2023 - Issue 61
Showcasing artists and works that caught my attention.
33 works from 20 contemporary artists are now on display in London’s oldest parish church as part of the 900th birthday celebration of St Bartholomew the Great. Yes, the one from Four Weddings and a Funeral. Don’t expect religious overload, though. Artist and co-curator Elena Unger (@elenaungerart) selected a collection of mostly abstract works because she felt they could “stand on their own in this space” and you’ll have a gloriously gothic experience exploring to find them all.
‘Eleven Twenty Three’ at St Bartholomew the Great (@GreatStBarts) until 03 May
A giant buzzard and a little blue bat stand guard over these works by Harriott Knuckles (@harriottknuckles) that subvert expectations about what should and could be knit. They’re surrounded by bacteria and a meat grinder in a series of displays that would probably be disgusting if they hadn’t been crocheted from fabric and wool. You can only see these from the outside, but they’re so incredibly eye catching that they made every passerby pause on the day I stopped to see them. For more about this gallery, read my interview with the founders.
‘Ear, Eyes, Nose, You’ at ELMS Window Gallery (@elmswindowgallery) until 05 May
I expected the wall text for these works to contain a “still loading” icon since the compositions look like an AI art generator has left for a long lunch after laying down the base layer. Markus Schinwald has actually sutured old oil paintings into a much larger canvas and painted the remainder to match. You can barely tell unless you get real close, and decontextualising the originals by setting them into a larger, ambiguous atmosphere has a disconcerting effect that I found captivating. But not the prints of pedestals with statues removed. Those were far too obvious and therefore much less engaging.
‘Extensions and Monuments’ at Thaddaeus Ropac (@ThaddaeusRopac) until 13 May
I’m enthralled by the characters Georg Wilson (@georg.kitty) has developed. Maybe it’s because they all look like a down-on-his-luck jobbing actor who was late for work at a Shakespeare themed tourist restaurant and got stuck wearing the Puck costume that hadn’t been washed after sixteen shifts. (Now there’s an Adam Sandler Netflix movie I’d watch!) Whatever these creatures are, they look incredibly disgruntled whether they’re smoking, dancing or riding forest animals. Go see the shenanigans they get up to in thirty works, alongside some errant crows and arrows, spread across two floors of one of the newest galleries in London.
‘What Mad Pursuit’ at Berntson Bhattacharjee (@berntsonbhattacharjee) until 20 May
Bob Thompson was an American artist heavily influenced by jazz, both in the freestyle of his approach and an untimely heroin overdose at the age of 28. A handful of his works are shown alongside artists that have “aesthetic affinities” with his style. In particular, the colourful confetti in works by Chris Ofili caught my attention, drawing me closer to examine his riffs on Matisse’s Dance with giant heads looming in the background. My personal favourite was by Danielle Mckinney (@danielle_mckinney_). From across the room I thought I saw an abstract. Closer inspection revealed it to be a reclining nude, the body colour matched to the cushions. With 33 works in total, you’ll likely find one you love too.
‘So let us all be citizens too’ at David Zwirner (@davidzwirner) until 26 May
PLUS — don’t forget to check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.