2024 - Issue 100
This milestone issue offers two great group shows and a marvellously quirky Mayfair art hop.
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These first three shows are all located 130 metres apart in Mayfair. See them in the order listed for an easy amble down the slope of Bourdon Street, after which you can nip across Bond Street into the cafe at Sotheby’s.
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This “lighting showroom” is probably more enjoyable in the early evening or on a dim rainy day, but you’ll still have fun carefully meandering around the literal tangled mess of cables that power up some silly sculptures, all based on light. It’s just as chaotic and only slightly more expensive than the John Lewis lighting department, but it’s a lot more fun. Don’t forget to look up.
‘Shine On’ at Sadie Coles Davies St (@sadiecoleshq) until 27 Apr
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Saskia Noor van Imhoff (@saskianoorvanimhoff) recently moved her studio to the site of a former dairy farm. Utilising found fragments — both organic and man-made — she brings life to a series of sculptures intended to “examine the meaning of (agri)cultural heritage and the role of the artist as a steward and custodian of the environment today”. How that translated into rubber mats being framed inside Perspex is a question I didn’t get an answer to, but I definitely enjoyed the abstracted collab of elements.
‘Mineral Lick’ at GRIMM (@grimmgallery) until 06 Apr
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Officially it’s about outsiders and underdogs using the ‘black sheep’ metaphor, but after spending an afternoon trudging my way through Mayfair seeing the same old boring stuff, this Liliana Moro (@lilianamoro_) show felt like one giant f-you to the art industry. Aside from some overly lit, white-on-white displays that are almost impossible to see, the show is essentially a single neon sheep and loud, echoey water dripping sounds that the gallery attendant says aren’t annoying, but I’m pretty sure she was twitching when she said it. It’s a confrontational, minimalist show and unlike anything that’s on right now, so naturally I loved it.
‘In No Time’ at Rodeo (@rodeo_gallery) until 17 Apr
How do you represent an artist with a single image? You can’t, but Ed has decided to try anyway because he’s celebrating fifteen years of the gallery. Through drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, textile work and an incredibly wide range of material and mixed-media, the 18 artists presented are only a small indication of the breadth of Ed’s focus, but a strong statement to the quality of the artists he champions.
‘15’ at Ed Cross Fine Art (@edcrossfineart) until 20 Apr
You don’t need to be an art historian to appreciate this collection of ‘Art Made in Brazil 1950s-70s’ but if you know one, bring them along. The distinction between Western art influence and pure native inspiration isn’t always evident, but the less obvious the allusion the more interesting they became. There’s sculptures that employ wood, jute and seeds alongside woven works that need an up close inspection as their 50-year-old fabrics have faded. There are geometric abstracts, some with 3D elements, and figurative scenes that left me wondering if they’re referencing folklore. Most answers can be found in a free miniature booklet that comprehensively explains everything, but I haven’t even opened it. Sometimes it’s just nice to enjoy a foreign visual overload.
‘Some May Work as Symbols’ at Raven Row (@raven__row) until 05 May
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
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