Sid Motion Gallery, 24a Penarth Centre, Hatcham Road, SE15 1TR
sidmotiongallery.co.uk Instagram: @sidmotiongallery
Sid Motion comes from an artistic background – her father is Andrew Motion, poet laureate 1999-2009; her mother Jan Dalley, arts editor of the Financial Times – so perhaps it was unsurprising she studied art, albeit she soon gravitated towards facilitating others rather than becoming an artist herself. She worked at Max Wigram and then David Zwirner before launching her own space in Kings Cross in 2016. After moving south in 2019, she appears well set up halfway between Bermondsey and Peckham. Sid’s gallery is integrated with a block of artist’s studios, allowing her to curate ‘Within Reach’ last year – a show of 10 artists in close proximity. One is her partner, Charlie Billingham, who paints his post-modernised-Rowlandsonseque works downstairs, allowing them to share babysitting seamlessly.
And Sid’s varied shows gain increasing attention: my image was taken after a talk by Hannah Hughes and Dafna Talmor at the end of their dual exhibition, for which the space was packed. Rightly so, as there was much to be said for the combination of Talmor’s cut and collaged negatives forming constructed landscapes and Hughes’ sculptures cast from packaging and collages made from the spaces between objects in found photographs. Talmor is one of only four artists Sid represents – along with painters Vincent Hawkins, Max Wade and Morgan Wills – though she’s shown well over 100 others. Tom Lovelace, Jo Dennis, Holly Stevenson, Paul Housley and Nathan Eastwood come to mind for excellent solo shows. Next up is ‘Tableaux’, a solo show by Morgan Wills, opening at 6-8 pm on Friday 31st March.
London’s gallery scene is varied, from small artist-run spaces to major institutions and everything in between. Each week, art writer and curator Paul Carey-Kent gives a personal view of a space worth visiting.
