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Tag Archives: London

Previews: Jeff Gillette – “Post Dismal” @ Lawrence Alkin Gallery

Ten months since Dismaland (covered) opened its doors to the public, the artist that inspired the whole project, Jeff Gillette, will be opening his first UK solo show on June 24 at Lawrence Alkin Gallery. Post Dismal will include 15 new paintings continuing the post-apocalyptic imagery that juxtaposes Disney images with scenes of slums, despair, and ruin. Back in the 1990s, Gillette got inspired by the German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, and his pessimist views. This influence resulted with the concept of taking the things people love and imposing the worst-case scenario to them. The […]

Highlights: Art16 (London)

Art16 returned to Olympia, London from 19–22 May for the fourth year of this contemporary art fair. More than 100 galleries were brought together from over 30 countries, along with not-for-profit exhibitors and commissioned-artist installations. With the founders of Art16 being the same team that launched Art Central Hong Kong, Art International Istanbul (postponed this year) and Sydney Contemporary, it was no surprise to sense a strong presence from Asian galleries. The high point and fresh discovery for AM was the stall by the Taiwanese gallery, […]

Showing: Jeff Koons – “Now” @ Newport Street Gallery

Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery just opened Now, a solo from American artist Jeff Koons. While the Parisian institution Centre Pompidou dedicated a major retrospective to the the artist in 2015 in Paris (covered), this new showing is the first major UK exhibition to be devoted to Koons since the Serpentine Gallery’s 2009 show, Jeff Koons: Popeye Series. Spanning thirty-five years of the artist’s career, it features thirty-six paintings, works on paper and sculptures dating from 1979 to 2014. Drawn from Hirst’s collection, a number of these works have […]

Showing: Charming Baker – ‘Sweet Nothing’ @ S|2

Sotheby’s contemporary art gallery in London S|2 is currently housing an exhibition (running until May 27th) of new works by Charming Baker (covered) entitled Sweet Nothing. The solo includes canvases, a series of studies on paper, and large scale drawings. Known to purposefully damage his work by drilling, cutting and even shooting it, the British artist intentionally puts into question the preciousness of art and the definition of its beauty, adding to the emotive charge of the work he produces. Working towards his new exhibition, he has described his overriding […]

Previews: Ryan Hewett @ Unit London

Unit London will be showing an exclusive preview of new works by Ryan Hewett (interviewed) from the 16th until the 22nd of May. The South African artist will be presenting 14 new paintings on canvas as an insight into his new body of work. The exhibition is sort of a preview of his forthcoming solo that will be held in London during Frieze Week in October. Following his successful London show from 2015, the new showing will continue his work on abstract portraits and “the exploration of the human psyche and deconstruction of his subject […]

Openings: Yoshitomo Nara – “New Works” @ Stephen Friedman Gallery

Yoshitomo Nara recently returned  to the Stephen Friedman Gallery in London for a fourth exhibition of new works. This show features new paintings on canvas, paintings on cotton mounted wood panel and the largest collection of new drawings on paper. Adolescent characters and animals are depicted with nuanced considerations of alienation, anger and curiosity. Juxtaposed with slogans and often salty language, they are at once cheeky, vulnerable and threatening. Nara mentions “This solo exhibition is comprised of ‘paintings’ (on canvas), ‘billboard paintings’ (patched cotton mounted on wood panel) […]

Upcoming: Scott Listfield – “An American Astronaut In London” @ StolenSpace

Coming up on May 5th, An American Astronaut In London will open at StolenSpace, a new exhibition from Scott Listfield. For his first solo in London, the American artist has created a fresh collection of paintings featuring his signature astronaut in an alternate version of the British capital, “left seemingly abandoned in the mid 90’s, covered in graffiti, and sprinkled with band posters from prominent British bands of 20 years ago.” Fans should stop by before the end of the month as the showing closes on May 29th. […]

Openings: “Warhol Icons” @ Halcyon Gallery (London)

A huge and comprehensive exhibit of Andy Warhol’s best work, Warhol Icons has opened at the Halcyon Gallery, narrating a layered social and cultural commentary on topics such as mass consumerism, music, politics to the celebrity culture. Following a complex three year process, the gallery has gathered a significant collection from all over the world featuring over 100 pieces including portfolios, key works and never-before-seen pieces. Unique in its breadth, the exhibition spans over three floors and retraces Warhol’s career across three decades, from his early illustrative […]

Previews: Lucas Price – “Tender Buttons” @ Protein

After a successful solo show with Lazarides last year (covered), Lucas Price (featured) is getting ready to open a very special pop-up show on the 12th and 13th of May at Protein in East London. Tender Buttons is his largest project to date which consists exclusively of oil paintings of buttons. The artist whose career spans from the streets of London, to a Master’s Degree at the Royal College of Art, and all the way to Tate Museum, recently finished a new series of works. As a […]

Showing: Maser – “Orbiting on the Periphery” @ Lazarides Rathbone

Irish graffiti artist Maser is currently showing his first solo exhibition entitled Orbiting on the Periphery at Lazarides Rathbone in London. The exhibition continues Maser’s exploration into the philosopher and mathematician Thales of Miletus’s theory – “mens sana in corpore sano,” in which the physical health and condition are recognised as an essential part of psychological equilibrium. With the strong use of bold graphic and geometric elements, loose brush strokes and relief work, the new paintings focuses on Masers’s interest in duality and the thought-provoking relationship between the physical and […]