2024 - Issue 119
It’s a wildly eclectic range of shows this week, in both subject and material.
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Bodies. So beautiful. So disgusting. What is it about flesh and bone and skin and all the oozy stuff inside that is fascinating, freaky, fetishised and frowned upon? Geoffrey Harrison’s kaleidoscopic body parts are a potent reminder about how abstractly beautiful our innards can be, but Annelies Slabbynck’s gruesome toothy hand mirror is going to give me nightmares for weeks. They’re joined by Chantal Pollier who investigates both the physical and emotional bits that hold us all together.
‘Visceral Beauty’ at Shoreditch Modern (@shoreditchmodern) until 30 Aug
The seven artists in this show have a keen appreciation of what creates visual appeal, but a closer study of their chosen colours and materials reveals artworks rooted in cultural significance. From Theresa Weber’s use of synthetic hair and acrylic fingernails to Elaine Mullings’ meticulous tissue paper, the works in this exhibition examine and honour the Black experience. If you’re lucky enough to visit when gallery founder and curator Sukai Eccleston is in attendance she’ll provide you with many fascinating back stories that aren’t always evident in these mostly abstract artworks.
‘Black British Art The Future is Now Part II Re/form~ation’ at CasildART (@casildart_contemporary) until 07 Sept
CasildART Contemporary CIC is a not-for-profit Black-led organisation.
Hannah Lim’s highly decorative snuff boxes elevate something humble and functional into the ‘precious’ category. Accentuated with clawed feet and tentacles, you’d be forgiven for assuming these miniature creatures are patiently waiting for you to look away so they can scurry across the table top and hide. They remind me of memorial biscuit tins. Useful, but too beautiful to be used. This show introduces bronze editions — a new twist thanks to the support of her recent gallery residence — and one stunning piece made with lacquered wood. They’re exciting evolutions to Lim’s snuff boxes which, as you’ll see from two much older works on display, have come a long way while staying true to a singular artistic vision.
‘The Enchanted Orchid’ at Pangolin London (@pangolin.london) until 14 Sept
An alligator tail extrudes from a structural beam. A bird chirps from on top of a pole and a small, long backed beast rides a wooden swing. There’s joy and amusement to be found in each, but they sit apart from each other, isolated and alone, like a playground filled with ‘only child’ children. Sameen Agha explores the concept of home and complexities of personal experience and her use of meticulously carved marble implies heavy emotional weight bears down on every object she presents.
‘Catalyst’ at Indigo + Madder (@indigoplusmadder) until 21 Sept
I’m a sucker for vintage 70s fashion. These images, documenting life in Harlem during the height of the civil rights movement in America, are filled with wide lapels and elaborate fabric patterns but whereas most civil rights archives seem far too focussed on protest and strife, Ernest Cole turned his lens towards stylish people going about their daily lives. His images are empowering and emotionally uplifting and I found many to be at odds with the wall texts quoting Cole’s frustration and shock at the racism and segregation he witnessed in America.
‘Ernest Cole: A Lens in Exile’ at Autograph (@autographabp) until 12 Oct
PLUS…
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