2023 - Issue 79
Showcasing artists and works that caught my attention.
Although I haven’t seen the hang — No one has, the show hasn’t opened yet! —I have been given a generous sneak peek, so I’m sharing some early thoughts about two China-based painters being shown in the UK for the very first time. Wang Jie paints hazy landscapes, occasionally glowing with eerie colour. They look like the setting for a foggy mountain mystery, or where you might encounter the abstracted animals painted by Wu Yin. Some are just cloud-like shapes while others prominently take centre stage, like the horde of mice having a rather gruesome full moon feast. Both painters put a contemporary twist on traditional Chinese materials, topics and technique. It’s an approach that brand new Ming Gu Gallery (@minggugallery) intends to continue to import to a UK audience. This is their debut show.
‘Creation of the Inner Realm’ at Fitzrovia Gallery (@fitzrovia_gallery) from 19-24 Sep
Arusha is the latest arrival to Fitzrovia’s exploding art scene. This is their 3rd permanent space (the other two are in Edinburgh and Somerset) and it’s a good show to get familiar with their roster. I particularly liked the works displayed by Anna Rocke, Chris Oh and Peter Burns. I’m also hoping they’ll schedule future shows with Plum Cloutman and Ilona Szalay, because I’ve seen better works from both than what they have here. When you go be sure to check the architectural details of the space, like the iron spiral staircase and ceiling gargoyles they specially commissioned.
‘Portal’ at Arusha Gallery (@arushagallery) until 30 Sep
Hugs, pet cuddles, friendship and insect infestations are just a few of the topics that seven artists explore in this group show “where intimate details and profound closeness take centre stage”. In case those subjects aren’t diverse enough, the aesthetics and physical mediums are all over the place. It’s a very dynamic show that reminds me of searching the web before AI algorithms ensured every result was aligned to a narrowly tailored interest. You wont like everything here, but you’ll certainly see stuff you wouldn’t have encountered if you had stayed at home alone with Instagram.
‘Up Close and Personal’ at Haricot (@haricotgallery) until 30 Sep
By applying his signature black-tar style to life sized birdhouses Tom Bull (@tombull.a) has created the perfect AirBnB for vampire bats. Or maybe Dracula Parrots? Yes, they’re a real thing, unlike the vacuum packed shapes Lewis Davidson (@lewisdavidsn) creates. Are they faces? Alien arachnids? Oddly shaped avocados? At least that’s what I see when I look at them, but you’ll probably spend more time trying to figure out what everyday elements he used to create them. Lewis also makes strange contraptions that look like they do fancy mechanical things, and Tom has installed external bird feeders on the upper gallery windows, which the team says they haven’t seen used. Maybe they need to install a night vision camera to check for bats?
‘Shallow Haunts’ at Kupfer (@kupferproject) until 30 Sep
This “multigenerational investigation into the land beyond the living” is officially a group show but unofficially a duo since it primarily showcases the humorously morbid talents of two similarly-focussed artists separated by a common language. Brit Horace Lindezey dedicates his own brand of Blue Plaques to people who were influential to his life, from well known royalty to the locals he’s interacted with. From across the pond, Yank David A. Holt paints memorial portraits from celebrity obituaries. There’s a lot of love and admiration in their tributes. They’ll fill you with a warmth you might not get from the rest of the show, which includes eerie art and artefacts more closely aligned with the world of mediums and mystics.
‘The Departed’ at The Gallery of Everything (@gallevery) until 01 Oct
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
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