CONDO, as in ‘condominium’, began in London in 2016 and is an international collaborative exhibition wherein Host galleries co-curate or simply hand over their space to Visiting galleries. The concept has expanded to Athens, São Paulo, Mexico City, New York and Shanghai and this is the first time it’s back in London since 2020, having had a long COVID pause.

The event runs for a month, giving you plenty of opportunity to visit all 23 hosts and their guests from Beirut, Berlin, LA, Paris, Seoul, Tbilisi and more. But to be perfectly frank, I wouldn’t recommend it. In the run up to the event one London critic commented that CONDO was “genuinely the most exciting thing to ever happen to art in the city in January” but now that I’ve seen the full set of shows it’s hard to justify the carbon footprint it took to get some of them here.

That’s despite an abundance of smaller sized works, a fact I suspect is attributed to the increasing optics around unnecessary international art travel, as well as challenging economic conditions. It’s understandable but it means that for most galleries the ‘experimental’ aspect of the CONDO manifesto is primarily achieved through what is being shown, instead of how.

But look, there’s still some great work for you to discover, although it took me 2 Tube rides, 5 buses and 27,500 steps to find it. With that kind of effort, I really wanted to be wowed more than I was. That’s why I’ve decided to write short one-line reactions for each and every show — good, bad or otherwise. (To call them a review would be a misnomer.)

Shows are sorted in geographic/numerical order as per the official map and I’ve included photos for my top picks.

Here’s the key to the ratings icons:

👍🏻 Excellent. Don’t miss!

🤷🏼‍♂️ Mixed results.

👎🏻 Skip it. You’ve been warned.

EAST

1 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Marfa’ Projects @ The Approach

I’m just going to quote the person that was blocking my view: “I don’t really know what I think. I like that it’s not figural.”

2 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ LambdaLambdaLambda @ Soft Opening

If it were an episode of Friends it would be titled “The one with the big green bear.” The sculptural works are very intriguing. The other stuff? Not so much.

3 — 👍🏻 Ehrlich Steinberg @ Herald Street

Carved wood, carpets, sculptures, paintings, an architectural relief and scans of Ancient Greek written by Sophocles. There’s so much variety it feels like a primer on the potential of art.

4 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Pamela Weissenberg @ Mother’s Tankstation

Colourful, complex watercolour compositions. The kind of work that might reward you if you sit and study it. I didn’t have time to sit and study it.

5 — 👎🏻 Gianni Manhattan @ Project Native Informant

Disturbing artworks of cats that look like they may have been made by someone who really doesn’t like cats. Plus an emaciated unicorn.

6 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Chapter NY @ Carlos/Ishikawa

The monochrome portraits and abstract paintings on two-by-fours might grab your attention, but they’re not quite my tempo.

7 — 👎🏻 Sweetwater @ Maureen Paley: Studio M

Is it worth the effort to get buzzed through two separate doors and climb a flight of slippery stairs to see four washed out photos and a room diagonally divided in half? No, it is not.

8 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Bureau @ Kate MacGarry

Another group show with a few things that I liked and a lot more that I didn’t. That’s par for the course for group shows, though.

9 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Galerie Neu @ Emalin

I wanted to love this show, but it should come with a trigger warning for anyone who’s ever been left hanging by a kitchen contractor gone rogue after half finishing the cabinetry.

10 — 👍🏻 Peana @ Public Gallery

It’s apt that these gorgeously textured ceramic wind chimes look like over-inflated fidget spinners (or maybe alien sex toys?) because you’re gonna wanna grab one and play. Please don’t.

11 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Misako & Rosen / Sans Titre @ Union Pacific

A show for Sir Mix-a-Lot. The best bits were the backside of the big ones.

EAST-CENTRAL

12 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Lomex @ Ginny on Frederick

The best paintings of patio furniture you might see all year.

13 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Galerie Sultana @ Amanda Wilkinson

I asked an exiting visitor “Is it worth climbing the steps?”. The long pause, scrunched up face and questionably phrased “yeah?” said it all.

14 — 👍🏻 LC Queisser @ Hollybush Gardens

Mysteriously cropped photos, portraits hung in dead ends and bits of rubbish stuffed behind pipes all lead you to the final enigma of an entryway to nowhere in a crumbling, dilapidated wall. A master class in curation.

CENTRAL

15 — 👎🏻 Maxwell Graham @ Hot Wheels

I can only assume their brief was: send us whatever you want, as long as it all fits* into one shoebox. (*unframed, for the pedants)

16 — 🤷🏼‍♂️ Galeria Jaqueline Martins @ Phillida Reid

Oddly captivating paintings of men in uncomfortably naked positions were bookended by storybook style “illustrations” of lesbian woodworkers and a video of kids climbing trees. A strange trio indeed.

17 — 👍🏻 Bridget Donahue / High Art @ Arcadia Missa

A few curious abstracts hold your attention until you realise the floor is one giant vinyl that ends in an optical illusion vortex. Cheeky fun.