2024 - Issue 118
This week is a focus on Fitzrovia.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter to find out what didn’t make the cut.
I used to make unnecessarily elaborate drawings as a kid. I’d fill every inch of the page with spaceships in battle, heroes storming a castle and so many details that it was as if my overactive imagination had exploded and showered out of my head like confetti. Maybe that’s why I find myself so engrossed in these mini tapestries by Brian Dawn Chalkley (@briandawnchalkley) that “look like they could have been made by kids”, to quote someone else in the gallery I met during my visit. Drawn on cotton pillowcases and embellished with stitching and text, the scenes could be storybook extracts except there is no narrative nor any cohesive logic. Just a lot of unexplained but highly engaging vignettes.
‘Living on the edge of failure’ at Lungley (@lungleygallery) until 10 Aug
Alternating between Marie Antoinette style ladies and abstract volcanic landscapes, these stark, context-free scenes from Ilona Szalay (@ilonaszalay) left me with more questions than answers. Their mystery is enhanced thanks to a technique of painting oil on glass which is attached tightly to the wall. Highly reflective, they’re sometimes hard to focus on — and ever harder to photograph! — especially when shallow shadows appear through the rare unpainted spaces, creating a blur effect that’ll make you think you need new glasses.
‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ at Arusha (@arushagallery) until 17 Aug
Do you see bodies in the clouds? Maybe mountains made of buttocks? Before you get too worried that you might have a dirty mind the paintings in the back room make it absolutely clear that you’re definitely not seeing things. Ranging from abstract geometric to blatant sexuality, Agata Przyżycka (@agata.kaja) explores the sinuous potential of the human form. Personally, I felt that the more suggestive compositions are the strongest. A lone navel or hint of a nipple is all it takes to imply that a collage of clouds might be something more sexual than cirrus, whereas the art deco orgy leaves little to the imagination.
‘We Embrace into Stillness’ at Sarah Kravitz (@sarahkravitzgallery) until 07 Sep
Men. Stereotypically stoic. The less emotional gender. It’s not that much of a stretch to depict them as unwavering as a sturdy tree. Yet there’s something beguiling and curious about the way J. Carino (@j.carino.art) morphs the male form with peeling birch bark and chopped tree trunks. I felt they were the most intriguing pieces in a showcase of works that the Californian artist painted during a recent Spring residence in the UK.
‘56 / J. Carino’ at PM/AM (@pm______am) until 15 Sept
Even more in Fitzrovia
Here’s three more shows that recently made the Roundup, all based a short walk away from the four in this week’s issue.
Alexi Marshall - Nostalgia for the Mud
At Brooke Benington until 03 Aug
Details in Roundup Issue 115
Jodie Carey - Guard
At Edel Assanti until 23 Aug
Details in Roundup Issue 111
Summer Show
At Shtager & Shch until 10 Sep
Details in Roundup Issue 117
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter.