2024 - Issue 103
Three female solos, the Smallest Gallery in Soho and a day trip to Deptford.
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Amelia Bowles (@amelia_bowles_) crafts beautifully delicate pastel on paper models that she uses to test the interplay of colour in her larger metal sculptures. As the gallery’s bright white lights give way to the ebbs and flows of passing sun rays, reflections off the ribbony shapes dance in front of your eyes. Except some works are too slim, with gaps too narrow, to fully repaint the wall space within. I found myself reimagining these as giant, multi-story works that could literally change the tone of their environment with colourfully saturated shadows. This is one of those shows where I liked the work, but I got even more excited by their potential.
‘Wayfinding’ at Ione & Mann (@ioneandmann) until 18 April
I’ve been getting into monochromatic works for a while now, so I’ve been tracking Grace Tobin (@gracetobinart) since I discovered her last summer. I heard she had a solo and was greatly surprised when I walked in to find… TWO colours?! Duochromatic? Two-tone? The correct art term is irrelevant when work is this good. Even better than her single colour works I’d previously seen. Though a few of the compositions have details that feel a bit too precision drafted, the warm sunny orange is so perfectly offset by the natural leafy greens in these domestic scenes that you can’t help but feel like you’ve just arrived at your mum’s for a hearty family brunch and a hug.
‘Soft Voices’ at Rhodes Contemporary (@rhodescontemporaryart) until 27 April
Organic entities emerging out of the ground or alien asteroids that have crashed into the muck? There’s a slightly sinister ambiguity to the seven shimmery… heads?… with their fringed and frayed blue/green leafs seemingly frozen, mid-open. They’re set inside a darkened gallery space. So dark that on a bright day the glass transforms into a mirror to Dean Street, forcing you to get up close in order to peer in, at, and around the scene within. This installation by Molly Grad (@mollygrad) leverages 80s consumer nostalgia to comment on the contamination and degradation of green spaces in an urban environment. Or is it just a Halloween display arrived six months too soon? Be sure to make a return visit after sunset when it’s eerily lit from within.
Read our interview with Molly Grad to learn more about this work.
‘Cabbage Patch Kids’ at Smallest Gallery in Soho (@thesmallestgalleryinsoho) until end June
Deptford
I recently made my first trip down to Deptford in almost eight months. I was surprised it had been so long, but a combination of factors impacted its appeal. As they say, however, absence makes the heart grow fonder… or at least allows for a bit of regeneration. Even though there’s not currently a single show that I can justifiably claim is a must-see, I highly recommend a trip. Here’s why.
The spaces along Resolution Way, coordinated by Enclave Projects (@enclaveprojects), should be rechristened ‘Experimental Alley’. On the day I arrived new entities Plicnik Space Initiative (@plicnikspaceinitiative) and Tom & Tom (@tum_honter & @archimclucas — in residence at in vitro) joined Studio Chapple (@studio.chapple) and Xxijra Hii (@xxijrahii_) with all four presenting installations mixing video, experimental sculptures and creative use of freecycled furniture. A shared ‘anything goes’ approach made it all feel as exciting and unexpected as a degree show, which is something you rarely get in Zone 1’s high-rent commercial galleries.
If you time your visit just right there might also be a show at Gossamer Fog (@gossamerfog) who generally showcases early, experimental artists and video. Then end with a double-header at Creekside, where Collective Ending (@collectiveending) and APT Studios & Gallery (@aptstudiosgallery) both tend to feature more refined emerging artists that are still straddling the line between experimental and saleable.
I got lucky that all 7 were simultaneously running shows when I went, but some have already ended and others close soon. I’m hoping the Deptford collective might start to better align their calendars, much like other regional clusters. (A strong neighbourly approach has ensured ‘Fitzrovia Lates’ are an art world success story.) If I knew I could see 5 or 6 shows every visit, then Deptford would definitely see a lot more of me.
📍Deptford Station is 7 min from London Bridge by train.
⚠️ Passports must have at least 3 months validity throughout the length of your stay and not be more than 10 years old on the day you enter. Oh wait. Sorry. That’s the EU rules. 🤦🏼♂️
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
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