Tabish Khan visits lots of London art exhibitions to bring you nine you should visit during the week. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you. There are a lot of closures in May so this edition has been expanded from the usual five, and they all close this week:
Copyright RMN grand palais (musee du louvre)
1. Inventing Impressionism @ National Gallery
85 Impressionist masterpieces should be enough to convince you to go, but this exhibition also tells the story of the dealer Paul Durand-Ruel and the full versatility of Monet. One of the exhibitions of the year so far.
Photo Tom Carter
2. Catlin Art Prize 2015 @ Londonewcastle Project Space
This benchmark exhibition for emerging artists has yet another strong year with a great line-up of diverse art stars for the future. Zhu Tian is the overall winner and Paul Schneider inevitably got the people’s vote but it’s Jon Baker and Lexi Strauss who are my top two picks.
Photo Ryuichi Maruo
3. Ryoji Ikeda: Supersymmetry @ Brewer street car park
This exhibition space has yet another great exhibition, this time as light and sound re-interpret particle physics. This is both an intense and mesmeric installation, and although the scientific link may not work, it’s still a fantastic immersive and often overwhelming experience.
Installation view
4. Galerie de l’epoque @ Stephen Friedman
The gallery is converted into a 1948 Parisian art dealership featuring works by Picasso and Klee alongside contemporary artists, the work is completed with period furniture and publications. Helly Nahmad’s booth at Frieze Masters may have stolen some of the impact of this installation, yet it’s still a great idea and it looks fantastic.
Copyright Norah McGuiness. Courtesy AIB collection
5. Art of a Nation @ Mall Galleries
An excellent collection of Irish art comes to London, covering everything from Impressionism to Abstract. It’s such an impressive display it could have been an exhibition in one of London’s major institutions.
Copyright Maggi Hambling
6. Maggi Hambling @ King’s Cultural Institute
A diverse array of her works including some great expressive paintings accompanied by a fitting requiem, her newer sculptural works aren’t as good but this doesn’t detract from her excellent paintings and installations.
Installation view
7. Fiona Rae @ Timothy Taylor
Rae has ditched the colour and gone for some monochrome works. It doesn’t feel like a step in the right direction but some of her more contrasting works still capture much of her trademark energy.
Installation view
8. Interface @ Gallery 223
Edward Shuster and Claudia Moseley create an atmospheric combination of light and sculpture, that has a great aesthetic appeal.
Copyright Marcello lo Giudice
9. Marcello Lo Giudice @ Opera gallery
These heavily textured abstract paintings have great depth to them, and the rich royal blues really draw you in.
Categories
Tags
- art of a nation
- brewer street car park
- Catlin Art Prize
- Fiona Rae
- free
- galerie de l'epoque
- gallery 223
- interface
- inventing impressionism
- irish art
- King’s Cultural Institute
- Londonewcastle Project Space
- Maggi Hambling
- Mall Galleries
- marcello lo giudice
- National Gallery
- Opera Gallery
- Ryoji Ikeda
- Stephen Friedman
- supersymmetry
- Timothy Taylor
