Art critic Tabish Khan brings you ‘The Top 7 Art Exhibitions to see in London’ this week. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you:
Matthew Day Jackson & Lorna Simpson @ Hauser & Wirth
Take the reclining nude and give it a new take that doesn’t conform to Western beauty, appearing to emerge from natural elements. Matthew Day Jackson also takes on Dutch flower paintings and gives them a new contemporary spin too. At the other gallery, two doors down, Lorna Simpson looks at race inequality through ice cube sculptures and a surreal sculpture sat atop a giant snowball. Two layered powerhouse exhibitions. Until 28 April.
Signe Pierce: Metamirrorism @ Annka Kultys
Colour, mirrors and a camera create a hazy digital infinity mirror effect and I see myself reflected on the walls. The projection is ever so slightly delayed so I’m seeing a past version of myself which is disconcerting. I’ve disappeared into a brave and fascinating new world. Until 28 April.
The Classical Now @ Kings College Inigo Rooms
Greco-Roman sculpture continues to inspire sculptors working in contemporary art, and this survey show contains some amazing works highlighting this fact. Leo Calliard has clothed sculptures high up on the facade of Bush house so they look more like students today, there’s a blue nude by Yves Klein and one of Damien Hirst’s medusa heads from his Venice blockbuster. Until 28 April.
Mindscapes @ Bo.lee Gallery
What do imagined landscapes look like and how do they differ from traditional ones? Saad Qureshi has created a blackened landscape complete with wind turbines and homes, Sue Williams Acourt creates delicate drawings and we can peer through a hole to peer into another realm. This show is a fresh take on an established genre. Until 28 April.
The Sky’s gone out @ Arthouse1
This show is a departure from the more subtle shows that are often on display here, and it feels stronger because of it. Chris Hawtin’s painting is inspired by science fiction, John Stark takes into strange surreal landscapes and there’s a creepy beauty to Vasilis Avramidis’ unnatural looking tendrils. Until 28 April.
Goncalo Mabunda @ Jack Bell Gallery
Thrones and tribal masks are made out of disused weapons, taking an instrument of war and creating an historical relic from it – in a way to re-write modern African history given how much conflict there has been on the continent. I’ve seen Mabunda’s work many times and it never fails to impress with its level of detail and political impact. Until 27 April.
Fred Wilson: Afro Kismet @ Pace London
Historical works are brought together in this museum-esque exhibition that brings together linkages between African and Ottoman societies, a link we rarely ever hear about. Smattered with beautiful ceramic tiles, and historic figurative work there are some fantastic works to behold as well. Until 27 April.
All images copyright artists and courtesy gallery. Arthouse1 image copyright John Stark, Classical Now image copyright Leo Calliard.
