Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic picks his Top 6 Art Exhibitions to see in mid-February from across London. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you. If you’re looking for more shows, check out last week’s top 5 where all remain open to visit.
Victor Bengtsson: When the white root rises @ Public Gallery
Painted directly on to raw jute and incorporating gold leaf means these works at first look like historical tapestries with references to mythology such as Tantalus reaching for the fruit he could never grasp. However, there are also contemporary references to the artist’s background in medicine including the ‘boy in the bubble’, a severely immunocompromised child who had to live in isolation within a protective enclosure. Until 17 February.
Document Now @ Bermondsey Project Space
Whether it be Yamam Nabeel tracing his family’s journey after fleeing Iraq and travelling across Europe and the Middle East or Luke O’Donovan documenting coal power stations looming over towns before they’re de-commissioned every photographer in this exhibition has a great story to tell. They include deeply personal looks at family, asylum seeking, and violence against women. Until 17 February.
Emma Cousin: Tunnel Vision @ Niru Ratnam
The eyes have it in Emma Cousin‘s paintings and in one case the gaze is literally piercing as eyes from one head punch through the head in front. There are glowing eyes and architectural eyes – a literal manifestation tunnel vision, in works that are playful but also challenge us to reconsider how we see the world around us. It’s a great show to inaugurate Niru Ratnam’s new Fitzrovia space. Until 24 February.
Majid Fathizadeh: Ideologues of the game and other seekers of the end @ Ab-Anbar
Figures huddle together in a large painting, while another is mauled by a lion in a small-scale drawing. There’s darkness and threat in Majid Fathizadeh‘s excellent detailed works that look at privilege and those who don’t have it. Until 24 February.
Lee Simmonds: Kaleidoscopes @ Kristin Hjellegjerde, London Bridge
Figures emerge and recede into these colourful paintings. What is their story when under a tree, sat on a bed or in a bathtub? What world do they live in? It’s very much open-ended when it comes to these eye-catching figurative paintings. Until 17 February.
Robyn Lynch: Greetings from Ireland @ Now Gallery
Step inside an inflatable structure and see the creative process of fashion designer Robyn Lynch progress in a series of images that show us how her clothes are made. As she’s an Irish designer we’re understandably surrounded by green, in a fun and creative installation. Until 25 February.
All images copyright and courtesy respective gallery and artist. Emma Cousin photo: Damian Griffiths.
