2024 - Issue 113
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These works aren’t attempting to be photorealistic, and yet I still got caught out wondering how Ermias Ekube (@ermiasekubestudio) — and even me! — managed to avoid getting his reflection caught in the frame. I soon laughed at the folly of my observation and then realised it’s the best compliment an artist could hope for. These painted mirror works were so effective at immersing me into a layered, imagined space that I neglected materiality and canvas and just assumed I was right there inside their world.
‘Memories are we are memories’ at Ed Cross Fine Art (@edcrossfineart) until 29 Jun
The ‘pleasure’ in the show title could also refer to the visitors’ experience, assuming they look close enough to spot the odd ways these four artists subvert traditional motifs. Matt Smith’s (@mattsmithart) found porcelain objects seem to honour and mock the streetlamp decor you’ll find along Victoria Embankment. Stuart Sanford (@stuartsandford) is clearly not shy about celebrating homoerotic lust, most notably in a very NSFW sculpture. James Mortimer (@jamesmortimerart) hides so many strange, surreal shenanigans in plain sight that you’ll find yourself doing double takes. And I got so wrapped up in the details from those three artists that I neglected to study the exquisitely detailed pencil drawings that Guillermo Martin Bermejo (@gmbermejo) makes on old book pages.
‘Pleasure Gardens’ at James Freeman Gallery (@jamesfreemangallery) until 29 Jun
The embedded button spiral staircase is a brilliantly executed flourish to this exhibition, but ultimately I thought it detracted from the weathered, nostalgic paintings from Alexandra Metcalf (@xelaflactem) in which it appears that swatches of antique wallpaper rip and fray, revealing ghostly limbs in striped attire. It’s unclear if the patterns are giving way, allowing antique fashion to be rediscovered, or if these are memories receding into a foggy abyss. Seemingly random inclusions, such as a skyscraper antannea, just adds to the confusion, triggering the same frustrating sensation I get trying to recollect early childhood memories. The hints in these works just make me study them even more carefully.
‘1st Edition’ at Ginny on Frederick (@ginnyonfrederick) until 20 Jul
With leggy legs and sensually curved thighs rendered in Essex tan orange, these women are clearly having a blast. Parading around nude except for knee high boots and wildly untamed hair, these scenes could be teenage boys’ dreams except the overriding emotion appears to be lust for life, not lust. Then again, the animated line drawn figures kissing against an audio backdrop of slurping water sounds is a tad unsubtle. Aside from that, however, there’s just something fun and almost innocent (emphasis on almost) about the exaggerated proportions of these shamelessly naked figures that Sofia Mitsola (@sofiamitsola) continues to paint. I wonder what they’ll get up to next?
‘Villa Venus: The Garden’ at Pilar Corrias (@pilarcorriasgallery) until 20 Jul
I’d never heard of Boscoe or Geoffrey Holder, brothers born in Trinidad and Tobago that the gallery refers to as polymaths (a word the art world frequently overuses and misunderstands) since they both made accomplishments as choreographers, performers and as you’ll see here, painters. Blood clearly runs thicker than water based paint, as both have a stylistic penchant for elongated legs and highly accentuated features of the black body.
Boscoe’s modest sized paintings look like candid views of friends and lovers. Despite a strong artist’s gaze and generous use of blue to highlight skin tones and shading, they feel more like figurative studies than finished works. Geoffrey leans heavily into elongated bodies that appear more stretched than mis-proportioned. Looking at his figures is like seeing someone too tall awkwardly squeezed into an economy class seat, and yet his large works are more accomplished, more confidently painted than Boscoe’s. The marks and compositions feel more intentional, with figures appearing in a supremely calm and assured state. Whether falling through the sky or reaching up in exasperated prayer, I feel the power of their emotions.
‘Boscoe Holder | Geoffrey Holder’ at Victoria Miro (@victoriamirogallery) until 27 Jul
You know those wooden puzzles you get at museum gift shops that create 3D dinosaurs by slotting together flat wood panels? Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone made a giant mountain version? Wendy Red Star has made four, and you can wander amongst them with child-like wonder as a serene soundtrack of wind and bird chirps accompanies your journey through the ‘safe route’ thanks to the leftover construction stencils on the gallery floor. Red Star is a Native American, and Americans like to bury their dirty secrets in the basement, so it’s apropos that the downstairs gallery is filled with some uncomfortable scenes. Drawings of bloodied bison and statues of headless deer hunting decoys are an unsubtle reminder of America’s ravaging expansion into the old West.
‘In the Shadow of Paper Mountains’ at Gathering (@gathering.london) until 01 Sep
PLUS…
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