2025 - Issue 141
Showcasing artists and works that caught my attention last week. Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter to find out what didn’t make the cut.
Through the placement of world class artwork by world class artists, charity Hospital Rooms (@_hospitalrooms) transforms the environment and experience of those who give and receive care in mental health facilities. Featuring scale model maquettes, audio and video clips and incredibly friendly staff on hand to explain it all (many thanks, Aroug!), this special exhibition provides a rare opportunity to peek inside the considered process the charity undertakes in order to drive an incredibly worthy cause.
Click here to make a donation.
‘Shape Shift’ at Fitzrovia Chapel (@fitzroviachapel) until 25 March
These Hyangmok Baik (@hyangmok) paintings are perfectly timed for Easter, and not just because many of them feature mostly naked men being shot full of arrows like a Christian martyr. The pop-art canvasses are filled with vibrant Spring colours that remind me of Easter Eggs, and for visiting art historians there are plenty of those visually. But even visitors that miss the references can enjoy the playful and irreverent nature of these works.
‘Home’ at Beers London (@beerslondon) until 12 April
Do you prefer figurative-ish wall sculpture or conceptual art installations? You don’t need to choose because Tom Hardwick-Allen (@tomhardwickallan) has filled his latest solo with both. He’s wrapped all the books from his bedroom in semi-transparent paper and stacked them everywhere. Like the empty calorie treats once housed in the packaging foil on which they’ve been placed, they’re a light visual snack. The main course is the iron cast abstracts that reveal hidden imagery the longer you study them.
‘Low Relief and Foil’ at South Parade (@southparade_) until 19 April
The gallery is celebrating their 1-year anniversary with a group show of artists that have all found unique ways to drive art writers crazy, because they each make things that defy categorisation. Featuring works on canvas that aren’t paintings, three dimensional pieces that aren’t sculpture, and so many more that are awkward to hang and even harder to describe… but not to admire. They’re gorgeous. Each and every one of them. Featuring abstract masters Bram Bogart and Richard Smith and many new names that will surely one day be as revered as they are.
‘Beyond’ at Niso (@nisogallery) until 12 May
Honourable Mention Artworks
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Henry Coleman (@henry_coleman_studio) & Peter Fillingham (@peter_of_kent) cleverly turned the Bomb Factory’s corner Kingsway gallery into a walk-in vitrine. A long glass hallway is open to the elements, inviting random passers-by to wander in for a look. I suspect most will be underwhelmed by the jumble of stuff inside, but I loved their intervention of the space and how it entices people to get close with art.
PLUS…
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