2023 - Issue 45
Showcasing artists and works that caught my attention.
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Start your art year right with these four great institutional shows. They all opened at the end of 2022, but I’ve somehow only just managed to see them.
Even before your eyes have adjusted you’ll smell paint. It’s the walls, not the art. The cracked oil on these 50-75 year old works has long since dried and warped the canvasses, but they’re just as enigmatic as when they smelled fresh. Is Number 37 a tree on a hill or the pattern of the sofa as you look down between your legs? Occasionally the answers are there for you, but you can’t rely on the titles and you might regret reading the backstories in the vitrines. Forrest Bess had some interesting obsessions. Sometimes it’s best not to know what goes through an artists’ head and just enjoy the output, because these stripped down abstracts are outstanding.
‘Out of the Blue’ at Camden Art Centre (@camdenartcentre) until 15 Jan
Wellcome Collection exhibits are equal parts Science Museum, Design Museum, V&A and art gallery. Each of those elements get their own space in their latest show that covers all aspects about sight. In the best kind of way, three of the four sections left me wanting more. I was particularly impressed by the extensive efforts to make the show accessible, including touchable art and some fantastic audio guides from the artists and curators. The VR experience took up far too much space for the let down that it was, but I’ll excuse that when I’m allowed to interact and play with so many displays.
‘In Plain Sight’ at Wellcome Collection (@WellcomeCollection) until 12 Feb
There’s some bad art in this show. There’s also some really good art in this show. Most of it’s in the middle. The overall experience is like watching an Avengers movie: a few standout moments surrounded by lots of things that work better together than they do individually. It’s overflowing with concepts and ideas, and I’m eagerly anticipating more than a few solo outings as some of these artists mature and progress their practice.
‘Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2022’ at South London Gallery (@southlondongallery) until 12 Mar
It takes a few rooms before the abstract tapestry turns into something truly unique, and then only seconds before you simply can’t un-see certain things in the unintentional (or are they?) organic shapes. Magdalena Abakanowicz is to textiles as O’Keefe is to paint, but maybe you’ll see something different because the work is not that simple. It’s a beautifully hung exhibition that actively encourages you to get up close to see, and smell, the materiality of works large enough to fold and wrap around you. If only we had been allowed to step inside and touch.
‘Every Tangle of Thread and Rope’ at Tate Modern (@tate) until 21 May
PLUS — don’t forget to check my What’s On page so you don’t miss any of the other great art shows closing soon.