2023 - Issue 65
Showcasing artists and works that caught my attention.
If you don’t know about Meat Market then skip right past my photos and head straight down to Deptford. This exhibition, in a disused butcher’s shop, is best seen through fresh eyes and without spoilers. But if you can’t make it and/or want to know more about this project, you can read my full review of the first show. This is the second, with a dozen new artists experimenting in the space. Catch it if you can.
‘Meat Market #2’ at 31 Tanners Hill, Deptford SE8 4PJ until 04 Jun
Visit the project website and follow curator Sophie Nowakowska (@professional_art_bullshitter) on Instagram for more information about the artists and to confirm opening days/times.
There’s something incredibly soothing about the Botswana ochre and ABColbat blue pigment that Ann Gollifer (@anngolainbotswana) has layered into these works. I could sink into these colours like a hammock on a warm and breezy summer day. Sparse imagery, ringed in graphite, appears randomly, as if these were sketchbook studies or colour & composition explorations. Some clearly are, others just look like it. These make me want to book a long weekend somewhere warm and arid.
‘A Sum of Days’ at Ed Cross (@EdCrossFineArt) until 10 Jun
If you’ve ever fantasised about an all-inclusive island holiday where you get to dry off with a fluffy fox after a private beach skinny dip, and then you and the fox share a watermelon picnic… then Cherry Aribisala (@Cherry_Aribisala) has the promotional paintings for you! But if you find these giant colourful scenes a bit too trippy then head to the back room where three not-quite-hyperreal works by David Olatoye (@olatoyedavid) will bring you back to reality with autumnal tones, interesting angles and sparse use of newsprint. These are two very, very different styles of work but each offers plenty of detail that rewards an extended examination.
‘Tête-à-Tête’ at Pi Artworks (@PiArtworks) until 10 Jun
I can’t tell if these… people? … are hiding behind the plants or if the plants are part of the people. Leafs extend from talon tipped stalks that look ready to reach out and scratch. It’s disturbing, but only in a way that Disney might do disturbing. Creatures that mum will think are gross while the kids cry out for the stuffed versions to snuggle up with during story time. These works by Philippine artist Rodel Tapaya (@RodelTapaya) are the perfect antidote to the pristine manicures of the Chelsea Flower Show.
‘Can’t See The Forest For The Trees’ at Jack Bell Gallery (@JackBellGallery) until 16 Jun
Palm Springs’ streets are a fantasy land of mid-century modern painted in pretty pastels offset by crystal clear blue skies. Yet Rex Southwick (@rexsouthwick_artist) fills his super-sized works with neon pink shadows, as if reflecting an outside world exploding while absentee homeowners demand their gardeners keep digging. It’s all a bit ‘deck chairs on the Titanic’ and exposes understated elitism normally reserved for the prices at Norma’s. Though to be fair, their ‘Chunks of Lobster Swimming in Cheesy Macaroni’ really hit the spot the last time I went.
There’s also a set of small study works, which I always find fascinating for the behind-the-scenes insights into how an artist works. Plus you get to have fun playing ‘spot the difference’.
‘Topia’ at Unit (@unitlondon) until 17 Jun
I ran a bit hot and cold in this show. Absolutely loved some of the pieces, and blinked right past some others. That’s kinda how abstracts work, but these explorations of materiality and colour reward a detailed look. Even the ones I didn’t quite like. It’s fascinating to see how buffalo skin, fabric, parchment and latex have been stitched, burnt, stretched and strung by Maya Balcioglu (@mayabalcioglu). And no, you can’t play those drums.
‘KATABASIS’ at Lungley (@LungleyGallery) until 08 Jul
An old tennis visor. Emory boards and plastic straws. Random sized bottles filled with random sized things, sunk into concrete to permanently lock them in place like a time capsule. A snail shell! You’d laugh off any single one of these items if it were in a museum, but as a one-room collection displayed like the proud output from a Saturday kids art retreat it’s glorious. Just silly pure fun. I don’t think Alexandre de Cunha (@casadacunha) is trying to say or do anything other than show some interesting visual objects d’art. And they are.
‘Broken’ at Thomas Dane (@ThomasDaneGallery) until 15 Jul
PLUS — don’t forget to check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.