Adrian Dannatt & Julia Muggenburg

a group show with 19 artists (and “room for a couple more inside Sir?”),

and a 19 bus ride to encounter an off-site revelation with and by Markus Hansen

“She waves her hand. The number 19 bus draws up obediently at her feet, by the edge of the pavement. She climbs up to the top deck as if she were walking on a length of unrolled frieze. The panel states that she can go as far as Islington. I am very sad. I feel I shall not really be upset until after dinner. 1916.”

Paul Morand, “Aurora”, Tender Shoots, (translated by Euan Cameron)

“It’s cheaper to take the tube to Piccadilly
And then we can catch a nineteen or twenty-two”.

Sir John Betjeman, Devonshire Street W.1

“Now, sing, Michael, sing on the route of the nineteen bus”

The Clash, Rudie Can’t Fail, London Calling, 1979

Number Nineteen is the best bus route in London, everybody
knows that.

I grew up on it, travelling back and forth throughout my
misspent youth between my home in Islington and the
watering-holes of Soho and the narcotic lure of those further
reaches of the King’s Road. It is so geographically ripe, such
a perfectly plotted trajectory through the best and worst
of London and simply everyone m’dear seems to have lived
or worked along its elegant artery.

The 19 has always been a clandestine cultural conduit,
some ley-line through so many different eras of bohemia
from Symbolist Chelsea to punk Highbury; and as if to
prove its artistic nature this route actually used to be an
officially free ride if you could prove you were going to a
performance at Sadler’s Wells! There is even a wonderful
1912 painting of Piccadilly Circus by Charles Ginner at
Tate featuring our distinctive number nineteen, which
is one of the longest-running and relatively unchanged
routes in the city.

There are, obviously, just nineteen artists in this show
and our opening vernissage extends from the hours of
one till nine, 1-9. Best of all, there will even be a special
19 Routemaster bus picking up art lovers from the Frieze
Art Fair and bringing them directly to Belmacz gallery
in the heart of Mayfair.

This exhibition pays homage to some, many, of those artists
whose only real underlying link is this bus route — most
curatorial strategies are secretly arbitrary after all — and
celebrates one of the unsung mythic networks of our city.
The exhibition even has an upper and a lower deck, just
like the bus itself… so please hop on… final stop ‘Battersea
Bridge South Side’!

Adrian Dannatt

London, Europe’s only metropolis, is segmented by routes traversing star like from north to south, west to east, forming superimposed webs as they move. With Route 19, Belmacz excitingly presents an imaginative exploration of London’s spirited ways, delving into the city’s past, present, and future, offering a unique perspective on its character and progression. Taking a thematic approach, the exhibition will examine the city’s history through various lenses, as the artists investigate their perceptions of the city’s light, monuments, architecture, speech, expressiveness, history, anecdotes, literature…While also taking time for the ennui – the waiting, sitting, standing as Route 19 snakes around, showcasing the city’s potential for one to meander and the artistry this may foster.

London will not just be a collection of events, but a dynamic and evolving elastic entity with never-ending indomitable potential. It will offer considered perspective as to why it is one of the greatest cities on this here planet earth.

Stimulating and thought-provoking, this show is singular and decided in its ability to inspire visitors to explore and understand the city’s history – to go out, take a ride on the 19, enjoy it and report back!

In essence this is intended as a blue print to enjoy a compelling and multifaceted exploration for a deeper understanding of the city’s unique character and its continually involving legacy from the mundane to the magnificent.

Julia Muggenburg