It is almost the last painting you find as you wander through the fine classical interiors of the 18th century former townhouse; – upstairs in the front room overlooking Dover Street in Mayfair you find a painting of a gallery within a gallery - Marcin Maciejowski’s painting of this very room during the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac‘s first exhibition here in 2017, instantly recognisable in ‘It Is Enough I’m Delighted, Don’t Make Me Understand It’, while other works make reference to historic paintings by artists such as Witkacy and Jacob Troschei.  The question you have to ask yourself is ‘Why?’.  Why did Marcin paint this painting and what is he saying about the art world?

Polish artist Marcin MacieJowski’s exhibition ‘Private View’ in this fine room explores the mysteries of the art world, urban and popular culture and daily life, while in the corridor outside, alongside the fine winding staircase, are his series of drawings derived from Gustav Klimt’s drawings of Frederike Maria Beer, across which occasional shafts of reflected winter sunshine cascading through the gallery door create interesting highlights.

Almost continuing the theme from there, and perhaps a celebration of the astonishing variety of exhibitions which have been shown here over the past two year, in other historic rooms of Ely House, works by modern artists including Antony Gormley, Anselm Kiefer and Joseph Beuys fill the spaces, the first two coincidentally linking to exhibitions elsewhere in London at the Royal Academy, the White Cube in Mason’s Yard and the White Cube in Bermondsey.