2024 - Issue 120
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Whoops! I’m terribly late in discovering this exhibition and I hope my readers get the chance to see it because the gallery has justifiably decided to showcase some exciting emerging artists. Noah Beyene’s sublime portrayal of golden light and David aiu Servan-Shreiber’s cracked eggshell canvasses were my personal highlights, but with 38 works from 8 artists you’re bound to find a few favourites of your own.
‘Changing the Subject’ at Annely Juda Fine Art (@annelyjuda) until 23 Aug
Walking into this show was a bit like the first time you visit a friend’s home and spot far too many things that indicate they have much stronger passions than they’d previously indicated. Thanks to plaster hands suspended in prayer, the ghost of Sinéad O’Connor interrupting a 1980s sex-ed vid and strange metal exoskeletons (one is actually a chanfron: medieval horse armour) I walked away with uneasy feelings about beasts and blasphemy. But, oh, that giant horse head water tap…
‘Underworlds’ at Seventeen (@seventeengallery) until 24 Aug
For the 1972 Munich summer games the Olympic Committee commissioned 28 international artists to each produce an original print. They were given no restrictions, so there’s an incredibly wide range. Some took inspiration from the Olympic colours and rings. Many produced sports themed imagery, like David Hockney’s diver that fits entirely within the context of his LA works from that era. A few others went completely off-piste, generating abstract patterns or geometrics. There’s even one that appears to depict cartoony ghosts and chickens! This Olympic nostalgia trip is a fascinating insight into how artists interpret major cultural events.
‘A collection of 30 posters from the Munich 1972 Olympics’ at Shapero Modern (@shaperomodern) until 31 Aug
It’s always enlightening to see a neighbourhood through the residents’ eyes. Or in this instance, lens. Charity group The Peel (@peelinstitute) runs an annual photo contest and this year’s theme is 'My Clerkenwell'. Alongside many pets and pigeons are some unique perspectives of landmark locations and three snowy photos that clearly weren’t taken during the recent heatwave. My personal favourites were the shots of people from the community engaging with each other and their environment. From singing in church to exercising outdoors or simply just being, they all make Clerkenwell look like a lovely place to be.
‘Clerkenwell Photography Competition’ at The Bindery until 05 Sept
Venue: 51-53 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8HN
I don’t have the best track record of keeping houseplants alive. Maybe that’s why I’m so enthralled by Ian Berry’s recycled jeans repurposed as roses and wisteria. Berry has been “painting” with denim for two decades but this installation reshapes the material into soft sculptures and a walk-through environment that never needs watering. If you haven’t yet been to The Garden Museum (read my full review) then maybe this not-so secret garden is the enticement that you need?
‘The Secret Garden’ at Garden Museum (@gardenmuseum) until 8 Sept
Free — but access to the full museum and/or tower costs extra.
I credit the overwhelming shades of grey, but Madeleine Bialke’s ink drawings of meticulously cross-hatched trees left me eager for scarf weather and autumn walks. These ten works from London’s landmark parks — Bedford Square, Clapham Common, Fulham Palace, etc — aren’t intended to be a documentation of place, but of how foliage shapes space. The added bonus is how exquisitely beautiful these have been lit. If you own or work in a gallery then stop whatever you’re doing and rush right out to see this show. It’s one of the best lit set of artworks I’ve seen in London in a long time outside of a blue-chip gallery or institution.
‘Landmark’ at Huxley-Parlour (@huxleyparlour) until 13 Sept
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
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